WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool into a tool being used to design all types of pages – landing pages, product showcase pages, local business pages, etc.
Whatever you can imagine, somewhere around the world someone is most likely already building it with WordPress!
This article will help you discover the fastest way to create beautiful web page layouts in WordPress.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The Default WordPress Visual Content Editor Meet All Of Your Content Creation And Editing Needs?
With all the many advancements that WordPress has undergone in recent years, many WordPress developers and users feel that the WordPress content editor is not really suitable for creating and customizing complex web page layouts.
(The built-in WordPress WYSIWYG content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” text and media, but adding complex layouts can be challenging!)
For example, let’s say you want to create something like the content shown below …
Creating the above page elements in your content would require entering something like this in your default WordPress visual editor …
Normally, this is not really an issue … unless you have to change the layout (for example, move some of the content from box 3 into box 2, or replace the button inside a box from green to blue. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with code.
The WordPress content editor is supposed to provide non-technical 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 more complex page elements, often what you see on your editor screen may not be what you are going to get when your page gets published …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some situations, some people argue that users would probably be better off working directly with the source html itself instead of the WordPress WYSIWYG editor when trying to build non-linear layouts …
Even though WordPress is extremely easy to use, this makes it difficult for non-technical users to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental issue of using HTML and shortcodes to create content in the default WordPress WYSIWYG editor can be summarized by asking two questions:
1) Speed – How long does it take to create a web page using this editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the ”back end” match the “front end” content when you are creating or editing a page?
As you can see from the above, what you see in the back end looks nothing like what you see in the front end. This means that you need to translate mentally what your content will look like when working with sophisticated layouts. Other solutions require a number of steps before you can start configuring your page layout, or endlessly switching browser tabs and performing updates to see how your content is coming along, which then affects how fast you can create your content, as you wait for your new content to reload.
Many WordPress web developers have tried to come up with various solutions with the aim of making the visual editor more intuitive. These solutions range from WordPress 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 combining so many complex page-building features, that users need to learn how to work with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these alternative solutions work fine, but they still don’t address the fundamental issue 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 to create or edit complex page content quickly, this can start to become very frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your web page editor to function?
Now, visualize the following …
- You spot something in your content that needs fixing so you, simply click on the content and start changing it. Your content has been instantly changed.
- You simply drag and drop elements around the page, and the page looks exactly as it will appear on the front end without having to mentally abstract from code.
- You have an idea for an item of content you would like to add, so you immediately begin typing, and you build your web page as you go, without delays, with no switching tabs, and no waiting for pages to refresh and reload.
Would this not be the ideal way to build content for your site? Just click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the posts and pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex web pages ”on the fly” 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 – The Simplest, Most Intuitive WYSIWYG Content Editor For WordPress
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a revolutionary plugin for WordPress that allows you to quickly create and edit content on your posts and pages with true click-to-edit and drag and drop simplicity.
The Thrive Content Builder plugin provides you with a new and exciting way to speed up the process of creating amazing content on your WordPress website.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder adds a visual content editor and an item menu that lets you select, then drag and drop design elements to your page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new content editor to your WordPress site)
The Thrive Content Builder And Landing Pages plugin is actually a combination of the Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages plugins combined into one, plus an additional plugin feature called Thrive Lightbox.
Let’s examine all of the above plugins and how these exciting features work seamlessly together to help you transform and improve your web presence and create awesome sales pages and content.
Thrive Content Builder Plugin
With Thrive Content Builder easily build complex web page design layouts using drag and drop elements …
Every element of your web page can be designed with “drag and drop” and “click-to-edit” ease …
Once you have positioned elements on the page, you can then further customize these without having to go through multiple steps or complicated option windows …
You can also build beautiful 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, working on content with the Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages plugin installed is so amazingly simple, that the developers guarantee that you will never look at the process of creating content the same way once you start using it
Learn more here: Thrive Content Builder
The integrated Thrive Content Builder plugin was created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another excellent plugin we’ve previously reviewed on this site.
See this article to read more about this plugin:
Benefits Of Using Thrive Landing Pages And Content Builder
Below we have listed just a few of the benefits of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up content creation:
Fast And Easy To Install And Configure. Be Up And Running In Minutes.
Thrive Content Builder installs like any other WordPress plugin. Just upload the plugin file to your Plugins folder via your admin user area and activate.
Edit And Create Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is is not only very simple to use, it also lets you build content in real-time.
A Truly Visual Editor
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see on the “back end” as you work within the editor – fonts, elements, layouts, etc. is exactly what you get in the front end of your site.
Additional plugin benefits include:
- Attractive Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease: Create any kind of layout you can imagine with intuitive drag and drop functionality.
- Customizable Elements Included: With Thrive Content Builder you not only get a drag and drop WordPress content builder, but the plugin also includes a collection of functional and attractive design elements that you can customizable and insert into your web pages without using shortcodes, like columns, text boxes, page section dividers, responsive maps, etc.
- Distraction-Free Content Creation: Not having to wait for the content to load frees up your attention and allows you to be more focused while you build content or click through multiple steps to get what you need done.
(Insert, edit and customize web page elements like testimonials, flat design elements, borderless content, buttons, responsive video embeds, etc.)
Thrive Content Builder Features
Thrive Content Builder provides site owners a number of powerful features. Below we have listed just some:
- Built-In WordPress Content Functionality Is Still Available: You have access to all of the built-in content editing options that you are used to (e.g. underline, justified paragraphs, font styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” list of multi-style elements to your post or page screen when editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin includes a range of eye-catching and customizable elements that will help increase the effectiveness of your sales pages, 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 Element Design: Add mobile-friendly columns, boxes, dividers, e.g. which will resize and display correctly on different device screens.
- Add Animation To Pages: Thrive Content Builder’s Event Manager feature lets you insert animations, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages – Landing Page Sets
Thrive Landing Pages provides sets of templates that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language to take your visitors all the way from signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages plugin lets you easily add conversion-optimized web pages to your website)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time and money building and customizing pages for your website
- 100% conversion-optimized pages
- No web coding skills needed
- Works with all themes
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages 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, landing page templates that are conversion-optimized and fully customizable …
(Landing page template sets that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language)
There are over 30 templates available, with more templates scheduled for future release. In addition to the templates shown above, expect to see new templates in the future for email lead generation, sales pages, training pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Completely Customizable And Flexible Landing Page Template
Normally, to be able to fully customize a landing page template, you would need to either hire 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 mess around with code or use 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 attractive pre-designed web pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change or customize any element of the page template …
The landing page templates included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Modify text in all bullet points, buttons, headlines, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other part of the landing page
- Change the background image or background colour
- Change the color of links, buttons, text, etc.
- Select your own fonts
- Use your own images
- Edit the size of the content area
- Rearrange the order of page elements
- Translate pages into different languages
- Add custom content anywhere in any of the pages
- Start with a blank page and create your own page templates, or even build a custom landing page templates library.
(Change or edit any aspect of your page templates)
Thrive Lightbox Plugin – Transform Your WordPress Website Into A Marketing Machine
The Thrive package includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully configurable two-step opt-in forms and animated objects to your pages …
(Add lead capture forms and events to your sales pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-step opt-in process can help increase your conversion rates. When visitors click on an image or button they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Visitors click on a button and 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 graphic elements, or when someone scrolls down to a certain point on the page. You can also use the Event Manager to animate images on your page, using various effects (e.g. zoom in, slide in from top to bottom, rotate, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your WordPress website with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Lightboxes and events are created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over your events, triggers and design.
User Testimonials
Here are some of the testimonials and feedback customers have written about Thrive Content Builder:
”You guys are simply awesome I am loving everything you are doing at the moment. Keep up the great work you really are making such a big difference in this field. Jule Fuller”
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“I’m blown away by the plugin. Keep up the incredible, WordPress changing work, guys! Dean Phillips”
Plugin Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any WordPress theme, not just with the Thrive Landing Pages plugin. You cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content on pages or posts that were not created with the plugin installed.
You can add shortcodes inside the Content Builder or Landing Pages plugin and they will display correctly on on your web site.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build using Thrive Content Builder.
Support
Thrive Content and Landing Page Builder provides free updates, new landing templates and upcoming features. The Thrive team is constantly working on adding new features and improving existing ones.
Thrive plugins are well-supported, and users get lifetime software updates, plus 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, thirty day, 100% money-back guarantee.
This is an exciting product that will just keep getting better.
Plugin Pricing
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 license option lets you use the plugin on one domain only. Cost includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites License – This license option enables you to install the plugin on all of your personal domains. Pricing includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency Licensing – This option lets you run the plugin on all of your own websites and your client sites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: Pricing for the Thrive Content Builder product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Currently, the plugin sells for the amounts shown above. This may or may not be the actual price set 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 current pricing details:
Additional Information
The Thrive Content and Page Builder plugin developers emphatically assert 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 beautiful, conversion-optimized template sets that help make designing your content faster, and on the other hand, you have complete control over your design process and the freedom to edit and customize everything on your web page, using the plugin’s click-to-edit and drag and drop features, which lets you get things done without having to open multiple dialog boxes.
For ”how-to” videos showing how the software works, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the plugin website.
Get The Plugin …
If you want to edit something, you click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, do it, and you can see the change happen immediately. If you want to move something, all you need to do is simply drag it and drop it into its new location. There are no additional steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your site and create awesome sales pages and content, Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For complete details, visit the plugin website:
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