Divi Speed Optimization 2026: Get 90+ PageSpeed Without Breaking Your Site

Client: "Why does my Divi site load so slow?"
Me before optimization: "Uhh... page builders are just heavy..."
Me after learning optimization: "Let me fix that in 20 minutes"

Changed everything!! Went from 58 mobile PageSpeed to 93 without touching design. Same beautiful site, 2X faster load times!!

Here's exactly how to optimize Divi speed without breaking anything:

The Big Divi 4.10 Update Changed Everything

Old reputation (pre-2021): Divi = slow and bloated

Current reality: Divi actually fast if configured properly!!

August 2021 update added:

• Dynamic Module Framework (loads only used modules!)
• Dynamic CSS generation
• Dynamic JavaScript libraries
• Critical CSS automatic
• Icon subsetting

Out-of-box performance now solid - but you still need proper configuration!!

Divi Built-In Settings (Start Here First!)

Navigate to: Divi → Theme Options → General → Performance

Settings You Should Enable

Dynamic Module Framework: ON

• Processes PHP only for modules actually used
• Cuts out everything else automatically
• Biggest performance win in Divi!!

Dynamic CSS: ON

• Generates CSS only for modules on page
• No bloat from unused module styles
• File sizes way smaller

Dynamic Icons: ON

• Loads icon subsets instead of entire font
• Font Awesome has 1,600+ icons
• Most pages use maybe 5-10!!

Dynamic JavaScript Libraries: ON

• External JS libraries load only when needed
• jQuery, sliders, animations on-demand
• Huge reduction in unused JS!!

Disable WordPress Emojis: ON

• Removes emoji script WordPress loads
• Nobody needs this (modern browsers support emojis natively!)
• Easy 1 HTTP request saved

Defer jQuery and jQuery Migrate: ON

• Moves jQuery from head to body
• Speeds up initial paint
• Test this - some plugins break!!

Settings You Should Leave OFF

Load Dynamic Stylesheet Inline: OFF

• Sounds good in theory
• Breaks sites constantly!!
• Let cache plugin handle CSS delivery

Critical CSS (Divi's version): OFF

• If using cache plugin with Critical CSS feature
• Duplicate features = conflicts
• Pick one - cache plugin usually better

Defer Gutenberg Block CSS: OFF

• Only matters if mixing Gutenberg with Divi
• If pure Divi site, disable Gutenberg entirely (we'll cover this!)

Static CSS File Generation

Special case requiring explanation:

Location: Divi → Theme Options → Builder → Advanced

What it does: Creates CSS file instead of inline styles

The confusion:

• Some tutorials say enable
• Others say disable
• Both can be right depending on setup!!

My recommendation:

Using cache plugin (WP Rocket, FlyingPress, etc.)? → DISABLE

• Let cache plugin handle CSS
• Avoids conflicts
• More reliable

NOT using cache plugin? → ENABLE

• File caching better than inline
• But get cache plugin instead!!

Bottom line: Use proper cache plugin, disable this!!

Disable Gutenberg Completely

If building pure Divi sites, Gutenberg loads unnecessary CSS file across entire site.

The bloat: /wp-includes/css/dist/block-library/style.min.css

Check your page source - bet it's there even though you never use blocks!!

How To Disable

Option 1: Disable Gutenberg plugin (free)

Option 2: Perfmatters (premium but worth it!)

Option 3: Code snippet:

add_filter('use_block_editor_for_post', '__return_false');

Result: One less CSS file, faster load times!!

Image Optimization (Biggest Impact After Divi Settings!)

Images typically 50-70% of page weight. Optimize these = massive wins!!

Format Choice Matters

Use JPG for: Photographs, complex images
Use PNG for: Logos, graphics with transparency
Use SVG for: Icons, simple graphics, logos (when possible)
Use WebP for: Everything (if supported!)

WebP offers 25-35% smaller file sizes than JPG with same quality!!

Compression Before Upload

NEVER upload images straight from camera or design software!!

Tools I use:

• TinyPNG (online, free, dead simple)
• ImageOptim (Mac app, batch processing)
• Compressor.io (online alternative)

Typical savings: 60-80% file size with zero visible quality loss!!

Recommended Dimensions

Don't upload 4000px wide images!! Divi shows them at 1200px max width anyway.

My workflow:

• Hero images: 1920px wide maximum
• Content images: 1200px wide
• Thumbnails: 600px wide
• Icons/small graphics: Actual display size

Uploading massive originals = wasted bandwidth and slow load times!!

Lazy Loading

Divi has native lazy loading (enable in Divi settings). But browser native lazy loading works better!

How to enable:
Most cache plugins handle this automatically. Or use:

<img loading="lazy" src="image.jpg">

Divi 4.10+ adds loading="lazy" automatically! Just make sure it's not disabled!!

Cache Plugin Is MANDATORY

Unpopular opinion: Divi without cache plugin = you're doing it wrong!!

Cache plugins do WAY more than Divi's built-in settings:

• Page caching (serve static HTML)
• GZIP compression
• Browser caching headers
• Minify CSS/JS
• Combine files
• Lazy load images/iframes
• Database optimization
• Remove query strings
• Defer JavaScript properly

My Cache Plugin Recommendations

WP Rocket ($59/year):

• Easiest setup
• Best Divi compatibility
• Support actually helps
• Worth every penny for clients

FlyingPress ($60/year):

• Faster than WP Rocket
• More aggressive optimization
• Requires more tweaking
• For advanced users

LiteSpeed Cache (FREE!):

• Only if on LiteSpeed server
• Incredible performance
• Complex interface
• Free = amazing value

Avoid: WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache (outdated, buggy with Divi!)

Critical WP Rocket Settings for Divi

File Optimization:

• Minify CSS: ON
• Combine CSS: OFF (causes issues!)
• Minify JavaScript: ON
• Combine JavaScript: OFF (breaks things!)
• Defer JavaScript: ON

JavaScript exclusions (critical!):
Add these to "Excluded JavaScript Files":

/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js
/wp-content/themes/Divi/core/admin/js/
/et-core-unified

CSS exclusions:

/et-builder-modules-style
/et-dynamic

Remove Unused CSS: ON
But add to "Used CSS" exclusions:

/et-builder
/divi-style

These exclusions prevent WP Rocket from breaking Divi!!

Hosting Matters (More Than You Think!)

Optimized Divi on shared hosting at $3/month? Still gonna be slow!!

Minimum Hosting Requirements

PHP Version: 8.0 minimum, 8.1+ better
Memory Limit: 256MB minimum, 512MB recommended
Max Execution Time: 120 seconds
Max Input Vars: 3000+ (Divi uses lots!)

Check current: Divi → Support Center → System Status

Hosting I Actually Recommend

For clients/agencies:

• Cloudways ($12-25/month) - DigitalOcean/Vultr/AWS
• WP Engine ($25+/month) - managed WordPress
• Kinsta ($35+/month) - premium performance

For personal/hobby sites:

• SiteGround ($3-15/month) - affordable, decent
• Hostinger ($2-10/month) - budget friendly

Avoid: GoDaddy, Bluehost, HostGator (oversold, slow!!)

Real talk: $5/month extra on hosting = better ROI than $100 cache plugin!! Good hosting = foundation of speed!!

Database Optimization

WordPress database gets bloated fast:

• Post revisions (50+ versions of same page!)
• Trashed posts
• Spam comments
• Transients
• Auto-drafts

Use WP-Optimize Plugin

Free, simple, won't break things.

What to clean:

• Post revisions (keep 3-5 max)
• Auto-drafts
• Trashed posts/comments
• Spam comments
• Transients
• Pingbacks/trackbacks

Run weekly for best results!!

Warning: BACKUP before first database cleanup!! Use UpdraftPlus or similar.

Disable Unused Divi Modules

Divi loads all modules by default. Using 10 modules but Divi loads 46? Waste!!

Location: Divi → Theme Options → Builder → Advanced

My typical disabled modules:

• Audio
• Video Slider
• Fullwidth Audio
• Fullwidth Video Slider
• Pricing Tables (if not e-commerce)
• Shop Module (if not WooCommerce)
• All Blog modules (if static site)

Disable everything you don't use = less CSS/JS loaded!!

Plugin Audit (Kill The Bloat!)

Every plugin adds:

• CSS files
• JavaScript files
• Database queries
• HTTP requests

Rule of thumb: <20 active plugins ideal, <30 acceptable, 40+ = problem!!

Common Bloat Culprits

Social sharing plugins (tons of JS!)
→ Use simple static share links instead

Related posts plugins (database intensive!)
→ Divi blog module has built-in related posts

Slider plugins (when Divi has sliders!)
→ Use Divi slider modules

Contact form plugins (if Divi contact form works!)
→ Divi contact module sufficient for most

SEO plugins loading everywhere
→ Disable on pages that don't need (Perfmatters!)

Plugin Performance Testing

Install Query Monitor plugin (free)

Shows exactly which plugins:

• Slow database queries
• Load heavy scripts
• Eat up memory
• Cause bottlenecks

Deactivate worst offenders, find alternatives!!

CDN Setup (Global Speed Boost!)

CDN = Content Delivery Network

How it works:
Your images/CSS/JS served from server closest to visitor instead of your single server location.

Visitor in Japan, server in USA?
Without CDN: Files travel 5,000+ miles
With CDN: Files from Tokyo server (instant!!)

Free CDN: Cloudflare

1. Sign up Cloudflare (free)
2. Change nameservers
3. Enable Auto Minify
4. Enable Brotli compression
5. Set cache everything

Done - now 200+ global servers serving your site!!

Premium CDN: BunnyCDN

Faster than Cloudflare, $1/month starting. Worth it for client sites!!

Google Fonts Optimization

Divi uses Google Fonts. External fonts = render blocking = slower!!

Option 1: Disable Google Fonts

Divi → Theme Options → General → Disable Google Fonts: ON

Then use system fonts in Divi modules. Lightning fast but less design control.

Option 2: Host Fonts Locally

WP Rocket and FlyingPress can host Google Fonts locally automatically.

Benefits:

• No external requests
• Faster loading
• Privacy compliant
• More control

This alone can save 300-500ms load time!!

Animations and Effects (Use Sparingly!)

Divi's animations cool but performance killers:

• Parallax effects (heavy JS!)
• Scroll effects (constant calculations!)
• Hover animations (multiplied by module count!)

My rule: Max 2-3 animated sections per page. Rest static.

Exception: CSS animations way lighter than JS animations. Prefer CSS when possible!!

Testing Your Optimizations

Tools I Use

Google PageSpeed Insights:

• Free
• Mobile + desktop scores
• Core Web Vitals data
• Specific recommendations

GTmetrix:

• Detailed waterfall
• Video playback
• Historical tracking
• A/B comparison

WebPageTest:

• Advanced testing
• Multiple locations
• Connection speed simulation
• Filmstrip view

Target Scores

Realistic Divi targets:

• PageSpeed Mobile: 85-95
• PageSpeed Desktop: 95-100
• GTmetrix Grade: A
• LCP: <2.5 seconds
• FID: <100ms
• CLS: <0.1

Perfect 100 mobile score? Possible but requires extreme optimization. 90+ = excellent for feature-rich Divi site!!

The 20-Minute Optimization Checklist

Quick wins you can do right now:

1. Enable Divi Performance settings (5 min)
2. Install cache plugin (WP Rocket) (5 min)
3. Compress existing images with plugin (5 min)
4. Disable unused Divi modules (2 min)
5. Clean database with WP-Optimize (2 min)
6. Run PageSpeed test - see improvements (1 min)

Total: 20 minutes for 40-60% speed improvement!!

Bottom Line

Divi CAN be fast!! Modern Divi (4.10+) with proper optimization easily hits 90+ mobile PageSpeed.

The myths:
❌ "Divi is always slow" (FALSE - was true pre-2021!)
❌ "Need expensive hosting for Divi" (FALSE - need decent hosting!)
❌ "Page builders can't be fast" (FALSE - with optimization!)

The reality:
✅ Divi 4.10+ has excellent built-in optimizations
✅ Cache plugin mandatory for best results
✅ Image optimization = biggest bang for buck
✅ 90+ PageSpeed totally achievable

Stop accepting slow Divi sites!! Get Divi and follow this guide - your clients will thank you!! 💪

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