What OLObuild is
OLObuild is the suite’s frame: a WordPress page builder where every page element is a tile: an autonomous block with its own fields, animations and rendering. The library counts 187 tiles in 12 families (100+ already in the Free edition), all on the same engine.
It’s neither a theme with shortcodes nor a generic builder with paid add-ons: animations, text effects, hover and parallax are part of every tile out of the box. It’s built like a modern app, not like a theme.
Tile-based architecture
Every tile is a PHP class Olo_<Name>_Tile inheriting from Olo_Tile_Base and rendering server-side: the HTML comes out ready, with no runtime generation in the browser.
- Auto-discovery: tiles register themselves via
import.meta.glob: adding a tile means creating two files (panel JS config + PHP class). No compiling, no shortcodes. - Centralized helpers:
Olo_Tile_UtilsandOlo_Text_Effectskeep the code DRY across all 187 tiles. - Scoped styles: every instance has a unique UID (
olo-XXX-12345): CSS stays contained, no leaks between instances. - Per-instance hover: UID classes solve the classic "the first element inherits the last one’s hovers" bug.
Every tile inherits entrance animations, text effects, hover, conditional visibility and 6-breakpoint responsiveness from the frame, without writing one extra line.
Inside the builder
The visual editor is a Vue 3 app (Composition API) with a Pinia store and Vite 5 build. Text is edited inline with Tiptap (floating toolbar), drag & drop uses Pragmatic drag-and-drop: 5 kb versus the alternatives’ 80 kb.
- REST API with a clean
olo/v1namespace. - Two dedicated tables:
wp_olo_templatesandwp_olo_revisions: no postmeta abuse, real revisions. - Built-in media search: photos and videos from 8 providers without leaving the builder (Pro edition).
Performance by default
No aggressive cache plugins nor external "optimizers": speed is written into the architecture.
- IntersectionObserver for everything: entrance animations, text effects, parallax: zero scroll listeners.
- Video facade: YouTube/Vimeo show the poster; the heavy iframe loads only on click.
- Browser-native lazy-load on images, videos and galleries.
- Inline critical CSS on above-the-fold blocks; the rest loads async.
- Per-instance scoped CSS: no global rule cascading over the page.
The two editions
| Freeforever · GPL | 100+ native tiles, form builder, dark mode, 11 text effects, 36 animations, a kit on par with competitors’ paid Pro builders. OLOlang included the first year. Distributed on WordPress.org. |
| Pro€29 launch · then €59/yr | The whole library (187 tiles), full animations, media search across 8 providers, OLOlang for life, priority support, 30-day refund. |
Data sheet
| Type | Tile-based WordPress page builder, server-side rendering |
| Requirements | WordPress 5.8+ · PHP 7.4+ |
| Builder frontend | Vue 3 (Composition API) + Pinia · build Vite 5 |
| Style | SASS + Tailwind (prefix mb-) + UIkit |
| Inline editor | Tiptap, rich text with a floating toolbar |
| Drag & drop | @atlaskit/pragmatic-drag-and-drop (~5 kb) |
| REST API | Namespace olo/v1 |
| Database | Dedicated tables wp_olo_templates · wp_olo_revisions |
| Library | 187 tiles · 12 families · auto-discovery (2 files per tile) |
| Animations | CSS keyframes + IntersectionObserver · 36 animations · 11 text effects |
| Responsive | 6 breakpoints inherited by every tile |
| License | GPL, open code, no encrypted blobs |