If you build sites with Divi regularly, one of the biggest time drains is making design changes across many modules/pages: changing font sizes, colors, spacing, etc. Divi’s Global Presets + default style settings are really powerful tools that many users underuse. When you set them up right from the start, future site edits become vastly easier, consistent, and faster. This guide will walk you through how to use them properly, avoid common mistakes, and get the most benefit.
What are Divi Global Presets & Default Styles?
- Global Presets: Divi allows you to save design styles (for modules, rows, sections) as presets. Once saved, those presets can be applied anywhere. If you later update the preset, all modules using it will also update.
- Default Style (Global Defaults / Theme Defaults): Divi also allows you to set default styles globally for module types (e.g. the default styling for Button Module, Text Module, etc.), so every time you add a new button/heading it uses that style without you reapplying design settings.
Why both matter:
- Global Defaults handle new instances automatically.
- Presets allow you to reuse consistent styles, plus you can swap out presets later.
Using them together is powerful: defaults give a baseline; presets let you vary styles where needed but in a controlled way.
Step-by-Step: Setting Up Defaults + Global Presets
Here’s a workflow you can follow (preferably on a staging site or from the beginning of a project):
Step 1: Plan Design System
Before diving in, define your design system:
- Basic color palette (primary, secondary, accent, backgrounds, core neutrals)
- Typography: font families, sizes (desktop / tablet / mobile) for headings, paragraphs, small text etc.
- Spacing scale: margins, padding, standard gap sizes
- Button styles: shape, hover effects, sizes
- Module variation: e.g. content box, card style, banner, call-to-action style
Having a plan avoids messy styles later.
Step 2: Set Module Default Styles
For each core module type you’ll use often (Headings, Text, Buttons, Images, Blurbs):
- Open Divi → Theme Builder, or open a page and insert a module of that type.
- In its settings, style it to your design spec (font, color, spacing).
- In the module settings, find “Set as Default” (often via preset or default style section). Save these defaults.
Now, when you add a new Button/Text, etc., it uses your style.
Step 3: Create Global Presets
For styles that you may reuse but not everywhere, use presets:
- Style a module (e.g. a Button with specific hover, shape, border)
- Click the Presets icon (in module design settings) → “Save as Preset” → give a name (e.g. “Primary CTA Button”, “Outlined CTA”, etc.)
- Use the presets across modules; in the future, if you change the preset, all modules using it will reflect changes.
Step 4: Use Default Presets as Base & Override Locally
Often you’ll have a “Primary Preset” (e.g. main button) and a “Secondary Preset” (e.g. ghost button), etc. Use those as base. If you need a slight variation, clone preset → adjust locally → save as new preset. Avoid copying style settings manually repeatedly.
Step 5: Consistency Between Pages
Make sure you’re applying these defaults and presets across all templates (headers, footers, global sections). If a page has custom module overrides (e.g. you manually change a font size), that variation may break consistency.
Advanced Tips & Lesser Known Tricks
Here are some tricks many Divi users don’t use but which multiply your efficiency:
- Find & Replace on Design Settings
Divi has a “Find & Replace” feature: when you right-click a design parameter (color, spacing, etc.), you can “Find & Replace” that property across a page or site. If you later change your primary color, you can replace all instances without going module by module. - Use Preset Scopes Intelligently
Presets allow you to define scope: whole site, page, module. If you change a preset, think about scope: will changing “Primary Button” override custom buttons you didn’t intend? Use naming schemes carefully. - Mobile-First Defaults
Set defaults/presets for mobile first (or adjust mobile separately). Divi allows responsive settings: you can set module default for desktop, then adjust tablet/mobile. Many users forget to set mobile defaults, so when viewed on phones it looks off. - Disable Unused Modules in Divi
Divi loads CSS/JS for all modules by default, even if you don’t use many of them. Disabling modules you never use (in Divi → Theme Options → Builder → Advanced → “Disable Unused Modules”) reduces CSS/JS bloat and improves speed. Faster site means better SEO. - Use Static CSS File Generation
Divi has an option “Enable Static CSS File Generation” under Divi → Theme Options → Builder → Advanced. This helps reduce inline CSS, improves caching and browser performance. - Global Presets + Dynamic CSS + Critical CSS
Combine global presets with Divi’s built-in dynamic CSS features and enable critical CSS (so above-the-fold content loads quickly). This helps with Core Web Vitals which Google cares a lot about.
Common Pitfalls and How to Fix Them
| Problem | Why It Happens | How to Avoid / Fix |
| Styles look inconsistent across pages | You applied manual custom styles rather than using defaults or presets | Enforce usage of defaults/presets; audit pages and replace manual styles with presets |
| Slowness / poor PageSpeed scores | Too many modules loaded; inline CSS; unused CSS/JS; large images | Disable unused modules; use static CSS; compress/minify CSS/JS; optimize images (convert to WebP/SVG); lazy load offscreen content. |
| Mobile responsiveness issues | Default styles set for desktop; mobile overrides not set; spacing/color different | Always test and set defaults/presets for all device breakpoints; use Divi’s responsive design tools |
Example: Before & After Case Study
Here’s a hypothetical but realistic example:
- A website built with Divi has 30 pages. They used manual styles for buttons, headings, etc. They decided to implement global presets + defaults.
- Before: Changing primary color involved manually editing ~60 modules (buttons, headings, links) on each page. After changes, site speed was slower (CSS load heavy), mobile looks inconsistent.
- After: They set primary color in a global default + a preset used everywhere. Updating that one preset changed all buttons and links automatically. They disabled unused modules, enabled static CSS file generation. Result: speed improved, uniform look, less manual work, happier client.
SEO & Click-Through Benefits
Using defaults / presets well helps SEO / user signals too:
- Faster load times → better Core Web Vitals → higher Google rankings.
- Consistency → better user experience → lower bounce rate, higher dwell time.
- Easier editing → you can update content/design fast → more frequent improvements, better freshness.
- Cleaner code via disabling unused modules, using static CSS → search engines prefer lighter, cleaner code.
Tools / Plugins That Enhance This Workflow
- Plugins to manage dynamic content + presets (like Divi Dynamic Content Helper, ACF)
- Caching / optimization plugins: WP Rocket, FlyingPress, LiteSpeed Cache
- Image optimization tools: Smush, Imagify, or server-side (or use WebP / SVG)
- Plugins or snippets to disable unregister unused Divi modules
Final Checklist: Do These Before Launch
- Create your design system (colors, typography, spacing)
- Set global defaults for core modules
- Build essential presets (CTA buttons, cards, banners, etc.)
- Disable modules you won’t use
- Turn on static CSS generation + critical CSS
- Test site speed (mobile + desktop) with Google PageSpeed Insights / Lighthouse
- Review key pages to ensure consistency (fonts, button styles, spacing)
- Go over mobile view: ensure responsive styles are good
Conclusion
If you invest modest time early in setting up Global Defaults + Presets in Divi, your future work becomes exponentially easier. Not only will you save hours of redesigning/making updates, you’ll get cleaner code, better speed, more consistent UI/UX — all of which lead to more traffic, better SEO, and higher conversion potential.
