How to Move Containers in Elementor

Learning how to move a container in Elementor is essential for building a clean, responsive layout. Elementor's flexbox-based container system allows you to easily rearrange and structure your website. In this guide, you'll learn how to reposition containers, sections, and elements effectively using best practices and helpful tools within Elementor.

Understanding Elementor Container Basics

Before moving containers, you should understand how Elementor's new container system works. Containers are flexible layout blocks that replace traditional sections and columns, offering greater control over responsiveness and alignment.

• Parent Containers: Hold other nested containers or widgets. They define major layout divisions like headers, footers, and content areas.
• Nested Containers: Allow complex layouts inside a parent structure. You can use these for columns, image-text combinations, or sidebar content.
• Flexbox Direction: Defines how content is displayed (row or column), and affects spacing, wrapping, and alignment.

How to Move a Container in Elementor

You can drag and drop Elementor containers using simple actions inside the editor. This allows you to experiment with different layouts quickly and intuitively. Here’s how:

Steps to move a container

1. Open the Elementor Editor. Navigate to the page where you want to rearrange the layout and click "Edit with Elementor." Wait for the page builder to load fully.
2. Select the container. Click the blue outline or section label of the container you wish to move. You can identify it by its padding or widgets inside.
3. Drag the handle. Use the 6-dot icon at the top of the container to drag it. This is the movement control for containers.
4. Drop it into place. Move it between or inside other containers based on your layout goal. A blue indicator will show where the container will be placed.

Elementor Container Alignment Tips

Aligning containers is key to clean, responsive layouts. The container settings panel offers various options under the Layout tab to control alignment, spacing, and flow of content:

These settings help customize container position in Elementor and refine the flow of your design, especially on dynamic or content-heavy pages.

Using Responsive Layout with Containers

To ensure proper display on all devices, use Elementor’s responsive settings to adjust visibility, alignment, and spacing for tablet and mobile views.

• Tablet & Mobile Preview: Switch views using the device icons at the bottom of the Elementor panel. This allows you to preview and tweak settings per device.
• Reverse Columns: In columnar layouts, reverse the order of containers for better mobile flow.
• Hide/Show Elements: Use the Responsive controls in Advanced settings to toggle visibility per device.
• Adjust Padding and Margins: Mobile layouts often need custom spacing to avoid overflow or squished content.

Fixing Common Container Placement Issues

Problems while trying to rearrange containers in Elementor often stem from structure confusion or settings conflicts. Here are some common problems and solutions:

• Wrong Element Selected: Ensure you’re dragging the entire container, not just an inner widget or section.
• Structure Too Complex: Use Navigator to help visualize nested containers and their order.
• Advanced Settings Conflicts: Check z-index, absolute/relative positioning, and margins that may override layout flow.
• Overlapping Containers: Use proper spacing and avoid fixed heights unless necessary.

Elementor Container Structure Tutorial

Here’s a quick layout structure tutorial to guide your container usage. Organizing your layout with containers allows more control over alignment and responsiveness.

Basic homepage layout using containers

1. Create a parent container: This serves as the main wrapper for the page.
2. Add child containers: Include one for the header, another for the main content, one for a sidebar (if needed), and one for the footer.
3. Set layout directions: Use column direction for vertical stacking or row direction for side-by-side layouts.
4. Nest containers: Inside main content, nest rows for text, images, call-to-action buttons, etc.
5. Apply spacing: Use padding, margins, and the gap option to maintain clean separation.

This approach simplifies container layout editing in Elementor and gives you the flexibility to maintain a consistent design across your website.

Useful Links

Activate Elementor Experimental Features – Learn how to enable the Flexbox Container feature in Elementor by activating it through the Experiments settings.

How to Move Sections in Elementor – Official guide on repositioning sections using drag-and-drop or the Navigator panel within the Elementor editor.

Create Responsive Design with Containers – Understand how to adjust container layouts for different devices using Elementor's responsive settings.

Use Page Structure to Navigate Your Page – Discover how to utilize the Navigator panel to manage and rearrange elements, especially in complex layouts.

Define Container Layout Settings – Detailed explanation of the layout options available for containers, including alignment, direction, and spacing.

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Conclusion

Now you understand how to move a container in Elementor and optimize your layout using the container system. With drag-and-drop, alignment controls, and responsive tools, it’s easy to create professional designs. Master these steps to keep your layout structured, flexible, and visually appealing. Make use of nesting, alignment tips, and responsive checks to enhance your design workflow in Elementor.