This review of Divi will delve deep into the features and functionality of this highly acclaimed WordPress theme and page builder.
In 2020, the Divi WordPress Theme emerged as one of the most utilized themes, garnering significant popularity and receiving favorable reviews from both seasoned web developers and individuals with limited coding expertise.
However, the landscape of online Divi WordPress Theme reviews is rife with contradictions. While some users laud its capabilities, others critique its drag-and-drop interface.
Thus, the pivotal question arises: Is investing in the Divi Theme justified? How does it fare against other WordPress page builders?
Peruse our comprehensive Divi theme review to ascertain whether it aligns with your requirements and preferences.
What is the Elegant Themes Divi Builder?
Elegant Themes, an established American company with a decade-long track record of offering premium WordPress Themes, introduced Divi a few years back. Divi is a robust WordPress Theme that incorporates the Divi page builder, enabling website owners to effortlessly craft intricate page layouts through a drag-and-drop interface.
The primary highlight of Divi is its proprietary drag-and-drop builder, known as the Divi page builder. This intuitive tool empowers users to design visually stunning web pages without delving into extensive coding, making it particularly advantageous for website owners with limited coding proficiency.
However, the Divi Theme caters not only to novices but also to seasoned web developers who can leverage its powerful drag-and-drop functionalities to streamline their workflow and save valuable time.
To install Divi on a standard WordPress site, follow these steps:
- Ensure you have the best website hosting and an active Elegant Themes membership, along with a WordPress installation on your server.
- Log in to your Elegant Themes user account. Navigate to the Downloads tab on the left-hand menu. Locate the Divi product option and click Download. Once downloaded, you’ll have a file named Divi.zip on your hard drive.
- Do not unzip the file. Instead, log in to your WordPress site’s admin panel and go to Appearance > Themes.
- Click on the “Add New” button at the top, then select “Upload Theme.”
- Choose the Divi.zip file from your hard drive and upload it. Once uploaded, click on “Install” and then “Activate.”
- Optionally, you can use the Live Preview feature to preview how your site will look with Divi before activating it.
- With these steps completed, Divi is now successfully installed and activated on your WordPress site. Visit your website homepage to see the default theme in use.
How to Make a Divi Child Theme
After installing and activating Divi, it’s ready to be utilized. However, for customizing the visual elements of a WordPress theme, it’s recommended to create a child theme.
A child theme inherits the appearance and functionalities of the parent theme while allowing modifications to any part of it. This approach keeps customizations separate from the parent theme’s files, enabling you to customize your site’s visual aspects while still being able to apply updates from the theme vendor.
Creating a child theme might seem daunting, especially for those unfamiliar with WordPress development. Fortunately, Divi Space, a third-party company, has developed an excellent Child Theme Builder, simplifying the process of creating your own child theme in just a minute.
Exploring the Divi Builder:
Continuing our review of Divi 3.0, let’s delve into its standout feature, the builder. Divi Builder presents itself in two distinct forms: the conventional “Back-end Builder” and the innovative “Visual Editor Builder.” Both options empower users to craft visually appealing websites with consistent content and design features.
In my view, the Visual Builder stands out as the most intriguing. It facilitates the creation of Divi layouts directly on the website’s front-end, allowing users to visualize changes in real-time.
Creating content pages with the builder is a seamless process. The builder operates on three primary building blocks: Sections, Rows, and Modules. Utilizing these elements collectively allows for the creation of a myriad of layouts.
Sections serve to organize large content groupings, such as site headers, for instance.
Rows, nested within Sections, enable users to define any desired number of columns.
Modules, crucially, are fully responsive content elements. With over 40 diverse elements at your disposal, Modules offer versatility in page construction. These built-in Modules encompass basic elements like text, images, email addresses, and buttons, along with more sophisticated options such as Sliders, Portfolio Galleries, and eCommerce Shops.
In essence, crafting a Divi page layout involves dragging and dropping customizable content blocks to visually construct a page tailored to your requirements. This intuitive process enables non-coders to create visually appealing pages that might otherwise be challenging to achieve. Even experienced developers can appreciate the time-saving benefits of using Divi instead of manually coding pages in HTML/CSS.
Now, you might be curious about the range of websites and pages that can be created using the Divi builder features. In this Divi theme review, I’ve curated a selection of examples to showcase its design capabilities:
Is Divi user-friendly?
Divi is renowned for its user-friendly design, meticulously crafted by a team of experienced WordPress developers and web designers with the end user in mind. As a result, many users find the theme and builder to be easily navigable, even for beginners.
One of Divi’s strengths lies in its comprehensive documentation, providing users with extensive resources to maximize their theme’s potential. Additionally, both annual and lifetime memberships include premium 24/7 support, allowing users to seek assistance via email or live chat whenever needed.
It’s worth mentioning that while Divi is generally straightforward and efficient to use, newcomers may initially find it overwhelming. However, with its robust online documentation and dedicated user support, users can quickly overcome any challenges and find answers to their queries.
Is Divi Superior to Elementor?
Divi, Elementor, and Beaver Builder stand out as the most popular page builders for WordPress themes and layouts.
But which one suits you best?
Let’s delve into a comparison between Divi and Elementor.
The primary distinction lies in Divi being both a theme and a page builder, while Elementor functions solely as a drag-and-drop page builder plugin. With Divi, you receive a theme along with the Divi builder plugin upon purchase.
All content modules are bundled within the Divi package, whereas Elementor provides some content modules with additional modules available through the purchase of Elementor Pro.
In terms of pricing, both Divi and Elementor follow a yearly payment model. Elementor offers the most affordable option at $49 for one year/one site, while Divi offers a lifetime membership, an excellent deal enabling lifetime use of Divi on unlimited sites for a one-time fee of $249.
Unlike Elementor, Divi lacks a free version, but they do offer a 30-day money-back guarantee if you’re dissatisfied with your purchase.
So, which option should you select? If you’re content with your current theme but seek a robust page builder, Elementor proves to be a solid choice. Conversely, if you’re initiating a new site or aiming to update your WordPress themes, Divi emerges as a top WordPress theme, seamlessly integrating with various themes and plugins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Divi has been meticulously crafted by seasoned web developers with a focus on SEO and site speed optimization. To further enhance your site’s loading speed and SEO rankings, I recommend utilizing a reliable caching plugin such as W3 Total Cache, along with an SEO plugin like Rank Math SEO or Yoast SEO, both of which are highly regarded.
Concerns have been raised regarding WordPress page builders, as they often heavily rely on shortcodes and may generate bloated code, potentially slowing down your site.
While this concern may hold true in some instances, it’s essential to note that the primary reason for sluggish page performance is often attributed to bloated content, such as large, unoptimized images, video backgrounds, third-party JavaScript code, and more, rather than the code itself. Whether you’re using a builder like Divi or plain HTML/CSS, creating a page with nearly 20 MB of assets will inevitably result in sluggish performance.
If you’re considering using Divi on your WordPress site after reviewing this Divi page builder, there are two pricing options available:
Yearly subscription for $89: This grants you access to Divi along with other Elegant Themes products such as the Extra WordPress Theme, Monarch, and Bloom for a full year.
Lifetime membership for $249: A one-time fee that permits you to use Divi and other Elegant Themes products on all your websites for life.
Regardless of the option you choose, you can cancel your membership or upgrade to a different package at any time after signing up. Elegant Themes also provides a 30-day money-back guarantee on all purchases, ensuring a full refund if you’re not completely satisfied.
Updating the theme can be done through the WordPress update system. If there’s an update available, you’ll see a notification on your WordPress dashboard. Before updating, you’ll need to authenticate your subscription by entering your Username and API Key into the Updates tab of your theme or plugin settings.
Once your account is authenticated, you can update Divi by clicking on the “Update” link under the Appearance > Themes page of your WordPress dashboard.
By default, Divi’s logo appears at the top of every page within the Divi Theme Header. To customize this, navigate to Divi > Theme Options on your WP dashboard, then under the General > General tab, locate the “Logo” field.
From there, you can use your own logo by entering your logo URL or using the upload button to select your logo from your computer’s hard drive.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Divi theme/builder package emerges as an accessible and cost-effective solution for website owners and content creators alike.
For those lacking web development skills, Divi offers a user-friendly platform to swiftly create professional-looking websites that load quickly, all at a fraction of the cost typically associated with hiring an agency or developer.
Even for seasoned coders, Divi presents itself as a valuable tool, streamlining the website creation process and enabling a focus on content creation rather than laborious HTML coding.
Ideal for portfolios, small businesses, and modest e-commerce ventures, Divi proves to be a versatile choice. Moreover, for larger editorial websites, the builder serves as a time-saving asset, facilitating the rapid integration of contact forms, calls to action, and various other content elements into posts and pages.
