WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool into a tool that is now used to design all types of web pages – direct sales pages, portfolio pages, business pages, etc.
Whatever you can think of, someone is most likely already building it with WordPress!
This article will help you discover the most easy-to-use visual content builder for WordPress.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The WordPress Editor Still Meet All Of Your Page Design Needs?
With so many advancements that WordPress has gone through in recent years, many WordPress developers believe that using the WordPress editor to build or edit complex web pages can sometimes be difficult.
(The built-in WordPress visual content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” text and media, but adding more complex content elements can be challenging!)
For example, if you look at the screenshot below …
To create the above boxes with text and buttons, you would need to add short codes to your content for each of the elements you want to display to visitors …
Generally, this is not an issue … until you want to change the layout (for example, move some of the content from box 3 into box 2, or change the button in box 1 from green to orange. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with code inside the content editor.
The WordPress visual editor is supposed to give non-technical users an easy-to-use WYSIWYG content editor, but as you can see, when working with complex layouts, what you see on your editor screen may not be the same as what you get …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some situations, users could be better off working inside the html editor tab instead of the WYSIWYG editor when trying to build something other than simple layouts …
Even though WordPress is very user-friendly, this makes it difficult for WordPress site owners without knowledge of HTML or CSS to have full control of their own content.
The fundamental challenge about having to use shortcodes and HTML to create content with WordPress can be summarized as follows:
1) Speed – How long does it take to build a web page using the editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the ”back end” match the content in the “front end” when you are creating or editing a page?
As you can see from the above image, what you see when working in the editor doesn’t look even remotely similar to what you see in the front end. This means that users have to abstract what the content will look like when working with sophisticated layouts. Other solutions require taking a number of steps before you can start configuring your page layout, or endlessly switching browser tabs and performing tweaks and updates to see how your content is coming along, which can interrupt the creative process, as you wait for your new content to refresh.
Many WordPress web developers have tried to come up with different solutions aiming to address this issue. Some of these range from stand alone plugins you can install on your site that add new functionality to the editor, to themes that include built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make creating complex content easier!)
Some solutions end up requiring so many complex page-building features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these alternative editors work, but they still don’t address the fundamental challenge of using HTML and shortcodes as described earlier. Adding and editing 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 your web pages to look “just right” quickly, this can become very frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your web page builder to behave?
Now that you’ve asked this question, visualize the following scenario …
- You look at your content and if you see something that needs fixing, simply click on the content and start typing. Your content is instantly fixed.
- You just drag and drop elements around the page, and see them exactly as they will appear on the front end without having to mentally translate any shortcodes or HTML.
- You have an idea for an item of content that you’d like to add, so you immediately start typing, and your web page gets built as you go, without delays, no tab switching, and without waiting for new web pages to refresh.
Would that not be the ideal way to build content for your WordPress web site? Just click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the pages and posts?
(Imagine being able to create complex pages quickly for your web content without 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 – The Fastest Way To Create Stunning Content In WordPress
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a unique plugin for WordPress that gives you complete control over every aspect of your content layout using true click-to-edit and drag and drop simplicity.
Thrive Content Builder provides you with a new and incredibly easy way to set up conversion-focused pages on your WordPress website.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder adds a visual content editor and a sidebar menu that lets you select, then drag and drop design elements to your page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new editor to WordPress)
Thrive Content Builder And Landing Pages is actually a combination of the Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages plugins merged into one, plus an additional plugin feature called Thrive Lightbox.
We’ll address each of the above and how all of this exciting functionality works seamlessly together to help you transform and improve your website and create amazing sales pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder
With Thrive Content Builder easily add complex design layouts to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Every element on your page can be built with ”click-to-edit” and “drag and drop” ease …
Once elements have been added to your page, you can then further edit them without having to go through additional steps or switching tabs …
You can also build highly attractive landing pages that can just as easily be edited or customized …
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, working on content with the Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages plugin installed is so effortlessly simple, that the developers guarantee that once you start using it, it will ruin the experience of using all other content editors forever, and you’ll never look back!
To learn more about the plugin go here: Thrive Content Builder
The integrated Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages plugin was created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another excellent plugin for WordPress we’ve previously reviewed on this site.
To read about this plugin, go here:
Plugin Benefits
Below are just some of the benefits of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up the process of designing pages and creating content for your site:
Be Up And Running In Very Little Time
Thrive Content Builder installs like any WordPress plugin. Just upload the plugin file to your Plugin folder via your dashboard and activate.
Real-Time Content Building & Editing
Thrive Content Builder is is not only really simple and intuitive to use, it also lets you create content in real-time.
A Truly Visual Content Editor
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see on the “back end” as you work within the editor – fonts, visual elements, page layouts, etc. is exactly what your visitors will see on the front end of your site.
Some additional plugin benefits include:
- Stunning Page Layouts With Drag-And-Drop Ease: Create any kind of layout you can imagine with intuitive drag and drop functionality.
- Add Design Elements With No Shortcodes Required: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get an amazing click-to-edit content editor, but the plugin also includes a very decent collection of functional and attractive design elements that you can customizable and add to your layouts without using short codes, such as tabbed content, feature grids, call to action buttons, responsive maps, etc.
- More Enjoyable Content Creation: Not having to constantly switch tabs as you tweak content and then wait for your updated content to reload frees up your attention and allows you to build the web pages your business needs, quickly and without having to mess with code or click through multiple steps to get what you want done.
(Insert, edit and customize web page elements like testimonial boxes, columns, content reveal feature, section dividers, HTML code insert boxes, etc.)
Plugin Features
Thrive Content Builder provides many features to website owners. Below we have listed just a few:
- Regular WordPress Content Functionality Is Preserved: You have access to all of the regular WordPress content editing options that you are used to (e.g. bold, paragraph formatting, headings, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” list of elements to your post or page screen for creating and editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin provides you with various eye-catching and customizable elements that will help increase your conversions, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonials, and guarantee forms. In addition to being customizable, various elements also offer multiple design options.
- Responsive Web Page Design: Add mobile-friendly columns, text boxes, section dividers, e.g. which will adjust to display correctly on different device screens.
- Add Animation To Web Pages: The plugin’s Event Manager feature lets you add animation in buttons, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages – Landing Page Template Sets
Landing page sets are web 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 gives you conversion-optimized web page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time building and customizing landing pages
- 100% conversion-optimized pages
- No web coding skills required
- Works with all WordPress themes
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 professionally designed, conversion optimized web page templates and fully customizable …
(Thrive Landing Pages provides sets of templates that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language)
There are over thirty 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, course pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Completely Customizable And Flexible Landing Page Template Sets
Normally, in order to have a fully customizable landing page template, you would need to either pay a web designer 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 creating conversion-optimized web pages.”
Thrive Landing Pages gives you attractive pre-built page templates that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that lets you change or customize anything on your page …
With the landing page templates included with this plugin, you can:
- Change text in all bullet points, headlines, buttons, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other part of your landing page
- Replace any background images or colour
- Change the color of buttons, links, text, etc.
- Use your own fonts
- Select your own images and graphics
- Change content area size
- Rearrange the order of web page elements
- Translate everything on the page into a different language
- Add custom content anywhere inside your pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own from scratch and save them as new web page templates.
(Change or edit any element of your page)
Transform Your Web Site Into A Powerful Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox Plugin
The Thrive plugin package includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully customizable 2-step opt-in forms and events to your web site …
(Add opt-in forms and events to your web pages with Thrive Lightbox)
Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process helps to increase your conversion rates. Visitors click on a button or image, and then they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Visitors click on a button and are presented with an opt-in form)
Thrive Lightbox Event Manager
An “event” consists of a trigger and an action. You can make an opt-in form appear when when visitors click or hover over a button or graphic elements, or when someone reaches a certain point on the page. You can also use the Event Manager to animate attention-getting elements on your page, using various effects (e.g. fade out, slide in from top to bottom, roll in, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your WordPress web site with Thrive Lightbox)
A lightbox and event is created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over events, triggers and design.
Testimonials From Plugin Customers
Below are a few of the testimonials customers have provided for 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”
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”Your stuff is beautifully designed, fast and has great options for marketers that you just don’t see with other themes. Great, great job! Absolutely love Thrive! David Coleman”
Thrive Content Builder Plugin – Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any WordPress theme, not just with the Thrive Landing Pages plugin. Note, however, that you cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content that was not created with the plugin installed.
You can add shortcodes inside the Content Builder or Landing Pages plugin and they will be displayed correctly on the front end.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content built with Thrive Content Builder.
Support
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages provides free updates, new landing pages and upcoming features. The plugin developers are constantly working on adding new features and improving existing ones.
Thrive software is well-supported, and users get lifetime upgrades, plus 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, 30 day, full refund guarantee.
This is an exciting product that will just keep getting better.
Plugin 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 – This allows you to configure the plugin on a single website. It includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Licensing – This license allows you to install the plugin on unlimited domains that you personally own. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency Licensing – This edition lets you run the plugin on all of your own web sites and your client sites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Price = $247.00 per year.
Note: Pricing details of Thrive Content Builder depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The above reflects the pricing at the time this article was written. This may or may not be the actual price charged by the plugin developer when you visit the plugin website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest pricing here:
Additional Information
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 time-saving features like ready-made page elements and template sets that help speed up page design and content creation, and on the other hand, you have complete control over the design process and the freedom to edit everything on your page, using the plugin’s click-to-edit and drag and drop features, that lets you work unhindered by overly complicated steps.
For a demo video showing how the software works, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive Content Builder website.
We Recommend …
If you want to edit something, simply click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, do it, and you can see the change happen instantly. If you want to move something, simply drag it and drop it into its new position. There are no complicated steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your website and create awesome sales pages and engaging content, Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For more details, visit the plugin website:
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