Developer Mode: The Code Editor
Direct HTML, CSS, and JavaScript access inside a Composer widget: structural changes, Twig expressions, forms, and custom interactions.
Developer mode gives you direct access to a Composer widget's HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Use it for structural changes, custom interactions, Twig dynamic expressions, forms, and anything beyond updating text and images. See Design vs Developer Mode for when to reach for it over Design mode or Chat AI.
On sites with Role Manager active (Pro), Developer mode requires Full access. Content-only users are limited to Design mode.
Opening the Code Editor
Select a Composer widget, open the Style tab, and click Edit Code. This opens the Code tab: three panels, HTML, CSS, and JS, with a live preview.
The HTML Panel
Supports standard HTML5, inline styles, Twig syntax for dynamic data (see Twig), the data-atom-form attribute for turning a form into a managed Atom Form, and custom data-* attributes. Changes here automatically update the widget's available slots.
The CSS Panel
CSS is automatically scoped, every rule is namespaced to the widget's unique selector so it can't leak into or be affected by anything else on the page. Media queries are automatically repositioned so they still cascade correctly after scoping.
The JavaScript Panel
JavaScript runs after the widget renders in the DOM. Write standard JavaScript, scoping your selectors appropriately to avoid conflicting with other widgets or scripts on the page.
Code Scope and Assets
The Code tab also has 4 scope levels, Standard (this widget), Page, Site, and Globals, plus an Assets panel for loading third-party libraries. See Code Tab for the full breakdown.
Changes aren't saved to the page until you click Apply in the code editor, then Update or Publish in Elementor.
Use Cases
- Building forms and loops with Twig. Anything beyond what the Visual Loop & Form Builder's Basic fields can express.
- Structural changes a client shouldn't make. Add, remove, or restructure elements, then hand the page back for content-only editing in Design mode.
- Integrating third-party libraries or custom interactions. Write your own JavaScript, or load a library through the Assets panel.
Limitations
- Requires Full access under Role Manager Pro, Content-only users can't open the Code tab at all.
- JavaScript runs after the widget renders, so your selectors need to avoid conflicting with other widgets or scripts on the page, there's no automatic sandboxing for JS the way there is for CSS.