Is Divi 5 Ready for Prime Time?

Packed with exciting new features, a much faster editing experience, and Elegant Theme’s endorsement to use it on new sites, it might be tempting to use Divi 5 on production sites.

But on the other hand, it is still technically an alpha release (not even beta!) and it’s not feature complete.

I’ve been playing around with Divi 5 for the last few weeks and have used it on four sites so far. I love the faster editing experience, and it’s been pretty bug-free for me. I’m eager to use it on all of my Divi sites, but it’s not ready to use in all situations yet.

So, here are some guidelines to determine whether it is safe to use Divi 5 on your next site.

When Not to Use Divi 5

Here are some situations where you definitely shouldn’t use Divi 5 yet:

• Any site with WooCommerce, as the WooCommerce modules aren’t done in Divi 5 yet.
• Any site using Divi-specific modules; most haven’t been converted to Divi 5 yet.
• Any site where using “alpha” pre-release software at the time of site launch would appear reckless or inappropriate.

That last one is a catch-all and basically says you shouldn’t use Divi 5 anywhere you could be held accountable for launching a site using “alpha” software. That would include most business and client sites!

When to Consider Using Divi 5

I’ve already said that I’ve used Divi 5 on a few sites. I’ve found it a joy to use compared to Divi 4, and like I said, I haven’t found a lot of bugs with it.

Here are some cases where I think it’s OK to use now if the site does not use Divi-specific plugins.

• On your own new or existing blog or portfolio sites
• On “pro bono” sites that you’re developing for a client for free (i.e., nonprofit, church, etc.)
• On new sites (even client sites!) where you think the site will launch months later in the future

That last one covers the situation where you’re developing a site for a client that will launch so far in the future that Divi 5 should be in at least beta by that time. It would be a shame to develop a whole site on Divi 4, only to launch it right when Divi 5 is ready for prime time, and then have to migrate it. In that case, the client might actually ask you why you developed on the old version when the new one was available.

Note that Elegant Themes does not suggest migrating existing sites to Divi 5 at this time, but I’ve done it with no problems so far on sites that don’t have Divi-specific or Woo plugins (three sites so far).

Conclusion

Have you tried Divi 5? Let me know what you think!

Brian Shim

I am a freelance web developer and consultant based in Santa Monica, CA. I’ve been designing websites using WordPress and from scratch using HTML, CSS, PHP, and JavaScript since 2010. I create websites and web applications for businesses, nonprofits, and other organizations. I have a degree in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) from California Institute of Technology and a degree in Engineering Management (MSEM) from Stanford University.

brianshim.com