Divi vs. Elementor and GeneratePress

Divi - Big Max's Studio

by: Patricia

I have been using Divi by Elegant Themes since late 2014. During that time I have developed approximately 80 websites, as well as developed and sold child themes. Last year, I authored the book “Dos and Dont’s + 30 + Divi CSS Snippets + Manually Moving WordPress.” I’m not sure whether I would have accomplished all that had I, not dove into Divi head first.

For the last couple of months, I was becoming more and more frustrated with Divi. Primarily due to the constant updates. Sometimes two a week. It was being to feel as though modifications were being made to the software, update notices sent, but, the modifications were never really tested for potential problems. Almost immediately, people would be complaining that an update broke their website. A couple of days later, I see another update notice to fix the problems that were caused by the update a couple of days earlier. Managing numerous websites, it was just becoming too much.

While my tendency is to do all of my designing on the backside, I decided it was time to start using the visual builder on the last site I built with Divi.  I enjoyed being able to see it come to life. That enjoyment soon came to an end with more timeout errors and failed saves than I could have possibly imagined.

Now that I was hooked on the potential for a visual builder, I went in search of another solution. I chose GeneratePress and Elementor. First, neither of the free versions satisfied everything I wanted to do on my first build. So, I purchase both pro versions. One thing I’ve always liked about Divi is the lifetime license. Unfortunately, they are the only ones in the world of pages builders that offer one.

Building my first site with Elementor and GeneratePress went very smooth. It was a simple one-page website that didn’t require any extra coding. I was happy and decided to dive in a little deeper, and began converting my website. Since I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel, I just migrated my Divi website to my local server and started changing out the pages from one platform to the other.

Overall, the process went well, but here are some of the hiccups:

  • Knowing it was going to be a pain, removing all of the shortcodes was frustrating and I soon began to question, why so much was necessary.
  • Trying to get a full-width image with Elementor and GeneratePress is a very convoluted task. Why three steps?
  • GeneratePress no longer supporting Font Awesome seems strange. The philosophy less is better doesn’t really fly when you have to add another plugin to accomplish this.
  • Speaking of plugins, it began to feel in order for me to do a lot of tasks that are built into Divi, I was having to buy another plugin to accomplish things. I like to keep my plugins to a minimum.
  • Caldera Forms integration is awkward. The only way I could insert a form without having to go back and forth getting the shortcode for a particular form was to use another plugin.
  • The lack of integration with Essential Grid was frustrating.

In the end, what do I prefer, I’d like a combination of all three pieces of software. Divi right now is winning for a couple of reasons:

  • Plugins that rely on for almost all builds are easily integrated as stated above.
  • I like the page builder and theme is one product.
  • Never knew I liked the Project section in Divi until I didn’t have it.
  • I soon learned to love the built-in items in the Secondary Menu. Although I accomplish what I wanted with just a little CSS.
  • As stated earlier, the biggest drawback for me for both Elementor and GeneratorPress is the lack of lifetime licenses. At some point, it seems as though things should be consider paid in full. Otherwise, are we not just renting the platforms? Also if a client whose website I built on Divi decides not to use me for a care plan, I don’t worry about the Divi license. I made my investment back on it long ago. Further, I feel awkward to quote a price to design a website, which includes the cost of the software to later say, “Oh by the way you need to start paying for the glue that is holding your website together.” That may be a generational thing.

With my program that is being launched next, “Ready Set Launch” I can see more websites not heavy with galleries being built with Elementor and GeneratePress. And, yes, there will be a disclaimer that once the contract is completed, the client will have to put both licenses in their name.

For those of you who were curious to see which platform my website is now on, yes it’s still Divi. While a great deal has been changed over, there is so much more to do and I’ve learned what I wanted to.

Having any questions?

Let’s chat.

 

 

 

 

10 Comments

  1. David McCan

    Great article. There is nothing like real-world experience when evaluating software. Thank you for sharing yours. Something tells me that Elegant Themes and Divi will be around for awhile. FWIW, Astra has a lifetime option and Brizy has a pre-sale lifetime option. Astra is established “tried and true,” but Brizy is in development and you are purchasing a hope (though there is a nice free version on wp.org and there is a 30 day money back once the Pro version is launched).

    Reply
  2. Patricia

    Thanks, David. I tried Brizy and liked it. I even bought the lifetime option a few months back, but then changed my mind and as pretty basic features where available. Also, I didn’t like the buy now and hopefully you see something in a couple of months approach.

    Reply
  3. Michael Quinn

    I came across your post as I’m a frustrated DIVI user looking for some solutions. Did you try and use the DIVI Builder Plugin with Generate Press? That seems like the easiest transition away from the DIVI theme vs an entirely new page builder. I dread the move, but DIVI is just too buggy and SLOW with most visual builder tasks.

    Cheers!

    Reply
    • Patricia

      Hi Michael, now I haven’t tried the plugin. I might look at that though.

      Reply
  4. Jeremiah

    I have a lifetime Elegant Themes membership, and have built a number of sites with Divi. The main thing that frustrates me about Divi is the load time. The little bit that I’ve played with GP, it seems to load sites quite a bit faster. Has your experience borne that out as well?

    Reply
    • Patricia

      Hi Jeremiah, I agree with you on the load time. In the end, though I have gone back to building exclusively in Divi as some of the things they have built in I really like. The biggest being the project area. Also, the lifetime membership. Clients don’t understand why they have to pay for the groundwork year after year.

      Reply
  5. Best Paintball Gun

    Hi, I like this post But a Suggestion. Kindly include some Images or Table to show their difference etc.
    Not everyone wants to read the text. Hope you are getting my point. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Patricia

      Thanks for the suggestion.

      Reply
  6. Rupjyoti

    Divi theme with a speed optimization like GeneratePress would be so much better.

    Reply
  7. Douglas

    Hi Patricia, I too have had Divi love / hate things going on. The grass is greener on the other side of the fence though. Have you stuck with Divi? I have a major new site going up and am willing to make a leap (hence how I landed here), but if Divi really comes out ahead despite it’s shortcomings, I’ll stick with it. As a much heavier Divi user than me, I’d trust your advice.

    BTW, I started designing in 91 and websites in 95 as well!

    Reply

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