Installation

Essential Elements is a free plugin on WordPress.org. Essential Elements Pro is an add-on you install on top of it.

Requirements

• WordPress 6.3 or later
• PHP 7.4 or later
• Any block theme or classic theme
• For Pro: the free Essential Elements 1.3.0 or later, installed and active

Installing the free plugin

From your dashboard (recommended)

1. Go to Plugins → Add New Plugin.
2. Search for Essential Elements. The plugin is listed as Essentials – Essential Elements for WordPress by BeautifulPlugins.
3. Click Install Now, then Activate.

By upload

1. Download the ZIP from the WordPress.org plugin page.
2. Go to Plugins → Add New Plugin → Upload Plugin, choose the ZIP and click Install Now.
3. Click Activate Plugin.

After activating, a new Essentials menu appears in your admin sidebar. All modules start switched off, so nothing changes on your site until you turn a module on. See Getting Started.

Installing Essential Elements Pro

1. Make sure the free Essential Elements plugin (1.3.0+) is installed and active.
2. Download essential-elements-pro.zip from your BeautifulPlugins account or your purchase receipt email.
3. Go to Plugins → Add New Plugin → Upload Plugin, choose the ZIP, click Install Now, then Activate Plugin.
4. Activate your license key so you receive updates. See License Activation.
5. Go to Essentials → Modules. The Announcement Bar, Click to Chat and Content Protection modules are now unlocked.

Pro shows a notice instead of modules? Pro checks for the free plugin when it loads. If the free plugin is missing, inactive or older than 1.3.0, you’ll see a notice with a link to install, activate or update it, and the Pro modules stay hidden until that’s fixed.

Updating

• Free plugin: updates arrive through Dashboard → Updates like any WordPress.org plugin, and you can enable auto-updates from the Plugins screen.
• Pro: with an active license, Pro updates appear on the same Plugins and Updates screens. Without an active license, the modules keep working but you won’t receive updates.

Your settings are kept across updates. Re-activating the plugin never resets module settings to their defaults.

Deactivating and uninstalling

Deactivating either plugin removes its output from your site but keeps all settings. Deleting the plugin also keeps settings, unless you’ve switched on Delete plugin data on uninstall under Essentials → Settings. See Settings, Import & Export.