Speculative Prerendering in Divi 5

Divi 5 uses speculative prerendering to dramatically reduce - or eliminate - load times when navigating in and out of the builder. By predicting where you're headed and loading the destination in the background before you click, the builder feels instant. This article explains how it works, where it applies, and how to control it.

Speculative prerendering is a browser-level feature that loads a page in the background before you navigate to it. Divi 5 uses your mouse movement as a signal - when your cursor moves toward a navigation target, Divi starts prerendering that destination. By the time you click, the page is already loaded.

Divi only prerenders destinations within its own domain, so this applies specifically to the builder experience - not your visitors' front-end browsing.

When you move your mouse toward the Edit with Divi button in the admin bar, Divi starts prerendering the builder immediately. Click the button, and the builder opens instantly. The same applies in reverse - exit destinations are prerendered as you leave, so bouncing between the builder, the WordPress Editor, and the front end happens without delay.

Prerendering is also built into the Command Center (Cmd+K / Ctrl+K). As soon as a navigation command becomes active - whether you're typing a page name or selecting a result - Divi starts prerendering that destination. Press Enter, and the page is already there.

Speculative prerendering doesn't require fast hosting to be useful. If your builder normally takes 5 seconds to load and Divi starts prerendering 1.5 seconds before you click, you're still shaving 1.5 seconds off that load time - a 30% improvement without any configuration.

Speculative prerendering is enabled by default. Each prerender counts as a page request on your server. If server resource usage is a concern, you can turn it off in the builder settings. To disable it:

Disabling it restores standard load behavior with no other impact on builder functionality.