A New Year, a New Divi: What Does Divi 5 Mean for Our Clients?
We are very excited here at Yellow Cherry for the upcoming release of Divi 5 in Feburary 2026 and the benefits it will bring to our clients. It will bring vast performance and editing improvements to our websites. We spoke about these benefits in a previous blog!
Importantly, Divi 5 will be a back-end upgrade to our clients site and will not require a full redesign/rebuild. However the editing interface may change slightly.
Think of it like upgrading the engine of a car while keeping the interior and paint job exactly the same. You get a smoother, faster, and more reliable ride without the look of the car completely changing.
What is Divi 5?
Divi 5 is the next generation update of the Divi Page Builder. While it looks very similar to the version that we use on client websites today, it has been rebuilt from the ground up using modern, block-based architecture. This replaces older technology (known as shortcodes) with a leaner, more efficient system that aligns perfectly with the future of WordPress.
The most important takeaway? Your existing content and design will stay exactly the same. This is a behind-the-scenes evolution designed to make your site more capable and secure.
What benefit does Divi 5 bring to my website?
While much of the work happens behind the scenes of your website, there are several tangible benefits that directly impact your site’s success and your day-to-day experience:
- Blazing-Fast Page Loading: By removing excess code, Divi 5 helps your website load faster for visitors. Faster sites lead to better user experiences and higher rankings on search engines like Google.
- A Smoother Editing Experience: If you make your own updates, you’ll notice the builder is significantly snappier, with no more lag spikes when moving elements or editing text.
- Improved Stability: The new foundation is much more robust, meaning fewer bugs and a more reliable website overall.
- Future-Ready Technology: WordPress is constantly evolving. Divi 5 ensures your site remains compatible with all future WordPress updates and security standards for years to come.
| Feature | Divi 5 | Divi 4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen Size Control | Works smoothly across lots of screen sizes, with full control over how designs scale | Only supports desktop, tablet, and mobile | |||
| Global Design Settings | Easily reuse colours, fonts, images, text, and links site-wide | Can reuse colours only | |||
| Reusable Styles | Save and reuse styles across different elements easily | Can reuse styles on the same type of element | |||
| Flexible Sizing Options | Very flexible sizing options, all controlled visually | Mostly basic sizing options | |||
| Layout Flexibility | Build complex layouts inside layouts with no limits | Locked into a strict layout structure | |||
| Copying Styles | Copy only the settings you want between elements | Copies everything at once | |||
| Grouping Elements | Easily group multiple elements together and reuse them | Not available | |||
| Editor Experience | Clean, modern workspace with light & dark mode | Pop-up editing windows |
Source: Divi 5 Exclusive Features (So Far)
What is new in Divi 5?
Although the main focus was to resolve the Technical Debt of Divi 4. Divi 5 has managed to fit some excellent new features for launch.
- Custom Breakpoints – Divi 5 will allow you to view your page in different screen sizes to ensure that your page is laid out perfectly no matter what device a customer may be using.
- Option Groups Presets – Divi 5 allows designers to set a preset font, background and other typography settings and apply them to any Divi element. Allowing you to set a consistent style through a site.
- Advanced CSS Units – Divi 5 allows the use of more advanced CSS units such as rem, em, vh, vw, vmin and vmax. This can really help with building layouts that work on all devices.
- Design Variables – In Divi 5, there is a new variable option that allows you to edit global text or other attributes in one place. For example, changing the phone number throughout a site can be as simple as editing a variable instead of editing the header, footer and contact page.
- Nested Rows – Divi 5 allows for nested rows, which allows for much more complex and interesting layouts for webpages, unlocking new designs and much better ways of presenting things!
What happens if I update to Divi 5?
We know that a major update can sound stressful. Our goal is to make this transition completely invisible to your customers and effortless for you.
- No Visual Changes: Your brand, colours, fonts, and layouts will remain untouched. Unless you specifically request a redesign, your site will look identical after the update.
- No Content Loss: Every blog post, image, and page layout is preserved during the migration.
- Managed by Expert Cherries: Our team handles the entire technical process. We perform the update in a safe staging environment first to ensure everything is perfect before it goes live.
- Ongoing Support: While the interface will feel very familiar, we are here to provide any walkthroughs or training you might need to feel confident with the new, faster builder as there may be some small changes to how things work.
- Streamlined Editor: The editing interface will change slightly as some pieces are reworked and optimised.
What happens if I don’t update?
You may miss out on the new features and importantly, the much faster experience of a streamlined editor!
Divi 4 will continue to receive security updates for at least six months after Divi 5 is released, giving you time to prepare and plan your upgrade. While you can continue using Divi 4 after these updates end, doing so may pose a security risk.
Next Steps
The official rollout is approaching, and we are already preparing our maintenance schedule to include these foundational improvements. If you have any questions or concerns about the upcoming change, please get in touch with us.