How to fix the "you must call the content function" error in Elementor (4 ways)

If you use Elementor, you may occasionally encounter errors specific to this page builder plugin. "You must call the content function" is one of them. This error message is particularly headache-inducing because it can prevent you from using the page builder altogether.

Often, Elementor will throw a "content function" error when you try to edit a page that is not supported by the default builder. This makes solving the problem relatively simple, unless it occurs on every page. Once you've identified the problem, it's a quick fix.

What does the "You must call the content function" error mean?

When encountering the "You must call the content function" error, you will see the following full message:

"Sorry, the content area could not be found on your page. You must call the 'the_content' function in the current template for Elementor to work on this page."

This error message indicates that there may be a problem with your theme because the_content function of WordPress is missing. However, this is not limited to Elementor-friendly themes, as the_content function serves to display the content of a post.

This means that there are several potential reasons for the "You must call the content function" error in Elementor. The most common reason is that you are trying to edit the Elementor unsupportedof certain types of WordPress content. This can happen, for example, when you try to modify a product page that cannot be edited using the free version of the plugin.

Sometimes, this error can also be due toCaching issuesCaused by. In this case, clearing the browser cache should resolve the issue within a few minutes. With that in mind, we will focus on how to resolve more complex scenarios that may trigger this error.

How to fix the "you must call the content function" error in Elementor (4 ways)

1. Edit blog archive pages with Theme Builder

The free version of Elementor does not include the Theme Builder tool.Elementor's Theme Builder works like a WordPress full-site editor. With this tool, you can get theme templates and edit them like regular pages.

If you try to access the Elementor editor directly instead of using the Theme Builder when customizing your blog archive page, you may get a "You must call the content function" error.

Go to "templates">"Theme Generator", and then select the template you want to edit on the next page.

After selecting a template, the Elementor editor will launch and you will be able to make changes as usual. There is also access to a collection of pre-built designs for theme templates:

After editing the blog archive template, you can save the changes using the Elementor page builder.

2. Edit product pages with Theme Builder

If you try to edit a single product page in Elementor, WooCommerce's "Product" custom post type may cause a content function error. This is because the free version of Elementor does not support product page editing.

If you want to put WooCommerce together with Elementor Integration, Pro license required. After activating Elementor Pro, you can use its Theme Builder tool to edit product and store page templates. To access the Theme Builder, go to "templates">"Theme Generator".

By default, Elementor Pro does not have preset product page templates. However, you can access and import Elementor templates that can be used on your website.

Just like the blog archive page, you will be able to customize every design aspect of the product template using the Elementor editor. The only difference here is the way you access the Elementor editor.

3. Make sure you are not reusing page blocks

Reusing WordPress page slugs may trigger a "You must call content function" message in Elementor. By default, WordPress does not allow multiple blog posts or pages to use the same slug, but may allow you to set the same alias for a page, product, or post category.

This can cause confusion in WordPress permalinks. If this happens, the Elementor page builder may think you're trying to edit a product page or other type of template, necessitating the use of the Theme Builder (advanced users only).

To prevent this, make sure you're not reusing the same slug for different types of elements, and remember that you can easily change the slug for any page using the block editor.

4. Make sure your custom page template includes the_content function

As the error message indicates, if you are using a template that does not contain the WordPress the_content function, which may trigger a "You must call the content function" Elementor error.

A quick way to see if a WordPress theme is causing the error is to switch to the default theme, such as Twenty Twenty-One or Twenty Twenty-Two. If the Elementor content function error disappears after you switch themes, it means that the_content function was missing from the previous template.

In this case, you have two options: switch themes permanently, or edit the page template that triggered the error. Note that safely modifying page templates requires some knowledge of theme development, basic PHP, and code review.

In most cases, you will need to edit the page.html or single.html template files within the theme being used. You can find these files by navigating to the wp-content/themes directory and locating the active theme's folder. Once inside, look for the template folder.

Then, open the file to be edited and check if it contains the following functions:

Summary:

The "You must call the content function" Elementor error may prevent you from editing a specific page (or even multiple pages) using the page builder. Most of the time, you will encounter this error because you are trying to edit a page template that is not supported by the free version of Elementor.

If you are experiencing content function errors in Elementor, follow these steps to troubleshoot. The first two methods require you to have an Elementor Pro license:

1. Use Theme Builder to edit blog archive pages.
2. Edit product pages using the Theme Builder.
3. Make sure you're not reusing page blocks.
4. Make sure the custom page template includes the_content function.