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Settings, Import & Export

Plugin-wide options live under Essentials → Settings. Each module’s own options are on its settings page. See Managing Modules.

General Settings

  • Delete plugin data: when this is on, deleting Essential Elements from the Plugins screen also removes all of its settings from your database. When it’s off (the default), your settings are kept, so you can reinstall later and pick up where you left off.

With Essential Elements Pro installed, the same option also controls Pro’s data. If it’s on when you delete Pro, the Pro module settings are removed and the Pro modules are switched off. Pro’s license key is always removed when Pro is deleted.

Exporting settings

Click Export Settings to download a file named essential-elements-settings-YYYY-MM-DD.json. It contains:

  • Which modules are switched on.
  • The plugin-wide settings on this screen.
  • Every module’s settings, including Pro modules when Pro is active, and settings from any extension that hooks into the export.

The file holds settings only. There’s no content, no user data, and no Pro license key, so it’s safe to share with a developer or keep as a backup.

Importing settings

  1. Click Choose File and pick a settings file exported from Essential Elements (JSON, up to 1 MB).
  2. Click Import Settings.
  3. A "Settings imported." notice confirms it. The modules switched on in the file are now switched on here, and their settings are applied.

Things to know:

  • Imported values go through the same checks as the settings pages, so a hand-edited file can’t save invalid colors or unknown options.
  • Modules in the file that don’t exist on this site (for example Pro modules when Pro isn’t installed) are skipped.
  • Importing replaces the current settings of every module in the file, so export a backup first if you might want to go back.

If you see "The file could not be imported. Choose a settings file exported from Essential Elements.", the file is not a valid Essential Elements export. It may be from another plugin, damaged, or larger than 1 MB.

Common uses

  • Staging to live: configure modules on staging, export, then import on production.
  • Agency templates: keep one "house style" settings file and import it on every new client site.
  • Backups: export before a big change so you can roll back in seconds.

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