Divi Theme Review – Is it Really the Best Multipurpose WordPress Theme? [2023]
If you have been working with WordPress for some time now, Divi WordPress Theme surely sounds like a familiar name.
And if not, let me brief you a little about the theme. It is one of the most powerful and visually stunning, multipurpose WordPress themes that can give your website a perfect look.
Also read:
– Divi Theme Review & Is it Really the Best Multipurpose WordPress Theme?
– Beaver Builder vs. Divi: Which WordPress Page Builder Should You Use?
Packed with a range of robust features, this theme is compatible with all modern browsers and with the latest versions of WordPress. You will be stunned by the flexibility it offers in terms of customization. Every bit of the website can be touched upon to get the best look that your website deserves.
So let’s have a detailed look into the Divi WordPress theme and what exactly this theme offers.
Why do you need the Divi Theme?
Divi from Elegant Themes is one of the most trending WordPress themes and powers more than 701,600 active WordPress sites worldwide.
Such a massive community of happy users can vouch for its user-friendliness and customizable functionalities.
But, Divi doesn’t refer to only Divi theme; many people don’t know that Divi is a duo combination of “Divi Theme” and “Divi page builder.”
- Divi theme can be used to stylize and customize different themes options like; header, sidebar, generic layouts.
- Divi Page Builder is a powerful visual page builder that allows the users to drag and drop modules to create a stunning homepage, sales pages, and portfolio sections. It can be used with the Divi theme or any other theme as well.
The availability of pre-built layouts is another unique function that this them provides. These layouts are highly customizable and come with the ability to save the designs or sections or even the elements as global elements that can be reused later.
The Divi theme and builder are easier to use for not only developers but also for the WordPress novice. They can visually create a website by using drag and drop page builder within no time.
In addition to these all great benefits, another reason is design consistency. That means you can create any design, text blocks, and page appearances and use it as a Divi template. In this way, you can get consistent designs across your website.
But, how Divi compares with Elementor or Beaver Builder?
It would be worth to discuss how Divi compares with direct competitors – Elementor or Beaver builder.
For Elementor or Beaver to work, you would need to buy a separate theme as a base to use their templates. For you, this could end up using a very basic theme or spending a few extra bucks to buy the premium one that offers compatible layouts with these builders.
On the other hand, the combination of Divi theme with Divi builder makes it a far more convenient option than the likes of Elementor, Beaver, or any other page builder.
And this is why Divi is regarded as one of the best Multipurpose WordPress themes ever built.
Looking inside Divi WordPress Theme
Once you have your theme installed, you will see the Divi options reflecting on your dashboard.
Go to Divi -> Divi Theme Options
Here you will see 8 different tabs on your screen – General, Navigation, Builder, Layout, Ads, SEO, Integration, and Updates.
In the General tab, you can upload a logo, enable or disable navigation bar, pick colors, add your Google API key, etc. With Divi Gallery option, you can replace your default WordPress gallery with the one that comes with Divi.
Not just this. You have more options to control how your site works. You can define the number of posts to display, show your social media links on your website, add smooth scrolling, and a more.
In the Navigation tab, you get to make changes to the settings for navigating your pages.
Under the Builder tab, you can enable, disable Divi builder on page, posts, or projects. You can even enable static CSS file generation along with a Classic editor.
The Layout settings offer you the option to make changes to your post, page, or general website layout. You can enable or disable the option to place thumbnails, date, author name, comments on your posts or pages.
The Ads tab allows you to set the settings for your ads. In this tab, you can add the AdSense code, ad destination URL, banner image size, etc.
Under the SEO tab, you can enable your custom keywords, custom description, titles, canonical URLs, etc. By enabling canonical URLs, you can prevent duplicate indexing of your pages and posts by Google. You can add the meta descriptions for a particular page and the home page. You can also enable the meta description, meta keywords, etc., to make your website highly SEO-friendly.
As mentioned before, Divi is one of the most modern and advanced WordPress themes that has been jam-packed with great features. Let’s highlight some of the key features for you.
Drag and drop Visual Editor (Divi Page Builder)
The Divi page builder can be used on both your existing posts and the brand new ones. Let us try it out on an old post.
So you go to your dashboard and then to the front-end of one of your posts. Now launch the Divi Visual Builder by clicking on the “Enable Visual Builder” on the top of your screen.
A new screen will appear with three options. Here I choose to use the existing content so I select the first option.
https://youtu.be/yzLYA3yDKvU
Now you can use it to edit your existing post. When you click on a particular section of your post, you will see some small icons appear on your screen. You can use them to edit your post.
Let’s have a better understanding of it by creating a brand new post.
Start by simply going to your dashboard and clicking on the Add New Post option.
Now select the Use Divi Builder option.
You will now be directed to a new screen with 3 different options. Since it is a new document, let’s select the first option that lets you build your post from scratch.
Next, you have will have 3 blocks using which you can build your page. Your first section will already be on your page. You can use the “+” button to add a new section.
By clicking on the “+” button, you will have a new window pop-up. There you will have a number of options to choose from. This is actually the content type that you want on your page. So depending on your requirement, you can select the option from this list.
It can be a text audio clip, a call-to-action button, contact forms, dividers, images etc.
Here’s a screenshot of the list that will appear.
To add text to your page, select the Text option from the options.
The following will appear on your screen:-
Now add your text and use the styling options to edit your text.
Once you are done, save your setting in order not to lose them.
You can now see the end result reflect right on to your left. This is how it will appear once your page is published.
Here’s how to do accordion to your post:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6F63PVRlPE&feature=youtu.be
Divi Premade Layouts
A great way to skip the extra work is to use a pre-built template for your page. Divi offers more than 170 layout packs ready to be used right away.
Just like in the picture you will see a window pop-up on your screen.
On the search box on your left, browse to find for your perfect category.
Let’s go with Food and Drink. Under this, we have 20 layout packs.
You can choose one and click on the “Use this Layout“.
Cloning An Existing Page
Divi also offers you with the option to clone a page that already exists on your site.
You can use the search field to find the exact page you want. Otherwise, choose on that appears on your right.
Now click on the page you want to clone. Your existing design will start importing. And a replica will show on your screen. Go ahead and replace the content and the images. Cloning a page layout saves your time from creating what you have already created.
Divi offers several header styles to choose from. Generally, by default, you will always see your logo on the left and your menu on the right. But you can change this alignment.
To customize your headers, go to your Dashboard -> Divi -> Theme Customizer.
You will see several options here. You can click on each individually for more customization options. Here we will focus on the headers.
You will have a whole list of options you can work upon. Click on the individual buttons to customize your headers to meet your requirements.
Other Key Features
- Woo-Commerce Friendly
- Right-click Control
- Import and Export Layouts
- Content Elements
- In-line Editing
- Vertical Navigation
- Clone Tools
- Post Formats
- Powerful Customizer
- and much more
And a lot more. Overall this list is extensively huge so you will definitely love it with all its flexibility. Let’s check out few other key features:
Are you Stuck with Divi for Life?
This question has been raised many times by WordPress users if they would be stuck with Divi for life?
The short answer to this is both – Yes & No.
Yes, Divi theme uses shortcodes to design your WordPress site. That means if you ever tried to move away from using Divi theme, you may lose your old content design. That’s a significant shortcoming if you wish to switch your website themes occasionally.
The WordPress themes are the outfit of your website and to give it a fresher look, you should only focus on updating it with high-quality content rather than spending more time on redesigning or redoing its layout.
But, to overcome the issue of shortcode “locked-in,” Divi has introduced its Divi builder. So if you plan to change your WordPress theme in the near future, the Divi builder, which is compatible with all other themes, will assist you in reordering your website.
Another solution to this could be using a shortcode cleaner plugin that can help you in cleaning all the shortcodes used in frontend or backend editor.
So ideally, you aren’t stuck with the Divi theme but with the WordPress page builder. And this is universal.
Irrespective of the page builder you are using, including Elementor, Themify, Visual Composer, etc., you are bound to lose a few layouts and design once you decide to switch away from it.
Divi WordPress Theme – Pros and Cons
Divi has lots of options and flexibility that you’ll hardly found in any other WordPress theme.
However, sometimes too many options can be overwhelming, and users may get confused in making their decisions.
Here I am listing the most practical positives and negatives about the Divi theme that you should consider.
Pros
- Divi theme, in combination with the Divi builder, has proven to be a great combo, that has generated massive userbase of fans.
- Divi is a multipurpose theme, and you can create any website, including an eCommerce too.
- Divi builder is a front end editor where you can see all the changes made without refreshing the page.
- Divi theme comes with 18 pre-made layouts that are easily customizable.
- You can create as many sections or elements as a global element, and save them for later use.
- Divi modules are highly responsive and fit into all screen sizes and look great on smartphones, tabs, or Desktop.
- Divi theme is compatible with almost all well-renowned plugins.
- It supports up to 12 languages.
- Elegant Themes offers free layouts weekly on their blog that you can download for free.
- Extensive documentation with plenty of tutorials and a dedicated YouTube channel that will assist you in creating custom layouts.
- Divi allows inbuilt A/B testing and CRO features.
- Sucuri certifies Divi for using secured theme coding.
Cons
- The Divi builder is sometimes slow to work with. It takes too much time to open, save, or edit.
- Divi uses a shortcode based builder, that’s the real “locked-in” factor. Once you start your website with the Divi, moving away from it would be a total mess.
Divi Theme Pricing – How much does Divi cost?
Divi Theme membership comes with two license options.
- Yearly license: – $89
- Lifetime license: – $249
The yearly license gives you access to all Elegant themes products, including future updates, product releases, and support for one year.
The lifetime subscription, with once and for all payment options, is lucrative for price-conscious users. This gives you access to the entire collection of themes, plugins, builders, and hundreds of website layout pack with lifetime support.
What other products come bundled with Divi?
- Divi Builder – A drag and drop builder that can be used with any theme.
- Extra Theme – WordPress themes for blog and magazines.
- Bloom Plugin – An email opt-in plugin.
- Monarch Plugin – A social sharing plugin.
- 100+ Website Layout Packs – Ready to use or edit pre-built website layouts.
If spending money on a product you never used before seems difficult to you, Divi offers a full 30 days money-back guarantee.
This allows you to try Divi and all other products from Elegant Themes, and claim the refund within 30 days if you don’t find it fit for your website.
Divi Theme Review – Should You Buy it or Not?
So the final question: Should You Buy Divi Theme or Not?
There is no precise or single answer to this. Divi could be a fantastic companion if you want to create pages to stun your visitors. And that’s true. As long as you use the theme on your website, it will actively work to replace your shortcodes with the ones that you intend to use to make your site appear impressive. No doubt, Divi builder is probably one of the best drag and drop page builders you can ever have.
On top of that, the Divi builder is continuously striving to add more functionality by enhancing its features.
If you don’t want to waste your time creating website layouts, you will surely find something ready to use or edit from its vast library of website layout packs.
Despite the few shortcomings, such as Divi modules are built with shortcodes, it’s a good value all-rounder WordPress theme. It has its perks and weakness, and it totally depends upon your business needs, so think wisely before you purchase the Divi theme.
What makes Divi unique is the way it works when coupled with the Divi builder.
If you are still unsure of what you could achieve using Divi, check out some customer showcases for more ideas.
Other Alternatives to Divi Theme
- BeTheme or Astra theme with Elementor Builder.
- Ultra theme with Themify Builder.
