Hello friends. It’s been a while since we posted about upcoming features, so today is a great day to share with you some things we have been working on behind the scenes, for the last couple of months.
In case you haven’t noticed, we have already started a series of updates that improve several aspects of the Style Kits experience, and set the foundations for aligning the product to our vision for the future.
- Introduced the Style Kits Experiments (where you can activate and test upcoming features)
- Support for container padding. Similar to section and column gaps, we now support spacing presets for containers.
- Global Shadows controls, that allow you to set global shadow styles across your layouts.
- Several other improvements
What you should expect from Style Kits 2.0
As we approach version 2.0 (which will be released when Elementor Flexbox containers are officially released and supported), you should expect a number of improvements that will put Style Kits in the forefront of container-based workflow.
Global Style Kits Fonts and Colors
One major change we are bringing into the Style Kits workflow, is the addition of Style Kits Fonts and Colors. Similar to Elementor Global Fonts and Colors, Style Kits Fonts & Colors are typographic and color variables that you can use in your layouts. However, contrary to Elementor, the global Style Kit font and color variables are stored on each Style Kit.
Stay tuned to find out how you can make the most of your design system with this exciting new addition in Style Kits.
Container-based Pattern library and Style presets
We are designing from scratch an entire pattern library, powered by the new Elementor flexbox containers. This collection will offer one-of-its-kind global design control for Typography, color and spacing, utilising the new Style Kits Fonts and Colors feature.
Our vision for the new Pattern library is to become a strategic ingredient of your workflow, from wireframing until the polished version of your live site.
The New Library will also focus on theme style presets to provide you ready-made style variations that you can apply on your layouts, and have a great-looking starting point for every project.
A sneak peek at the upcoming pattern library
Building a page layout with container-based patterns
Retiring the old library and kits
The old library with the current section-based templates will still be available for users who use Sections and Columns, but it will be eventually replaced with the new container-based library. You will need to adopt the new container in order to make the most out of your Style Kits experience.
Most of the existing Theme Style Presets (Style Kits) will also be retired and replaced with new ones, that support the Global Style Kits fonts and colors.
Website redesign and documentation
We are in the process of redesigning our website, and better communicate the value that Style Kits brings to Elementor design workflow.
Additionally, we are working on an integration of the Docs into our website, instead of using Helpscout as we have been doing for so many years. All docs will be re-written to align with the latest Style Kits features.
Answers to common questions
You can still use Style Kits and make use of the existing functionality on Sections and Columns, as well as the existing template kits.
For users who stick with Sections, yes, the Template Kits will be available. When users switch to containers, the new library will be available, giving you access to patterns that take advantage of the efficiency of the new flexbox container.
Our metrics show that our users and customers have been using Style Kits mostly for the global design features and functionality, but not so much Template Kits. We also feel that what Elementor users need more, is a stable layout framework of patterns, and efficient controls to globally manage them and customise their style.
No, the latest Style Kit features are oriented towards Container compatibility, and they will not affect your existing sites..
When the Elementor Flexbox Container will be officially released, we should be ready to deploy Style Kits 2.0 within a week or two. Meanwhile, if you are already working with containers, you can test out most of SK 2.0 features.
Let us know what you think about these upcoming changes, feel free to reach out to the Facebook Community or on Twitter, we look forward to hearing your thoughts!