Sometimes, while trying to open the Divi > Theme Builder and editing any of the template parts (Header layout, Custom Body layout or Footer layout), an error pops up informing the user that An unknown error has occurred. Please try again later.
Possible causes
Outdated Divi Version
Outdated WordPress version
Outdated PHP version
Values of server's PHP directives to low
Plugin or Child theme conflicts
Let's break down each possible cause.
Outdated Divi Version
Make sure that you are running the latest Divi version. You can check that by going to Appearance > Themes, clicking on Divi theme and checking the version number.
If in Divi > Theme Options > Updates, the correct Elegant Theme's username and API key are added, we can update Divi to the latest version directly from there.
Outdated WordPress version
Make sure that the website is running on the latest WordPress version.
From the Dashboard > Updates tab, you can check for the WordPress version and reinstall the latest available version.
Outdated PHP version and/or low PHP Directives values
Both can be checked if they are met by going to Divi > Support Center and checking the System Status report to make sure everything is in the green:
If there are any red dots, we recommend checking with the hosting support team to address any of those.
Plugin and/or Child theme conflicts
Usually, 3rd party plugins could create unwanted issues that might prevent Divi from working properly.
Checking for such conflicts is quite easy, thanks to Divi's Safe Mode feature.
The Safe Mode can be enabled from Divi > Support Center.
With the Safe Mode enabled, we can check again if loading and editing Theme Builder templates works as expected.
Note: While the Safe Mode is enabled, the following items will be disabled.
3rd Party plugins
Child theme (in case one is used)
Custom code (CSS and JS)
This will only happen for the currently logged-in user who has activated the Safe Mode and will not impact the website's visitors.
Safe Mode resolves the issue.
With the Safe Mode enabled, try to load the Divi Theme Builder. If the error has been fixed, we must determine which plugin creates the issue.
To find out which plugins or plugins might connect with Divi:
Go to WordPress Dashboard > Plugins > Active Plugins tab;
Select all active plugins and choose to deactivate them;
With all the plugins deactivated, go back to the page and try to enable the Divi Builder again
If it works, return to the Plugins page > Recently Active tab and activate one plugin at a time.
After each plugin activation, check again if the issue has been solved
Safe Mode doesn't resolve the issue
In case when Safe Mode doesn't resolve the issue, we can check other possible causes:
WordPress Permalinks
Incorrect protocol
WordPress Permalinks
Check if the error is gone while using the WordPress Plain Permalinks.
To change the Permalinks, go to WordPress Dashboard > Settings > Permalinks.
Usually, the Permalinks are going to be set to Post Name. After switching the Permalinks to Plain, check if the error has been fixed again.
If the error has been fixed while using the Plain Permalinks, this will require further investigation by the hosting support team.
Incorrect protocol
If the website is using an SSL certificate, make sure that in WordPress Dashboard > Settings > General, the correct HTTPS protocols are being used for both URLs:
WordPress Address (URL)
Site Address (URL)
If the SSL certificate was installed after the WordPress was installed to the server and content (pages, posts, products, etc.) were already published, installing a 3rd party plugin called Really Simple SSL will also help in fixing Protocol errors, which might lead to Divi Builder Timeout error.
Edge Cases
In some cases, the issue could be related to the content of the template part we are trying to edit:
Header layout
Custom Body Layout
Footer Layout
This could happen when custom HTML or custom CSS code has been used in those template parts. However, there are syntax errors.
Since editing those template parts is no longer possible, you can try to rebuild them from scratch using an unassigned template.
Create an unassigned template.
Head to Divi > Theme Builder and create a new template.
In the Assignments Window, don't check anything; click the Create Template button.
This will create a new template that will not be assigned to anything, allowing you to recreate the template part that cannot be edited.
Once the template part is recreated, we can delete the faulty one and copy over the one that was recreated.