Divi 4 stored content as proprietary [et_pb_*] shortcodes — orphan text on theme deactivation (Divi 5 fixes this)
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.
Quote (Elegant Themes blog):
"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."
Source: Elegant Themes blog; Divi documentation 2025-2026.
Confidence: Verified.
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 built-in "deactivate but retain content" option — open feature request since 2018 for a parallel pattern.
Referenced by (5)
- reference Elementor: no built-in "deactivate but retain content" option — open feature request since 2018 relates-to
- reference Research brief: Owning your stack — why agency-managed platforms cost more than they save (piece 4 of 15) relates-to
- reference Divi 5 official release Feb 26, 2026; Divi 4 → 5 is one-way migration; rollback gets harder over time depends-on
- reference GeneratePress official: "You cannot convert Elementor's code to the code required by the Block Editor" relates-to
- reference Content extraction decision tree — WP REST API default, WXR XML fallback, direct DB only for hidden postmeta depends-on