<b>Builder lock-in: shortcode hostages vs block refugees</b>

<b>Builder lock-in: shortcode hostages vs block refugees</b>
Lock-in isn't marketing fear — it's a data-format decision. Two camps with very different exit costs.

Shortcode/serialized builders (Divi's old engine, WPBakery) store layouts as proprietary shortcodes in post_content. Deactivate and your pages become walls of [et_pb_*] gibberish. Migration means manual rebuild.

Block-based builders (Gutenberg, Bricks stores in postmeta) degrade more gracefully — Gutenberg leaves clean HTML comments, content survives.

Pros (block route):
— Deactivating leaves readable, mostly-intact HTML
Cons (block route):
— Custom blocks still vanish, leaving validation errors
Pros (shortcode route):
— Often older, more battle-tested addons
Cons (shortcode route):
— Near-total rebuild on exit, content held hostage

Best for: client sites or anything you might sell — favor block-based to keep exit costs low.