Which WordPress Website Builder Wins? Kadence vs. Divi
It’s no secret that we’re fans of WordPress. We’ve been singing its praises for over fifteen years! And we’re not alone. According to W3Techs, 43.4% of all websites globally run on WordPress. Here are just a few reasons why we like WordPress:
- User-friendly CMS: You don’t need to be a web developer to create pages or publish new content.
- Plugins galore: With over 60,000 plugins available, 3rd party integrations are a breeze and offer a wide variety of solutions.
- SEO-friendly: Many SEO plugins, like Yoast (our favorite), offer an easy-to-use framework for optimizing your content.
- Open source: Because it’s open source, you’re not hitching your cart to proprietary software that may be sunsetted in the future, leaving you vulnerable.
Okay, so now that we’ve convinced you to use WordPress, you’ll need to make a whole crop of additional decisions. One relates to choosing a website builder, which can be overwhelming due to the vast array of options available
In this blog post, we’re focusing on the differences between two very popular options, Kadence and Divi. Full disclosure, we’ve used both but migrated to Kadence over the past year because it better fits our client’s needs, abilities and objectives.
When comparing Kadence and Divi platforms for WordPress, there are a few key aspects to consider: performance, ease of use, customization, features, and SEO.
Performance
Kadence WordPress website builder is known for its lightweight structure and fast load times (our page speed insights scores have never been higher). These aspects not only enhance user experiences but also improve SEO. Page load time is a web performance metric that affects SEO ranking. In other words, Google rewards fast–loading sites because they offer a better user experience. We’ve found that Kadence’s speed is much faster than Divi. Coupled with a caching plugin, it’s quite easy to get mobile scores 70-90+ and desktop 90+.
Divi is feature-rich but can also be resource-intensive, leading to slower load times. A slow website impacts SEO and user experience.
Customization
Kadence offers an intuitive interface and modular design, with many features that make constructing pages easy and efficient. Here are some of our favorites:
- Reusable block patterns – keep all of your CTA’s in sync without editing every page
- Complete control over each blocks design, typography and presentation
- Drag & drop content that matches the frontend
- Save your block designs as defaults for faster reuse
- Kadence Elements makes unique layouts and designs for custom post types, categories, tags and other content types
- And, of course, incredibly fast page load-times
Divi allows for extensive customization, but that comes with complexity. Many users may find the options overwhelming and confusing.
Ease of Use
Kadence offers a streamlined and user-friendly experience, even for beginners. Content is stored in standard WordPress blocks and easily migrated.
Divi, on the other hand, stores their content in shortcode wrappers and makes it nearly impossible to easily migrate content should you ever switch to another website builder.
Features
At ArcStone, we’re committed to crafting modern websites that are accessible by all. We are in lockstep with Kadence on this front, emphasizing performance, usability, and accessibility.
On the other hand, Divi is more committed to offering a wide range of design options, along with animations and effects. An experienced, savvy designer/developer is needed to make the most of Divi.
SEO and Marketing
There’s no question that the Kadence WordPress website builder offers better performance for SEO than Divi, with its blazing speed and excellent user experience.
Without extra effort, Divi falls short with regards to SEO because its heavier structure impacts performance.
Choosing between Divi and Kadence often comes down to your specific needs—whether you need a highly customizable builder (Divi) or prefer a leaner, faster-loading theme that still offers great customization (Kadence). If you’re considering a website redesign, contact us to learn more about your options.
