WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging application into a tool being used to design all types of pages – direct sales pages, portfolio pages, local business pages, etc.
Whatever you can think of, somewhere around the world someone is probably already building it using WordPress!
This article will help you discover the fastest way to create stunning web page layouts in WordPress.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The Default WordPress Content Editor Meet All Of Your Web Design Needs?
Using the built-in WordPress WYSIWYG editor to build or edit sophisticated web pages can sometimes be difficult.
(The WordPress visual content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” text and images, but adding complex layouts can be challenging!)
For example, if you look at the illustration below …
To create the above boxes with text and buttons in your content would require inserting something that looks like this inside your default WordPress editor …
Normally, this is not an issue … unless you want to edit something in the layout (for example, move some of the content from box 1 into box 2, or change the background colour in box 3 from dark green to gold. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code or html.
The WordPress visual content editor is supposed to provide users with an easy-to-use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, but as you can see, if you are creating with complex content elements, what you see may not be what you get …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some instances, users may even be better off working directly inside the WordPress text editor tab instead of the WordPress WYSIWYG editor when trying to build fancy layouts …
Even though WordPress is the most user-friendly CMS platform available, this makes it difficult for users with no knowledge of HTML or CSS to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental problem about having to use shortcodes and HTML to create content with WordPress can be summarized as follows:
1) Speed – How long will it take to create a page using the editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the editor resemble the “front end” content when you are creating or editing a page?
As you can see from the above image, what you see in the back end looks nothing like what you see in the front end. This means that users need to translate mentally what the content will look like when working with complex layouts. Other solutions require taking several steps before you can begin configuring your page layout, or endlessly going back and forth between tabs and performing tweaks and updates to see how your content is coming along, which can impact how quickly you can create your content, as you wait for the updates to refresh.
Many WordPress developers have come up with various solutions with the objective of making content editing more intuitive. Some of these solutions range from stand alone plugins you can add to your site that add new functionality to the editor, to themes that offer built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make creating complex content easier!)
Some solutions end up including so many page-building features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these alternative editors work fine, but they still fail to address the fundamental issue of using HTML and shortcodes as described earlier. Creating and adding sophisticated content elements on a page becomes overly complicated, involves multiple steps and doesn’t match what users expect to see on the “front end.”
If you want to create or edit complex page content quickly, this can start to become really frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your content editor to function?
Now, imagine the following scenario …
- You look at your content and if you see something that needs to be fixed, simply click on the content and start changing it. Your content has been instantly fixed.
- You can just drag and drop elements on the page, and see them exactly as they will display on the front end without having to mentally translate shortcodes or HTML.
- You have an idea for some content that you’d like to add, so you just start typing, and your web page gets built on the fly, without delays, no switching of tab browsers, and without having to wait for new web pages to refresh and reload.
Would this not be the perfect way to build content for your WordPress site? Just click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex web page layouts in real-time for your web content with no technical skills required!)
If you are ready to change the way you create content in WordPress site, then here is a plugin that you may want to consider using …
Thrive Content Builder
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive WordPress click-to-edit drag and drop content creator.
Thrive Content Builder is a new and incredibly easy way to speed up the process of adding content to your WordPress website.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder adds a visual content editor with a sidebar menu that lets you select, then drag and drop elements on your page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new content builder to WordPress)
Thrive Content Builder is actually a combination of the Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages plugins rolled into one, plus an additional plugin feature called Thrive Lightbox.
Let’s take a look at all of the above and how all of this functionality works together to help you transform and improve your site and create awesome marketing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder Plugin
You can easily add complex design layouts to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Every element on your page can be designed using ”click-to-edit” and “drag and drop” …
Once elements have been added to a page, you can then further customize these without going through multiple steps or complicated settings screens …
You can also work inside stunning landing pages that can also be easily edited …
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, designing pages with Thrive Content and Landing Page Builder installed is so effortlessly simple, that the developers warn that once you start using it, it’ll ruin the experience of using all other content editors forever, and you’ll never look back!
Learn more here: Thrive Content Builder
The integrated Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages plugin was created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another great plugin that we have reviewed on this site.
See this page to read about this plugin:
Plugin Benefits
Here are just some of the benefits and advantages of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up the process of creating content for your WordPress site:
Installation Is Easy, Simple And Quick
Thrive Content Builder installs like every plugin. Simply upload it to your Plugins folder via your dashboard and activate.
Real-Time Content Content Creation
Thrive Content Builder is very simple to use and lets you build content in real-time.
What You See Is Really What You Get
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see as you work within the editor – typefaces, elements, page layouts, etc. is exactly what your visitors will see in the front end of your site.
Some additional benefits of using this plugin include:
- Add Attractive Page Layouts With Drag-And-Drop Ease: Create any layout you can imagine with drag-and-drop ease.
- Add Design Elements Without Short Codes: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get a click-to-edit content editor, but the plugin also includes an impressive collection of professional design elements that you can customizable and add to your pages without using shortcodes, like columns, feature grids, call to action buttons, custom HTML and CSS, etc.
- More Enjoyable Content Creation: Not having to deal with technical stuff, or wait for your content to refresh frees up your attention and allows you to build the pages your business needs, quickly and without having to edit code or click through multiple steps to get what you want done.
(Create, edit and customize page elements like testimonials, content toggle, table of contents builder, dividers, responsive maps, etc.)
Features
Thrive Content Builder offers many features to WordPress users. Here are just a few of these:
- All Content Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have access to all of the regular WordPress content editing options that you are used to (e.g. underline, paragraph centering, heading styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Multi-Style Elements Menu: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” list of elements to your post or page screen for editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin includes a range of attention-grabbing and customizable elements that will help you increase the effectiveness of your sales pages, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonial boxes, and guarantees. In addition to customization options, multiple design options are also available for various elements.
- Responsive Design: Add responsive elements like column layouts, text boxes, content dividers, e.g. which will display correctly on all different kinds of devices.
- Add Animation Events To Web Pages: Thrive Content Builder’s Event Manager feature lets you insert animations, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Web Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Landing Page Templates
Landing page template sets are templates that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language to take your visitors from signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages plugin gives you access to conversion-optimized web page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Everything is hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time and money building and customizing landing pages
- 100% conversion-optimized landing pages
- No tech skills required
- Works with any WordPress theme
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder not only can be used to create beautiful content in your WordPress posts and pages, but you can also choose from dozens of beautifully designed, web page templates that are conversion-optimized and fully customizable …
(Thrive Landing Pages provides sets of templates that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language)
There are currently over 30 templates available, with more templates being worked on. In addition to the available templates, expect to see new templates in the future for email lead generation, sales pages, training pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Fully Customizable And Flexible Landing Page Template
Normally, to be able to have a fully customizable landing page template, you would need to either pay a web developer to do the work, or learn how to code web pages and figure out what to do yourself.
As Shane Melaugh, co-founder of Thrive Themes says …
“There are many ways to get a pre-designed page published quickly, but the problem comes with customization. Total design freedom requires either hiring web developers to do the work for you, or learn how to do it yourself, which involves learning how to code or use overly complicated editors. Customizable usually means complicated, expensive or time-consuming. So, you can either have something that is fast and easy to set up, or something that is customizable and flexible. But you couldn’t have both … until now! With Thrive Landing Pages you get the best of both worlds for building conversion-optimized web pages.”
Thrive Landing Pages gives you stunning pre-designed web pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change and edit any aspect of the page templates …
With the landing page template sets included with this plugin, you can:
- Edit text in all headlines, buttons, bullet points, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other element of the landing page
- Change all background images and edit colors
- Edit the color of links, text, buttons, etc.
- Choose your own fonts
- Select your own images and graphics
- Change the size of the content area
- Change the order of page elements
- Translate pages into different languages
- Add custom content inside the pages
- Start with a blank page and create your own page templates, or even build your own custom landing pages library.
(Change or customize any aspect of your page templates)
Transform Your Website Into A Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox Plugin
The Thrive package also includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully customizable two-step opt-in forms and animated objects to your site …
(Add lead capture forms and animated elements to your web pages with Thrive Lightbox)
Thrive Lighbox 2-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-step opt-in process can improve your conversion rates. Visitors click on a button or image, and then they are presented with your opt-in form …
(When visitors click on the button, they are presented with an opt-in form)
Event Manager
An “event” consists of a trigger and an action. You can make opt-in forms appear when when visitors click or hover over a button or an image, or when someone scrolls down to a certain point on the page. You can also use the Event Manager to animate attention-getting elements on your web pages, using various animation effects (e.g. zoom in, slide in from left to right, roll out, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your pages with Thrive Lightbox)
A lightbox and event is created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over your events, triggers and design.
User Feedback
Here are just some testimonials that customers have submitted regarding Thrive Content Builder:
”Wow! This is just getting better & better. This plugin is making my websites look so professional. Keep up the great work and thank you for the new features. Ladonna Ragalin”
***
“I’m blown away by the plugin. Keep up the incredible, WordPress changing work, guys! Dean Phillips”
Thrive Content Builder Plugin – Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any WordPress theme, not just with Thrive Landing Pages. Note, however, that you cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content on existing pages or posts that were not created with the plugin installed.
You can add WordPress shortcodes inside Thrive Content Builder or Thrive Landing Pages and they will display correctly on your website.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build with Thrive Content Builder.
Product Support
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages Plugin provides free updates, new landing pages and upcoming features. The Thrive team is constantly working on adding new features and improving existing ones.
Thrive software is really well-supported, and users get lifetime software updates, and 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, thirty day, 100% money-back guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users that just keeps getting better.
Software Price
At the time of writing, the pricing information shown below includes all three components described above (Thrive Content Builder, Thrive Landing Pages & Thrive Lightbox):
- Single Site License Edition – This enables you to configure the plugin on a single website. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Price = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites License Edition – This lets you install the plugin on all domains that you own. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency Licensing – Use on your websites and on all your client sites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Price = $247.00 per year.
Note: Price details for the Thrive Content Builder product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Currently, the product sells for the amounts shown above. This may or may not be the actual price set by the product author when you visit the product website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing:
Additional Plugin Info
The Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder plugin developers emphatically maintain that the plugin’s architecture gives you the “best of both worlds,” and help bring back the “joy of creating content.”
On the one hand, you have the time-saving benefits of ready-made web page elements and conversion-optimized template sets that help to make designing your content faster, and on the other hand, you also have complete control over your design process and the ability to change and customize anything and everything on your page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, that lets you see how the content you are working on will display after being published.
For demo videos showing how the plugin works, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive website.
In Conclusion …
If you want to edit something, you just click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, do it, and you will see the change happen immediately. If you want to move something, you drag it and drop it into its new position. There are no complicated steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your business online and create awesome sales pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
To learn more, check out the plugin here:
***
