MerKit Theme Builder and Template Library for Elementor
MerKit Theme Builder and Template Library for Elementor
Description
MerKit gives you a full Theme Builder and a growing Template Library for Elementor — completely free, forever. Import a complete landing page in one click, or pick individual sections, headers and footers.
Key Features
Theme Builder (no Pro required)
- Build custom Headers and Footers with Elementor’s drag-and-drop editor
- Flexible display conditions: show templates site-wide, on specific pages, post types, archives, or the 404 page
- Works with any theme that supports standard WordPress hooks
- Hello Elementor theme location support built-in
Free Template Library
- 48 instant-import premade templates across 15 categories — headers, footers, heroes, logo strips, feature grids, how-it-works, stats, stories, work galleries, menus, testimonials, pricing, FAQs, contact/hours and CTA banners
- Three complete demo landing pages (Nimbus SaaS, Atelier Norr studio, Harvest & Oak restaurant) plus the MerKit Demos hub — every section importable on its own, filterable by brand
- Templates carry the Global Colors and Global Fonts they use — missing ones are created in Site Settings on import, so sections look right on any site
- Import a complete demo landing page in one click — every section in order, plus its header and footer assigned to that page, created as a draft for you to review
- Template images are copied into your Media Library on import, so nothing is hotlinked and every image is editable on your site
- All templates use the modern Elementor Container (flexbox) system and are fully responsive
- Fully editable after import — nothing is locked
- New templates added with each release
Bundled Widgets
- Nav Menu — dropdown-ready navigation widget, no Pro required
- Site Logo — displays your custom logo or site name as a fallback
Requirements
- WordPress 6.0+
- Elementor (free) 3.10+
- PHP 7.4+
External services
When you import a bundled template or demo page, the plugin downloads that template’s demo images from https://demos.merkiting.com (a site operated by the plugin author) into your Media Library. This happens only during an import you start in wp-admin; nothing is requested on the front end of your site, and no information about your site or visitors is sent. If a download fails, the template keeps the original image URL instead.
Compatibility
- Works with Elementor free — Elementor Pro is NOT required
- Uses the modern Flexbox Container layout system (Elementor 3.6+)
- Tested with Hello Elementor, Astra, GeneratePress, OceanWP, and Blocksy
Installation
- Upload the plugin folder to
/wp-content/plugins/, or install via Plugins -> Add New. - Activate the plugin.
- Install and activate Elementor (free) if not already active.
- Go to MerKit Addons -> Template Library to import a full demo page or individual sections.
- Go to MerKit Addons -> Theme Builder to create or assign header/footer templates.
Faq
No. This plugin works entirely with the free version of Elementor.
Yes. All bundled templates use the modern Container layout. Legacy Section/Column layouts are not used.
All classic themes. The plugin implements Elementor’s theme-location system — the same mechanism Elementor Pro uses — so themes with native Elementor support (Hello Elementor, Astra, GeneratePress, OceanWP, Neve, and many more) automatically replace their own header/footer with yours. Themes without location support are handled through a header/footer template override. No manual theme settings needed.
Yes. All templates included in the plugin are free, with no upsells or locked items.
Yes. Go to MerKit Addons -> Theme Builder and use Import Template from JSON to upload a template exported from this plugin or from Elementor (.json). You can also Export any of your templates back to a JSON file from the same page — handy for backups or moving a template between sites. After importing, every template is fully editable in Elementor.
Use the shortcode: [merkit_template id=”123″] — replace 123 with the template post ID shown in the Theme Builder admin page.
Reviews
Changelog
1.1.0
- New: 39 section templates split from the demo landing pages at demos.merkiting.com — Nimbus (SaaS analytics), Atelier Norr (dark editorial studio), Harvest & Oak (restaurant) and the MerKit Demos hub; each demo also ships its header and footer
- New: 10 more library categories — Logos & Proof, Features, How It Works & Services, Stats, Story & About, Work & Gallery, Menus & Lists, Testimonials, FAQ, Contact & Hours
- New: Brand filter in the Template Library page and in the in-editor picker (section type x brand)
- New: Global Colors / Fonts importer — template JSON may carry a
globalsblock; any referenced global missing from the active kit is created via Elementor’s kit API (existing globals are never overwritten). Runs for library imports, in-editor inserts and custom JSON uploads - New: Template export now bundles the custom Global Colors / Fonts a template references, so exported files are portable between sites
- New: In-editor insert declares the new –e-global-* variables in the preview and refreshes the global pickers, so inserted sections render correctly without reloading the editor
- New: Import full demo landing pages (Nimbus, Atelier Norr, Harvest & Oak, Demos hub) — creates a draft page with every section in order and imports the matching header and footer, assigned to that page
- New: Template images are downloaded into the Media Library on import instead of being hotlinked from the demo site (each image is fetched once and reused on later imports)
- Templates are portable: bundled templates carry no attachment or menu IDs from the demo site, links inside them point to sections on the same page, and each one ships only the Global Colors / Fonts it references
- Nav Menu widget falls back to the site’s first menu when none is selected or the selected menu no longer exists
- Fix: template export now captures Global Fonts referenced from CSS inside HTML widgets, and strips site-specific attachment and menu IDs
- Fix: three original templates had element IDs Elementor could not parse
- Harvest & Oak gallery is built from Image widgets so it renders on any site
- Security: the [merkit_template] shortcode only renders published MerKit templates; imported typography values are sanitized before reaching the kit stylesheet
- New: Sticky Header for header templates (Elementor free) — stick to top on scroll, with optional background color, blur, shadow and smaller padding once the page is scrolled (header template -> Settings -> Sticky Header)
- New: Nav Menu widget — mobile panel border, shadow, item typography and item padding, plus an “Underline Current Page” switch
- Templates contain no HTML/CSS widgets: every style is a normal Elementor or MerKit setting you can edit in the panel
1.0.1
- Confirmed compatibility with WordPress 7.1 (no jQuery UI, block-editor, admin-toolbar, or cross-frame editor code paths affected)
1.0.0
- Initial release
- Theme Builder with display conditions (header, footer, block)
- Template Library with 9 bundled templates (headers, footers, heroes, pricing table, CTA banners)
- Template import/export (.json) — bring your own templates or back yours up
- In-editor template library button — insert templates without leaving Elementor
- Nav Menu widget (sticky header, hover animations, dropdowns, mobile panel styling controls)
- Site Logo widget