Divi 5.0 Aims to Bring Greater Compatibility with Gutenberg – WP Tavern

Divi, the favored industrial WordPress theme and web page builder created by Elegant Themes, has announced main adjustments coming in model 5.0 that represent an entire rewrite of Divi’s core applied sciences. The replace, which is predicted to be launched in beta subsequent 12 months, will deal with efficiency, stability, scalability, and extendability, but it surely won’t introduce any new options.

“We’re recreating Divi’s backend framework, cleansing up years of technical debt, altering Divi’s storage format and enhancing its rendering mechanism,” Elegant Themes CEO Nick Roach stated. “This new model of Divi will be capable of processes design settings far more shortly.”

Some of the notable adjustments coming in 5.0 is that Divi will probably be migrating away from shortcodes.

“This modification will carry Divi into alignment with the way forward for WordPress, which is evolving in a brand new course,” Roach stated.

Divi will migrate to a brand new JSON format that’s just like the best way Gutenberg shops knowledge. The legacy shortcodes will proceed to work and for a time Divi will lazy load within the outdated framework as essential.

“In case you are utilizing Divi shortcodes exterior of your submit content material, it is going to be extremely advisable to exchange these shortcodes with our new json-based parts,” Roach stated. “In any other case, you’re going to take a efficiency hit.”

As a part of the 5.0 replace, Divi’s builders plan to incorporate a button to carry out the migration away from shortcodes, which is able to robotically change posts to make use of the brand new system.

Divi 5.0 can even introduce a brand new Builder API, which Roach stated “may additionally open up alternatives for Divi/Gutenberg cross-compatibility:”

Builders acquainted with creating blocks for WordPress will discover a number of similarities within the Divi 5.0 module API. WordPress blocks will probably be extra simply tailored to Divi and WordPress builders will be capable of leap head first into constructing issues for our group. We’re constructing this new model of Divi to work in concord with WordPress.

Information of the approaching replace was well-received by Divi customers who posted further questions and issues within the feedback. A couple of customers have been skeptical in regards to the new course however keen to see the way it pans out.

Peter R, a present person who stated he appreciates Divi’s “nicer and smoother UX,” together with the collections of design settings, indicated that Divi appears to be falling behind what the block editor provides for constructing pages with dynamic knowledge:

As good as Divi 5.0 sounds, it’s simply sooo far-off… particularly because it received’t have the options I’m in search of at launch which is able to then take even longer if these options seem in any respect. I used to be actually hoping Divi 5.0 would transfer extra in direction of the Gutenberg block builder (apart from back-end knowledge storage and so forth).

There appears to be an actual arms race occurring with block builders proper now. Many are including options that Divi merely can’t compete with now and can in all probability take years to match if in any respect. Much more versatile layouts particularly on the subject of making your personal submit loops and so forth, extra highly effective options for displaying dynamic knowledge or for gathering and storing knowledge, and the power to mix-and-match blocks from completely different creators so that you don’t rely on a single supplier like Divi.

Greater than 2,425,411 live websites are presently utilizing Divi and an an extra 1,486,812 websites that used the product traditionally, in response to BuiltWith. The almost 10-year-old product has grown steadily for years however appears to have plateaued starting in 2020.

Embracing the best way WordPress goes will probably be essential for the web page builder’s continued success, and Elegant Themes appears to be acknowledging this with the deliberate replace.

“On the block theme entrance, as part of Divi 5.0, we’re additionally transitioning right into a Block Primarily based theme, and since Divi 5.0 is definitely internally constructed utilizing the identical ‘packages’ that Gutenberg itself consists of, Divi 5.0 has a number of compatibility inbuilt from the core,” Elegant Themes developer Josh Ronk stated.

“We’re working diligently to push Divi 5.0 for optimum Gutenberg block compatibility, with the objective being that you’d be capable of use Gutenberg blocks within your Divi constructed pages, after which apply the entire Divi design choices you like to the in any other case plain Gutenberg blocks you will have put in. This implies you received’t have to decide on between Divi or Gutenberg, and somewhat you get Divi AND Gutenberg.”

Divi’s builders plan to make sure the outdated Divi modules constructed with the present Divi API are backwards-compatible, engaged on the entrance finish however with a extra restricted capability within the Visible Builder. They are going to be encouraging builders to maneuver to the brand new API to reap the benefits of the efficiency advantages.

Divi 5.0 won’t introduce new options or adjustments to Divi’s design, however the underlying structure will probably be transferring nearer to Gutenberg compatibility.

“Divi 5.0 will use React and it’ll leverage extra of the native Gutenberg packages,” Roach stated. “In some unspecified time in the future we hope that Divi and Gutenberg will work in concord. We don’t wish to battle in opposition to the course that WordPress is heading.”