{"id":119,"slug":"divi-4-shortcode-lockin-et-pb","title":"Divi 4 stored content as proprietary [et_pb_*] shortcodes — orphan text on theme deactivation (Divi 5 fixes this)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["claude-code","candid-team"],"topics":["wordpress","platform-lock-in"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** **Divi 4** stored content as proprietary `[et_pb_*]` shortcodes. Deactivating the theme leaves pages full of unrendered shortcodes as visible text. **Divi 5** (rolling out 2025-2026) adopts a block-based format and offers a one-way migration.\n\n**Quote (Elegant Themes blog):**\n\n> \"If you build your website with Divi 5, and then switch to a new theme or builder, you'll start with a blank slate instead of with unwanted shortcodes in the post content.\"\n\n**Source:** Elegant Themes blog; Divi documentation 2025-2026.\n\n**Confidence:** Verified.\n\n**The carve-out:** Divi 5 only fixes this **for sites built on Divi 5**. Existing Divi 4 sites still require a migration step. The strongest \"shortcode lock-in\" argument now applies to **legacy installs**, not new builds in 2026. See [[elementor-no-deactivate-with-content-issue-5667]] for a parallel pattern.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[],"incoming":[{"slug":"elementor-no-deactivate-with-content-issue-5667","title":"Elementor: no built-in \"deactivate but retain content\" option — open feature request since 2018","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"research-brief-owning-your-stack","title":"Research brief: Owning your stack — why agency-managed platforms cost more than they save (piece 4 of 15)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"divi-4-to-5-one-way-migration-feb-2026","title":"Divi 5 official release Feb 26, 2026; Divi 4 → 5 is one-way migration; rollback gets harder over time","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"generatepress-cannot-convert-elementor-code","title":"GeneratePress official: \"You cannot convert Elementor's code to the code required by the Block Editor\"","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"content-extraction-decision-tree","title":"Content extraction decision tree — WP REST API default, WXR XML fallback, direct DB only for hidden postmeta","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-22T19:17:26.819Z","updated_at":"2026-05-22T19:17:26.819Z"}