SP Page Builder 4.0 Alpha 1: A Fully Visual Joomla Page Builder

15 December 2021

6 min read

SP Page Builder 4.0 Alpha 1: A Fully Visual Joomla Page Builder

The wait is finally over! Your favorite Joomla page builder got a whole new look and feel and is now fully equipped to change your Joomla development for the better.

We have reinvented SP Page Builder with a brand new design system and advanced functionalities. And today, we are beyond excited to be able to share with you the first Alpha of this fully visual Joomla page builder.

Today’s (Dec 15th) Alpha version is an experimental release and not ready for production sites. We wholeheartedly appreciate your interest in SP Page Builder 4.0. You are invited to try this Alpha version, but DO Not use it on a production site

Please note this is an Alpha release. We recommend you run this version on a test site and give us your valuable feedback.

Stay tuned to find out what SP Page Builder 4 has in store for you.

Why SP Page Builder 4.0?

Even though SP Page Builder already had a front-end editor, it took a decent amount of time and headache to switch back and forth from backend to frontend. The new SP Page Builder will not only speed up the development process for experienced users, but beginners can also catch up too pretty fast without any prior development knowledge.

It is now more lightweight, efficient, and feature-rich. Wave goodbye to guesswork as we have made everything visual and instant.

Brand New System Design

We have dropped the backend editor completely. From creating and managing pages, add-ons, integrations, and settings - everything that you could do from the backend is now doable from the front-end that too more easily!

It may seem overwhelming at first to those who are used to the backend editor, but once you get the hang of it, you are bound to fall in love with the new SP Page Builder. The changes are quite a shift and intended to speed up your development.

Ultra-Flexible Front-end Editor

Save yourself the time and hassle and boost your productivity with the brand new flexible front-end editor of SP Page Builder 4.0.

Create beautiful pages through live editing with the powerful drag & drop front-end page builder where everything is instant and visual.

Manage Everything with Organized Dashboards

Wondering how to manage your website without the backend editor? Don’t worry. Even if you have never built your Joomla website with SP Page Builder before, the new dashboard will undoubtedly make you feel like a pro! Taking a more modern approach, your favorite Joomla page builder is coming with intuitive and organized front-end dashboards where everything is manageable from one spot.

Create new pages, edit, or add them to the menu right from the dashboard, where everything is intuitive and guided. You can also manage your Addons, custom icons, integrations, languages, and other important settings right from the dashboard.

More Polished and Functional Addons

SP Page Builder already has a huge collection of Addons that support all your design needs and extended functionalities. Our pool of Addons got even bigger as we have added 4 new functional Addons to give you more flexibility to craft your site.

4 New Functional Add-ons

Rows: It’s very simple to use. The Row addon allows you to add rows with customization options.

Columns: Add as many columns as you want to the rows by simply using the Columns addon.

Div: The Div addon allows for the grouping of content blocks under an <div> element with ease

Lottie: Easily add and display Lottie animations with the Lottie addon.

Existing Addons Got Even Better

Adding Addons inside Addons was never this easy! Now, you can add as many addons as you want inside the Accordion, Tabs, and Table addon simply with the power of drag & drop. This will let you create any layout you want with minimal effort.

Freedom to Add Custom Icons

When it comes to adding visual meaning to your website element now you have the freedom to use your own custom icons. Instead of fiddling around with custom code now, you can easily upload and use your own customs icon pack with SP Page Builder. How amazing is that!

Customize Content With 6 Different Viewports

Preview how your content will look like on the storefront and customize your content accordingly with 6 different viewports.

Desktop
Laptop
Tablet Landscape
Tablet Portrait
Phone Landscape
Phone

Manage Workflow Using Layers

Keep everything in check with the new Layers tool of SP Page Builder 4.0. It turns your builder into a layered interface, much like Photoshop or Sketch Layers, and lets you customize everything at any stage.

A More Visually Appealing Interface

One of the biggest perks of SP Page Builder is its huge collection of layout bundles. Now you can view all the Layouts, Blocks, and Saved Items through the use of tabs and select the category as well.

Enhanced Inline Editing System

Edit everything right on the front-end with the more enhanced inline editor. This is going to save you time and is handier as you don’t have to use the sidebar to make modifications. From changing colors, alignments, adding links, and accessing addon settings, the new inline editor is designed thoughtfully to make everything manageable from one place.

Easily Resize & Configure

Like we have just said no more guesswork, the new SP Page Builder 4.0 will let you rest the cursor on the right side of the row or column boundary and then drag the boundary until the row/column width is what you want.

Backward Compatibility

One of the most useful features of SP Page Builder is its backward compatibility. SP Page Builder 4 is upgradable from the previous versions.

Other Notable Improvements

Apart from the above-mentioned features and improvements, SP Page Builder 4.0 also has other striking changes such as optimized codebase, improved media manager, and flexible frontend sidebar to deliver exquisite performance.

Flexible Front-end Sidebar

With the SP Page Builder 4.0, you can pin the frontend sidebar editor to the left, right, or keep it floated like before making it really pleasant to edit pages on any device.

Revamped Media Manager

Easily upload, search, delete, or rename images on the fly using the new improved Media Manager.

Tell Us What You Think

Your constant feedback and suggestions always help us do better. Let us know how you feel about the new changes in the comments. Keep your eyes on our blog and our newsletters for more updates on SP Page Builder 4 and releases. Happy developing!

Warning: This is an experimental build intended for testing purposes. Please don't use this experimental version in production sites!

This Alpha version is an experimental release and not ready for production sites.

Try SP Page Builder 4.0.0! (Alpha 1)

Zareen Tasnim

Technical Content Writer

Zareen is a technical content writer at JoomShaper. She's a tech enthusiast, writer by day, programmer by night, and always a foodie at heart!

Chris

2 years ago

Some really interesting new features, looks very good!

#12089

Sajeeb Ahamed

Glad to know that.

#12091

Dmitry Goncharov

Hallelujah

#12090

Paul Frankowski

I told you that it will be published soon. Have fun.

#12092

Aleksandr

How about custom addons? Do i need to refactor them?

#12093

Kawshar Ahmed

Only responsive CSS needs to be adjusted but we have created some handy functions which will take care of most of the things.

Thanks

#12095

great job. thx

#12094

Thanks

#12096

Alvaro

Congratulations on adding the custom icon options. In the same way, I previously asked to add the option for the massive button style, that is, to allow us to create or add button styles and that these styles can be selected in all the addons that have the option to add buttons, without the need to have to override the addons, this would be great!

Thanks

#12097

Thanks for your suggestion. After releasing the stable version, we will focus on improving the core features. SP Page Builder's future is bright :)
Thanks

#12103

ssnobben

Will be interesting! Hope its code speed optimized as well! working with php 8.1 and Joomla 4 :) ?

#12098

Code is optimized and works with both Joomla. But, never tested for PHP 8.1. You may help us with this.

Thanks

#12104

Rafael Alvarez

We did tested current version with PHP 8.0x and had issues, so we were forced to start our website with PHP 7.4 instead. We can test this alpha with PHP8 and let you know, but I think would be nice if you can start testing PHP8 cause PHP7 is close to end support, and we will start to have joomla warnings: https://www.php.net/supported-versions.php

#12130

Laurent

Very very good work :-)
but why, again, using date to sort images inside media manager?
see here : https://prnt.sc/235re7a
does not make sense.
it's more logical to allow user to customize the directory where he wants to save images.

#12100

We will try to add an option for media management.
Thanks

#12105

thanks.
for example, from my perspective, I prefer to store images inside /images folder instead of /images/12/23 etc....
because when image are sorted by date, it's very complex to browse them from folder GUI.

#12121

also, another idea, adding a new button to exit a page and come back to this page instead of exit to dashboard : https://prnt.sc/235u4ie

#12101

We will consider that if more people find the feature useless.
Thanks

#12106

kweb

I have never used Front end Editor and built up my Websites only with the backend Editor over years because i find it more clear. And now you simply dopped it. Not happy about that.

#12102

Please give it a try. Hopefully, version 4 will amaze you.
Thanks

#12107

Everybody of my clients liked the backend System and that you can concentrate on Layout without beiing irritated with Designs. I have the feeling the dont care about companies who have built up many Websites over years with just dropping an Essential Tool. Well we will see...this version will have a big impact also to All the templaters out there.

#12108

Murugappan Ramanathan

Congrats. Looks fantastic but still disappointing. What we need most here is to be able to add custom fonts with ease and also improved custom styling. I hope you considering these too to make it really wholesome.

#12109

Thanks. After releasing the stable version, we will focus on improving the core features. Maybe we will focus also on this topic, because some webmasters (mostly from the EU) asked for it as well.

#12115

And from Russia , too , have been asking for a long time )

#12146

Mark Coles

I fell in love with SP Page Builder after trying several others.
What sets it apart from others is the back-end editing!
If something is 'off' on the frontend I can check and make fine changes in the backend. I NEED this fallback.
PLEASE don't get rid of the backend edit possibility!
It's my last resort for checking out layout errors.

#12110

Paco Guio

I totally agree, editing the backend is very important, I think that without this option the SP Page Builder loses 30% of its power. At this moment there are many design things that I can only do with productivity from the backend, the frontend edition is fine for beginners, but for experienced people in some cases it is not very optimal. Please, I ask the same: DO NOT ELIMINATE THE POSSIBILITY OF EDITING FROM THE BACKEND, PLEASE!
Thank you for this splendid work.

#12148

Ginius

It’s nice to have a new feature with amazing frontend editor, but this will bring a big security issue with it. The way Joomla is now build front end and backend are separated. This mean frontend login can be disabled and backend still active.this is save.

In this new situation frond-end login needs activated. This will cause a lot of false login attempts. Akk look so backend security is then lost.

My first opinion, nice idea, but keep the security save. It would be a shame if page builder will break Joomla’s security.

Could be an idea that pagebuilder frontend can only be activated from the backend. Just an idea.

#12111

tr0nik

great, now we will test! A great gift for the new year)

#12112

Thanks a lot. Don't remember that it's still the Alpha testing version.

#12116

coconutguy

I totally agree with Kweb, the front end is not for me as well. Can you put the possibility to restore the backend ? For me the backend is a breeze and easier to work with but the biggest issues are my clients. A lot of them like the SPPB backend and they are used to it now, but to bring the design to the front end is a huge leap. I downloaded the Beta and not really liking the updates to be honest. I know it's still beta and rough around the edges and needs works but I hope that the final end product will have the classic backend editor.

#12113

Thanks for your opinion. But could you please tell me which makes you comfortable of using the backend and why don't you like the frontend? Your opinion could help us improving the product.

#12117

It's just a more solid and native working area as it blends well with Joomla. We just want clients to see SPPB on the menu bar, open it and jump straight to work not send them on the frontend (where they will drag and drop) - I actually hide frontend editor for my clients as well.
I also believe the backend gives us designers more flexibility too! Hope these points that Kweb raised gets taken into consideration as a lot of people might stick to the (last) version that has backend support. Thank you!

#12138

i agree. Please, don't give up on the backend.

sometimes we work at the customer directly on the macbook with a small 13 inch display.

There are images, ore add-ons that are deactivated simply in the way when you work and sometimes you can not activate and click on the field that you want to edit.

This is annoying and takes time away. then I always like to go directly to the backend and work there, because the hidden image or add-on is not in the way.

Thank you!

#12141

It is much more productive, comfortable and orderly to work with the backend. For me and many people I know, it is much better to design from the backend, especially to create the structure of the layouts (rows and columns), from the backend 70% less time is invested with fewer errors. It's infinitely better to work from the backend

#12149

Ugur Uygur

Can you put the possibility to restore the backend? Backend working feature should come back

Thank you

#12114

Please tell us why do you like the backend and why don't you like the frontend editing?

#12118

There is nothing to restore. It's a new architecture. If we want the backend then we have to code that from the scratch again. However, let us know the issues you are facing during day-to-day use and we will work on fixing the issues to make the product more usable.

Thanks

#12119

Its simple Sajeeb. On frontend editing your are irritated with all designs - you are getting spammed with possibilities to add spaces and options you dont really need right now. AND you have to scroll a lot of more to just bring everything in shape. The backend view was clear - you had an overview to everything in quick and easy way. To remove this feature is in my opinion a big step back - the backend view was the tool which made SP Page Builder special.

#12131

In fact, by managing the site from the backend, you can adapt more to the dominance of the site. Managing from the backend is a different world and now we will open a new page and get used to it. I won't explain too much as there will be no backend. Thank you to all the staff and developers.

#12134

Also there should be a button to return to the backend panel after editing.

#12135

I'm trying to get used to it before continuing the test :) Thank you

#12136

Kawshar Ahmed , why do you have to code something that already exist ? Makes no sense to me.

#12140

copycat

I'm the one who also fancy editing and working in back-end and this visually front-editing is too distracting to me, but it seems that JoomShaper won't bring backend-editor back. So we need to adjust to new way of working and editing or switch to another solution.

#12120

Agree

#12132

Well if this is the case, I see a lot of people moving somewhere else or at least using an older version.

#12139

But, nevertheless, big applause to JoomShaper! They are one of few professional companies in Joomla world. They have great products and all of us that use and love Joomla should support them and buy membership. WordPress is killing all CMS systems and I'm afraid that someday Joomla will die.

Keep up with good work. I'll try to adopt to new front-editing way of building websites.

#12122

Tim v.d.w

That all sounds very good and I'm excited about the new features as Lottie and much more what sppagebuilder brings, but I also have to say that I prefer to work with the backend and that deleting the backend is a step backwards. There are so many who prefer to work via the backend, in the frontend I also occasionally have shifts that I cannot click on some tools, I prefer to test my changes via the backend preview
saves the backend

#12123

Don't worry Tim, You can click every tools now :) . We've re-organised the whole structure and for managing various elements we bring you a brand new layers panel. If some element feels hard to reach then you can catch it via the layers panel.

#12124

Pavel

Hi Sajeeb. It is so but there is a nuance. And this is in the visual representation. Here is a simple example: I often use "ROW HTML" Addon in absolute position to create anchor links. At the same time, it disappears from the visual representation. If I return to the project in a few months, I'll just forget that it is there. And I can not guess to check the layers panel. All addons are visible only in the backend editor

#12155

Paul

I have been using SP for years now and have it on about 100 websites, I am so not happy about this at all, in fct furious, I now have to keep switching between back and front end, it is still very buggy and txt boxes hand on the page and cant close them.
I am all for change but it has to be for the betterm it seems this is just lazy to make your development job easier, with no thought to or questions on how your customers want to use.
We have just spent weeks training 10 staff how to use Joomla 3.0 and all our clients who use it, will now need re-training. I hate working on the front end and I have been developing websites for 25 years, not only that we you have timed it with the release of Joomla 4 which makes the task twice the work to learn both of them. There was nothing wrong with the back end editor, it was quicker and even though it was buggy as well you could work around them easy. Now I have to set up pages then go back to the back end to add them to the menu, and what happens now with integration into articles, I have to yet again flick bakwards and forwards between front and back end, it is totally riddiculous, the worst thing you could have ever done to your software - I feel you may end up losing a long standing customer as this is really not practical for my company any longer.
BRING BACK THE BACK END EDITOR

#12125

Agree Paul - Im in the same situation. Over 50 websites built up with SPPB and now I have to re-train all my customers.

#12133

To add to my last comment, just realised we would now have to put a sign in live on the front end again which is a security issue and something we do not want on our website?

why o why have you done this, this is really a very very bad move on your part, I am so angry right now about this
I have tried it and I dont like it, it is already annoying and our IT manager is already looking at other packages and options for us, we can not use this any longer, so sad as we loved it.

#12126

Alex

Очень привлекательный модуль! Слежу за развитием. Успехов!

#12127

Joomla! Man

WOOOW!!!

#12128

Looks nice. Thansk for sharing. Currently we did started to develop a new website, looking at this .... do you have aprox schedule for the production release ?. Our main concern is if once released will be compatible with the pages developed with earlier version.

#12129

Joomagaper, who no reaction on my post about security. I now see that more people has the concerns about this front-end editing. Would be nice is you can react on my form post about this issue.

It could be I oversee something, but I don’t think so. Pleas read and comment my other post.

#12137

kriss

Another new version. Nice. Unfortunately, with every update, certain things suddenly stop working.
SP Pagebuilder is great for building individual pages. But when it comes to managing a lot of (blog) posts it becomes difficult.
But what I really miss is a better integration into Joomla! System.

What i really miss is
- Dynamic content support
- Support of Joomla's own custom fields
- The support of versioning when using the Joomla article integration
- A builder for blog view views (including the use of custom fields)
- Filter function for the blog / tag views

Thanks and best regards
Christoph

#12142

Yes. There is a great lack of dynamic content design. For example, blog categories.

#12147

John Clapps

I do all my development in the backend right now but this is fantastic and I can't wait for the launch version. This will save sooooo much time.

What is the timeline for Beta and Launch versions roughly. Just an estimate - I have a few dev sites that won't come out for a few months. I can start using it on those.

#12143

Jan 2022

#12152

"We have dropped the backend editor completely. "

SERIOUSLY??

that's just plain stupid. have ANY user asked for it? Why wouldn't you solve all the problems your forum is overfilled with? Why invent new pain in ass for developers?

#12144

I have been very faithful to your products for a few years, since I find them fantastic, and I also usually recommend them to many people. Hope the Joomshaper team will reconsider and back down on removing the ability to edit from the backend. It would be a big step backwards and I sincerely believe that it is an obstacle for many developers, a group where I include myself. I think the best strategy would be to listen and pay attention to your community and customers. All the best

#12150

Luca Spada

After installing the new SP Page Build 4 (Alpha 1), some contents have been duplicated, modifying the original or fonts and layout have been altered, now even if they looks good when I open the Page editor, but once I save and close it, they come back in live with alterations or changes, differing from the original live version. Hope this will be fixed with the future releases.
Overall I like the new version, I just need to spend some extra time to see where all old features have been moved to and how they are now accessible in the new editor.

#12153

blue_Shift

Front end only? I'm highly dubious of that - half the time I can't get front end edit to work at all. This is a non-starter given my spotty experience or (you may well think) ability.

What I think is the biggest hole in the capability lineup is user-defined image/folder management, including the ability to add a module that simply reads the images that are there, and to add filtering and sorting - this could probably sell as a standalone product.

I just installed SPPB v3 on a site headed for J4 but I think I will remove it for now rather than create a dependency that becomes a cul-de-sac.

#12154

Andrey Uvikov

Support ignored me and problem with SPPB. https://www.joomshaper.com/forum/question/8755

Dont use this product with Joomla 4. You will get a problem.

#12158

Rob

Enhanced Inline Editing System please make it movable, it's always in the way.
I can't see what I'm making or changing.
text block please on the side again.

#12176

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SP Page Builder 4.0 Alpha 1: A Fully Visual Joomla Page Builder

Why SP Page Builder 4.0?

Brand New System Design

Ultra-Flexible Front-end Editor

Manage Everything with Organized Dashboards

More Polished and Functional Addons

4 New Functional Add-ons

Existing Addons Got Even Better

Freedom to Add Custom Icons

Customize Content With 6 Different Viewports

Manage Workflow Using Layers

A More Visually Appealing Interface

Enhanced Inline Editing System

Easily Resize & Configure

Backward Compatibility

Other Notable Improvements

Flexible Front-end Sidebar

Revamped Media Manager

Tell Us What You Think

Zareen Tasnim

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Company

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Login to your account

SP Page Builder 4.0 Alpha 1: A Fully Visual Joomla Page Builder

Why SP Page Builder 4.0?

Brand New System Design

Ultra-Flexible Front-end Editor

Manage Everything with Organized Dashboards

More Polished and Functional Addons

4 New Functional Add-ons

Existing Addons Got Even Better

Freedom to Add Custom Icons

Customize Content With 6 Different Viewports

Manage Workflow Using Layers

A More Visually Appealing Interface

Enhanced Inline Editing System

Easily Resize & Configure

Backward Compatibility

Other Notable Improvements

Flexible Front-end Sidebar

Revamped Media Manager

Tell Us What You Think

Zareen Tasnim

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Help

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