{"id":132913,"date":"2014-10-09T08:00:11","date_gmt":"2014-10-09T12:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/premium.wpmudev.org\/blog\/?p=132913"},"modified":"2014-10-09T03:29:21","modified_gmt":"2014-10-09T07:29:21","slug":"review-divi-elegant-themes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/review-divi-elegant-themes\/","title":{"rendered":"Drag and Drop Review Redux: Divi by Elegant Themes"},"content":{"rendered":"

The sophistication of new drag and drop theme and page builders has been on the steady incline as WordPress becomes the gateway for both blogs and brands alike. Enthusiasts welcome the relative ease in which websites can come together, while front-end designers bemoan the slow death of their craft (will drag and drop eventually kill front-end design? It\u2019s perhaps too soon to call).<\/p>\n

The battle of the theme builders<\/a> took place last year on the WPMU DEV Blog and featured many of the heavyweight contenders. Noticeably missing from the shootout was Elegant Theme\u2019s contribution to the D&D arena, Divi, primarily because it\u00a0is not actually a theme framework so much as a theme that uses\u00a0a built-in page builder.<\/p>\n

Divi 2.1 was released this past summer, and with Elegant Themes hinting at a new drag and drop magazine theme, the time seem right for an in-depth peek under the hood.<\/p>\n

Elegant Themes released Divi in 2013 and it\u2019s since become their flagship product. The theme company has\u00a0touted the ability for non-coders to create endless and elegant page configurations. Their sales copy says it may be the \u201conly theme you ever need.\u201d<\/p>\n

But can it stand up to the hype?<\/p>\n

<\/span>

Drag and Drop Redux: Elegant Themes’ Divi<\/h3><\/header>
\"Elegant<\/section>

What Does it Cost?<\/h2>\n

Divi is part of Elegant Themes membership, which includes access to every theme in their portfolio.<\/p>\n

A personal license is $69 per year and a developer license, which includes the four Elegant Theme plugins and layered PSDs is $89 per year.<\/p>\n

Alternately, lifetime access is a one-time payment of $249.<\/p>\n

Plans and pricing details can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What Do you Get?<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s no framework to install and Divi comes pre-loaded with all the modules, pre-made layouts, and additional features.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no other add-ons or integrations to purchase, which is really kind of refreshing.<\/p>\n

How Does it Work?<\/h2>\n

First off, it\u2019s important to understand that you\u2019re not creating custom themes with Divi. Divi is<\/strong><\/em> the theme. When you install it, you\u2019ll be prompted to set your preferences in the ePanel\u2014which includes some theme settings (but not all of them).<\/p>\n

The ePanel includes a section for navigation (which is awkward and redundant since Divi also supports menus); layout settings which just control post and page thumbnails and comment preferences, and metadata post info, some very basic ad management, and SEO settings (which I\u2019d recommend you not tie to your theme if possible), and a place for you to enter any custom code (in various places), or CSS.<\/p>\n

Options for the way Divi looks are found in the “Customize” section under “Appearance.” You can decide between a full-width or boxed layout, whether you want your logo centered, where you want your navigation (top or side), and whether to toggle social media icons or contact info.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a section where you can choose font, link, and accent colors, but if picking colors isn\u2019t your thing, Divi also comes with several predefined color schemes (in blue, green, orange, red, and the obligatory pink).<\/p>\n

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\"Elegant<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Regardless of what colors you pick, you\u2019re not going to have control over certain visual effects (like buttons, for example), unless you\u2019re prepared to do some heavy customization. So any website you create with Divi will essentially look like Divi\u2014but that\u2019s not necessarily a bad thing. If you\u2019re a developer, and your clients don\u2019t mind that their site looks and acts suspiciously like every other site you create, you could probably get a lot of traction out of this single theme.<\/p>\n

You should also know from the onset that Divi is a page builder\u2014which is ironic considering the whole point of a CMS like WordPress is to separate the content from the page design. On a five-page site, this won\u2019t be too big of a deal. But for huge, complex projects, having to go through page-by-page will get real old, real quick. Divi gives you the ability to save, reuse, export, and import your page layouts though (but content and module settings would have to be tweaked on each new page). There are 32 really nice looking premade page layouts to get you started, and going through those is an excellent way to get comfortable with Divi\u2019s options and features.<\/p>\n

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\"Divi<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Divi builds your pages section by section, which it populates with rows, columns, and then modules. Each section can have a unique background (including gorgeous video and full-width backgrounds), and if you add a CSS ID or class, you have further control over the styling.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Divi<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

This, for example:<\/p>\n

\n
\"Elegant<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Becomes this on the published page:<\/p>\n

\n
\"Divi<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What Features Does it Come With?<\/h2>\n

The range of modules and page layout options is truly impressive. Out of the box you can create headlines, call-outs, subscription and contact forms, galleries, filterable portfolios, blurbs, image sliders, counters, pricing tables, insert audio and video, and more\u2014all on the fly.<\/p>\n

Divi is WooCommerce-ready and fully responsive, supports multiple post formats, and can display your blog in standard format or offers a masonry-style blog feed.<\/p>\n

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\"Divi<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Divi 2.1 introduced one-page layout features such as smooth scrolling internal links and floating side navigation. While Divi might be overkill for a simple one-page boutique or agency site, if your business involves putting together a bunch of landing pages, Divi offers a menu-less page template\u2014which could save a ton a time and money on your squeeze and sales efforts, making Divi a very attractive option.<\/p>\n

How Did Building the Test Site Go?<\/h2>\n

As if by magic. When you familiarize yourself with Divi\u2019s range of features, are comfortable with the default styling, and know what your site needs, you can easily put together a stunning, fully responsive website with beautiful parallax effects and animation in no time. A simple five-page test site came together in a few hours, looked and worked fabulously.<\/p>\n

Again, it\u2019s a theme, not a framework\u2014so with that in mind, you can\u2019t use Divi to build from scratch. If you\u2019re going to be frustrated by the inability to fine tune the buttons, fonts, colors, and margins, etc., and like me, you\u2019re a designer\/intrepid code hack rather than a developer, you\u2019ll probably spend a good chunk of time pulling your hair out combing through that CSS.<\/p>\n

Elegant Themes’s themes are clearly meant to be used as-is out of the box. If you\u2019re going to do a lot of customization, a child-theme is recommended.<\/p>\n

In other words, it\u2019s easy to put together a Divi site. If you want a site that doesn\u2019t look and feel Divi-ish, much less so<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Ratings<\/h2>\n

Ease of Use \/ Learning Curve<\/h3>\n

Divi is by far easier and more user-friendly than Headway, Pagelines, or any of the drag-and-drop-like theme and page builders I\u2019ve tested. The support for Divi includes video walkthroughs of all the modules and features. Elegant Themes has done a rockstar job of creating tutorials on their blog that support and trick out Divi, and WordPress n00bs would learn a lot by playing around with the theme.<\/p>\n

Features<\/h3>\n

Feature-rich would be an understatement. For most basic websites, Divi offers pretty much all you\u2019d need. Keep in mind though, this isn\u2019t a framework that developers are going to be creating integrations for. That said, the basic lowdown includes theme support for:<\/p>\n