Fix Elementor Shape Divider Not Showing Issue

Understanding Why Your Elementor Shape Divider Might Not Be Showing

Before we jump into the solutions, it’s helpful to understand the potential culprits behind an Elementor shape divider not showing. Identifying the root cause can often lead you directly to the fix.

• Z-Index Conflicts: This is a very common reason. Other elements on your page might be overlapping and covering your shape divider.
• Incorrect Section/Column Setup: Shape dividers are applied to sections. If your section isn’t configured correctly (e.g., minimum height, overflow settings), the divider might not display.
• Caching Issues: Your browser, server, or caching plugins might be serving an outdated version of your page, hiding the changes.
• Plugin/Theme Conflicts: Another plugin or your active WordPress theme could be interfering with Elementor’s rendering of the shape divider.
• Outdated Software: An old version of Elementor, Elementor Pro, WordPress, or your theme can lead to compatibility issues.
• Custom CSS Overrides: If you’ve added custom CSS, it might be inadvertently hiding the shape divider or affecting its positioning.
• Responsive Settings: Shape dividers can behave differently on various screen sizes. You might have hidden it for specific devices.
• Browser-Specific Issues: Though less common, certain browser settings or extensions could impact rendering.

Step-by-Step Solutions to Fix Elementor Shape Divider Not Showing

Let’s systematically go through the solutions to get your shape dividers back on track. We recommend trying these in order, as they generally move from simplest to more complex.

1. The Essential First Aid: Clear Caches and Refresh

This is the golden rule of troubleshooting any website issue, especially with page builders. Often, changes don’t appear because an old version of your page is being served.

How to Clear Caches:

1. Clear Browser Cache:
   • Chrome: Go to Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data. Select “Cached images and files” and clear.
   • Firefox: Go to Options > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data > Clear Data.
   • Safari: Go to Safari > Clear History… > All History.

   Alternatively, perform a hard refresh by holding Ctrl + Shift + R (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + R (Mac).

2. Clear Elementor Cache:
   • In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Elementor > Tools > General.
   • Click the “Regenerate Files & Data” button under “Style File Regeneration”.
   • Then, go to “Replace URL” (if you recently changed your site URL) or just ensure it’s correct.
3. Clear Hosting/Server Cache (if applicable): If your hosting provider (like Hostinger) offers caching solutions (e.g., LiteSpeed Cache, Super Cache), log into your hosting panel and clear the cache from there.
4. Clear Caching Plugin Cache: If you’re using a caching plugin (e.g., WP Super Cache, LiteSpeed Cache, W3 Total Cache, WP Rocket), locate its settings in your WordPress dashboard and clear all cached files.

After clearing all caches, refresh your page in Elementor editor and then check the live site in an incognito/private browser window.

2. Verify Z-Index Settings

Z-index determines the stack order of elements on a page. A higher z-index means an element is placed “on top” of others. Your shape divider might be present but hidden underneath another overlapping element.

Steps to Check and Adjust Z-Index:

1. Open the Elementor editor for the page with the missing shape divider.
2. Select the Section (not column or widget) that contains the shape divider.
3. Go to the Advanced tab.
4. Look for the Z-Index field.
5. Set a high value, like 99 or 999.
6. Next, check any elements (sections, columns, or widgets) that are adjacent to or overlapping the problem section. Select them, go to their Advanced tab, and ensure their Z-index is lower than your shape divider’s section, or leave it blank if they shouldn’t conflict.
7. Repeat this process for both the section *above* and the section *below* where your shape divider is set. The shape divider exists within its own section, so its Z-index is tied to the section it’s part of.
8. Update the page and check the live site.

For more detailed information on Z-index, consult the Elementor Z-Index Control documentation.

3. Review Section & Column Settings for Overflow and Height

Sometimes, the section itself might not have enough space or its overflow property might be hiding parts of the shape divider.

How to Check Section/Column Settings:

1. Select the Section where your shape divider is applied.
2. Go to the Layout tab.
3. Minimum Height: Ensure “Min-Height” is set to a sufficient value (e.g., 400px or a VH value like 100VH). If your section content is short, the section might be collapsing, leaving no room for the divider.
4. Content Position: Try setting “Content Position” to “Stretch” or “Middle” to see if it helps.
5. Go to the Style tab and then to Shape Divider. Double-check that it’s enabled for both Top and Bottom (if applicable) and that the chosen shape, color, and height/width are appropriate and visible.
6. Go to the Advanced tab.
7. Overflow: Under “Layout” (within the Advanced tab), ensure “Overflow” is set to Default or Visible. If it’s set to Hidden, it could clip your shape divider.
8. Also, check the Column settings within that section. Select the column, go to Advanced > Layout > Overflow and ensure it’s not set to Hidden.
9. Update the page and check the live site.

4. Check for Plugin and Theme Conflicts

One of the most frequent causes of unexpected behavior in WordPress is a conflict between plugins or between a plugin and your active theme.

How to Safely Check for Conflicts:

Important: Always perform this troubleshooting on a staging site if possible. If not, inform your site visitors about potential brief disruptions, or do it during low-traffic hours.

1. Switch to a Default WordPress Theme:
   • Go to Appearance > Themes in your WordPress dashboard.
   • Activate a default WordPress theme like Twenty Twenty-Four or Twenty Twenty-Three.
   • Check your Elementor page on the live site. If the shape divider appears, your theme is causing the conflict. Contact your theme developer for support.
   • After testing, switch back to your original theme.
2. Deactivate Plugins Methodically:
   • Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins.
   • Deactivate all plugins except Elementor and Elementor Pro.
   • Check your Elementor page on the live site. If the shape divider now appears, one of the deactivated plugins is the culprit.
   • Reactivate your plugins one by one, checking the Elementor page after each activation. The plugin that makes the shape divider disappear again is the conflicting one.
   • Once identified, contact the conflicting plugin’s support, or look for an alternative.

For more detailed guidance on plugin conflict resolution, refer to the WordPress Codex on Diagnosing Errors.

5. Ensure All Software is Up-to-Date

Outdated software can lead to bugs, security vulnerabilities, and compatibility issues. Always keep your WordPress core, themes, and plugins updated.

Steps to Update Software:

1. Backup Your Site: Before any major updates, always create a full backup of your website. Your hosting provider (like Hostinger) usually offers one-click backup solutions.
2. Update WordPress Core: Go to Dashboard > Updates and update WordPress if a new version is available.
3. Update Elementor and Elementor Pro: Ensure both Elementor and Elementor Pro (if you have it) are updated to their latest versions. You can usually do this from the Plugins > Installed Plugins screen.
4. Update Your Theme: Go to Appearance > Themes and update your active theme if an update is available.
5. Clear all caches after updating everything (refer to Solution 1).

Always check the Elementor release notes for any known issues with new versions.

6. Check Responsive Settings

It’s possible you inadvertently hid the shape divider on certain devices or that it’s simply not rendering correctly due to responsive adjustments.

How to Check Responsive Settings:

1. Open your page in the Elementor editor.
2. Click the Responsive Mode icon at the bottom left (looks like a desktop monitor, tablet, and mobile phone).
3. Switch between Desktop, Tablet, and Mobile views.
4. Select the Section with the missing shape divider.
5. Go to the Style tab, then to Shape Divider.
6. Check the settings for both Top and Bottom dividers on each device. Ensure the “Height” and “Width” values are not set to 0 or are excessively small, making them invisible.
7. Also, check the Advanced tab > Responsive options for the section, column, and even widgets within the section. Ensure the “Hide On” options are not checked for the device you’re currently viewing. For example, if “Hide On Desktop” is checked, it won’t show on desktop.
8. Update the page and check on actual devices if possible, or use your browser’s developer tools (F12) to simulate different screen sizes.

7. Inspect for Custom CSS Overrides

If you or someone else has added custom CSS to your site, it could be overriding Elementor’s styles for the shape divider.

How to Locate and Troubleshoot Custom CSS:

1. Using Browser Developer Tools (F12):
   • Open your live page in your browser.
   • Press F12 (Windows) or Cmd + Opt + I (Mac) to open the developer tools.
   • Use the “Inspector” or “Elements” tool (usually an arrow icon) to hover over the area where your shape divider should be.
   • Look at the “Styles” tab in the developer tools. Search for CSS properties like display: none;, visibility: hidden;, height: 0;, opacity: 0;, or any negative margin/padding that might be affecting Elementor’s shape divider classes (e.g., .elementor-shape-bottom or .elementor-shape-top).
   • If you find any conflicting styles, note down their source (e.g., a theme’s style.css, a custom CSS field).
2. Within Elementor:
   • Check the Custom CSS section under Elementor > Custom Code (if you’re using Elementor Pro).
   • Go to the Advanced > Custom CSS section of the affected Section itself.
   • Briefly remove or comment out any suspected CSS rules (by adding /* at the beginning and */ at the end of the rule) to see if the shape divider reappears.
3. In Theme Customizer: Check Appearance > Customize > Additional CSS for any interfering code.

If custom CSS is the culprit, you’ll need to adjust or remove it, or use more specific CSS selectors to avoid unintended overrides.

8. Elementor Settings and Experimental Features

Sometimes, global Elementor settings or experimental features can impact rendering.

Steps to Check Elementor Settings:

1. Go to Elementor > Settings in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Under the General tab, ensure “Disable Default Colors” and “Disable Default Fonts” are set to your preference, as they can sometimes indirectly affect styling.
3. Go to the Experiments tab. If you have any experimental features active that relate to design or rendering, try deactivating them one by one, clearing cache, and retesting. Some experimental features might be unstable. For instance, “Optimized DOM Output” or “Improved CSS Loading” might have edge cases.
4. Save Changes and clear all caches.

9. Check Your Elementor System Info

Elementor provides a system info report that can highlight potential server configuration issues or resource limitations that might indirectly affect rendering.

How to Check System Info:

1. Go to Elementor > System Info in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Review the report for any red flags or warnings, especially regarding PHP memory limit, PHP version, Elementor version, or WordPress version.
3. Common recommendations include increasing PHP memory limit to at least 256M (preferably 512M) and ensuring your PHP version is 7.4 or higher. You might need to contact your hosting provider (like Hostinger support) to adjust these settings.

For more details on Elementor system requirements, visit the official Elementor requirements page.

10. Revert to a Previous Version (Last Resort)

If the issue started immediately after an Elementor or Elementor Pro update, and none of the above solutions work, you might consider temporarily reverting to a previous stable version. This is a temporary diagnostic step, not a permanent solution.

How to Revert Elementor:

1. Backup Your Site: This is absolutely crucial before rolling back.
2. Go to Elementor > Tools > Version Control.
3. Under “Rollback Version,” select the previous major version and click “Reinstall & Activate.”
4. Clear all caches.

If the shape divider reappears, it indicates a bug in the latest version or a deeper conflict. Report the bug to Elementor support and wait for an official