Elementor 3.26 Update Causes Fatal Errors: Why It Happened and How to Fix It

The release of Elementor 3.26 brought a major change that caused many websites to break: the complete removal of a legacy feature called “Schemes.” Schemes were a simple way for site owners to manage colors and typography in Elementor’s early days, but over time, this approach became outdated and inefficient.

Elementor replaced Schemes with a more flexible system years ago, but some themes and plugins never adapted to the change. When Schemes were finally removed in version 3.26, these outdated extensions—especially ones no longer maintained or updated—started throwing fatal errors that crashed websites.

This breaking change highlights how essential it is for plugins, themes, and the WordPress ecosystem as a whole to stay current with platform updates. Below, we’ll explore what happened, which products were impacted, and how you can get your site back on track if you’ve been affected by this recent update.

Why websites broke: Elementor Schemes removal

In Elementor 3.26, the Schemes API was removed entirely, forcing all plugins and themes relying on this outdated mechanism to crash or produce errors.

The impact was most severe for sites using add-ons and themes that extend Elementor’s functionality. Many of these products are no longer actively maintained or updated, or simply haven’t been updated to support these latest API changes. The situation is further complicated for users relying on plugins not hosted in the official WordPress repository—a common scenario for paid tools purchased from marketplaces like Envato.

Here’s what the Elementor team had to say about the 3.26 update:

“This change is considered very risky, especially for websites that use Elementor add-ons not hosted in the official plugin repository.”

Specific products affected by the Elementor release

Below is a list of known products impacted by Elementor 3.26, along with their current compatibility status (all statuses are current as of publishing and will be updated as we gather more information):

Product	Developer	Compatibility with Elementor 3.26
Selection Add-on Pack	merkulove	Patched December 18
Neve Theme	ThemeIsle	Patched December 17
Benoit Theme	WebGeniusLab	No patch available
Elementor Custom Skin	Dudaster	No patch available
Essential Addons for Elementor	WPDeveloper	Patched December 15
AnWP Post Grid and Post Carousel Slider for Elementor	Andrei Strekozov	Patched December 17
Royal Elementor Addons	WP Royal	Patched December 18
The Plus Addons for Elementor Pro	POSIMYTH	No patch available

For site owners using add-ons like Elementor Custom Skin or themes such as Benoit, the lack of immediate updates means you may still encounter fatal errors until patched versions are released. We recommend pausing the upgrade to Elementor 3.26 until patches are released. Or better yet, find a plugin or theme with the features you need that takes these issues seriously and is proactively releasing compatibility patches.

How to identify if your site is affected

If your site is broken or throwing errors after updating to Elementor 3.26, it likely stems from an outdated or incompatible extension. Your website will be completely broken and you’ll see a fatal error like the screenshot above.

Follow these steps to identify the issue:

1. Disable Elementor add-ons: Deactivate all plugins that extend Elementor. We’ve seen some themes that have this functionality built-in as well, so you may need to change themes temporarily to identify the culprit.
2. Re-enable one by one: Reactivate each plugin (or theme) individually to determine which one causes the error.
3. Check plugin/theme versions: Compare your installed versions with the latest releases on their respective websites or repositories.
   • For Envato-purchased tools, licensing can be complex. You may need to manually check the download section to confirm version numbers.
4. Review error logs: Use WordPress debug mode or your hosting provider’s log viewing tools to pinpoint the specific plugin or file causing the conflict.

How to resolve the Elementor 3.26 issue

Here’s how you can bring your site back to stability:

1. Update everything: Ensure both Elementor and its associated extensions are updated to the latest versions.
   • For plugins hosted in the WordPress repository, updates should appear in your dashboard.
   • For paid add-ons (e.g., Envato), manually download and install the latest files.
2. Check for compatibility patches: For plugins without updates, reach out to the developer for an ETA on a fix.
3. Roll back Elementor: As a temporary measure, downgrade to Elementor 3.25 using the Rollback feature.
4. Consider alternatives: If a plugin or theme remains incompatible, explore alternatives with better developer support.

The importance of testing before processing WordPress upgrades

The chaos caused by Elementor 3.26 highlights a critical best practice: always test updates in a staging environment before applying them to your live site.

Additionally, ensure:

• Your software licenses are active: Some plugins, like those from Envato, require manual license activation. Tools like the Envato Market WordPress plugin can streamline updates but may still cause confusion.
• Licensing for staging: Ensure any purchased plugin licenses allow activation on multiple environments. This enables testing updates in a staging environment without manually deactivating production licenses.
• Compare version numbers: For plugins not clearly marked as “up-to-date,” manually checking version numbers is often the only way to confirm.
• Licenses cover staging sites: Without support for staging environments, testing updates safely becomes far more cumbersome.

Another breaking change in Elementor 3.26: Element Caching

Alongside the removal of Schemes, Elementor 3.26 introduced a new Element Caching feature. This feature is designed to improve page load times by caching individual elements. However, it has created conflicts with plugins and themes that rely on shortcodes to display dynamic content.

What’s particularly concerning is that this feature is enabled by default in Elementor 3.26 for all users, even if they haven’t explicitly opted in to experimental features. Here’s a screenshot of the experiments settings for a brand new Elementor installation:

You’ll see that Element Caching is enabled even though this is clearly flagged as a Beta feature. If you’re experiencing broken shortcodes after updating to Elementor 3.26 complete the following steps:

1. Go to Elementor > Settings > Features in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Locate the Element Caching option and set it to Inactive.
3. Clear all caches, including those from your caching plugin, server-level caching, and browser.

UPDATE ON DECEMBER 19, 2024

We’re very happy to see that as of December 19, Elementor has reverted the decision to activate Element Caching by default in their 3.26.2 release.

How we Addressed the Elementor 3.26 bug for our clients

We were able to navigate the Elementor 3.26 update for all of our clients within 72 hours of the release. Our approach included:

• Automated site scanning: We used internal tools to detect sites running outdated Elementor versions or known incompatible add-ons.
• Patch prioritization: For critical sites, we applied temporary rollbacks where necessary and fast-tracked updates as patches became available.
• Clear communication: We kept our team informed every step of the way and assembled a quick sprint to resolve these errors and put longer-term solutions in place.

This proactive approach allowed us to minimize downtime, identify problem areas quickly, and ensure all sites were running smoothly with the latest updates before the upcoming holiday break.

Need help navigating Elementor updates?

Breaking changes like those in Elementor 3.26 are part of the WordPress ecosystem, but they don’t have to cause trouble for your business. With one of our WordPress Care Plans, you can:

• Have our team test updates in staging environments to avoid surprises
• Keep your plugins, themes, and WordPress core up to date
• Rely on our team to troubleshoot and resolve issues that arise

Learn more about SiteCare plans today and let us handle the complexities of WordPress maintenance for you.

Final thoughts

The Elementor 3.26 update exposed a harsh reality: the interconnected nature of WordPress plugins and themes can lead to widespread issues when breaking changes occur. By staying proactive with updates, testing changes in staging environments, and relying on expert support, you can avoid downtime and keep your site running seamlessly.

If your site is still experiencing issues or you’re unsure where to start, we’re here to help.