WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool into a tool being used to create all kinds of web sites.
Whatever you can imagine, somewhere around the world someone is probably already building it with WordPress!
In this article you will discover how to create stunning content faster with drag & drop ease in WordPress sites.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The WordPress Content Editor Still Meet All Of Your Content Creation And Editing Needs?
Using the WordPress WYSIWYG editor to create or edit sophisticated layouts can be quite challenging, especially for non-technical WordPress users.
(The built-in WordPress content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” text and media, but adding more complex page elements can be quite challenging!)
For example, if you look at the image below …
To create the above in a page would require entering something like this inside the WordPress visual editor …
Normally, this is not really an issue … unless you need to change your layout (for example, move part of the content from box 3 into box 2, or replace the background color inside a box from dark green to some other colour. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with code.
The WordPress visual content editor is supposed to provide users with an easy-to-use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) content editor, but as you can see, if you are working with complex content elements, what you see on your editor screen is not really what you are going to get when the page goes live …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some instances, you could even be better off working inside the WordPress html (text) editor tab instead of the WYSIWYG editor when trying to create something other than simple layouts …
Even though WordPress is extremely easy to use, this makes it hard for non-technical website owners to have full control of their own content.
The fundamental issue of having to use shortcodes and HTML to create content in WordPress can be summarized as follows:
1) Speed – How long does it take to build 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, what you see in the editor doesn’t look even remotely similar to what you see in the front end. This means that users need to abstract what the content will look like when working with sophisticated layouts. Other solutions require taking a number of steps before you can begin configuring your page layout, or endlessly going back and forth between browser tabs and performing updates to see how your content is coming along, which then impacts how fast you can create your content, as you wait for the page to refresh.
Many WordPress web developers have come up with various solutions aiming to address this issue. Some of these range from stand alone plugins you can add to your site that add new functionality to the editor, to WP themes that offer built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make content creation easier!)
Some solutions require so many page-building features, that users need to learn how to work with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these alternative editors work fine, but they don’t address the fundamental challenge of using shortcodes and HTML 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 become very frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like to build and edit your web content?
Now, imagine the following scenario …
- You spot something in your content that needs to be corrected so you, simply click on the content and start editing it. Your content has been instantly edited.
- 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 visualize any HTML or shortcodes.
- You have an idea for an item of content that you would like to create, so you immediately start typing, and your page gets built as you go, without delays, without tab switching, and without having to wait for pages to reload.
Would this not be the ideal way to create content for your WordPress website? A true WYSIWYG editor where all you have to do is click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around your pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex web pages ”on the fly” for your web content without technical constraints!)
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 And Page Builder
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive click-to-edit drag-and-drop content and landing page building plugin for WordPress.
Thrive Content Builder is a new and exciting way to set up conversion-focused pages on any WordPress website.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor and a sidebar menu that lets you click, then drag and drop design elements on your page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new visual content editor to your WordPress site)
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 take a look at all of the above plugins and how these exciting features work together to help you easily transform and improve your site and create awesome sales pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Plugin
This plugin lets you easily add content to your web pages and build complex page layouts using drag and drop elements …
Every element on your web page can be configured, edited and moved around using ”click-to-edit” and “drag and drop” …
Once you have placed elements on the page, you can then customize or edit them without having to go through additional steps or switching tabs …
You can also create stunning landing pages and easily edit these …
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, designing pages with the Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages plugin installed is so effortlessly easy, that the developers guarantee that once you start using it, you’ll never look back!
To learn more about this plugin go here: Thrive Content Builder
The integrated Thrive Content and Page Builder plugin was created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another amazing plugin we’ve previously reviewed on this site.
To read about this plugin, go here:
Benefits
Below we have listed just some of the many benefits of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up your page design and content creation process:
Fast And Easy To Install And Use. Be Up And Running In No Time.
Thrive Content Builder is very easy to install. Simply upload it to your Plugin folder via your administrator account and activate.
Edit Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is is not only simple and intuitive to use, it also lets you edit and add content to your web pages in real-time.
A Truly Visual Content Builder
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see as you work within the content editor – typefaces, elements, layouts, etc. is exactly what you get in the front end of your site.
Additional plugin benefits include the following:
- Beautiful Web Page Layouts With Drag-And-Drop Ease: Create any kind of layout you can imagine with intuitive drag-and-drop functionality.
- Customizable Elements Included: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get an amazing drag and drop WordPress content editor, but the plugin also includes a jaw-dropping collection of design elements that you can insert into your content layouts without using short codes, like tabbed content, star ratings for review pages, section dividers, responsive maps, etc.
- More Enjoyable Content Creation: Not having to wait for your updates to refresh frees up your attention and allows you to build the content your business needs, quickly and without having to deal with code or click through multiple layers of menus to get what you want done.
(Thrive Content Builder lets you easily insert, edit and customize web page elements like testimonial boxes, pricing tables, feature grids, section dividers, responsive video embeds, etc.)
Features
Thrive Content Builder offers many great features to WP users. Below we have listed just some:
- Built-In Content Editor Functionality Is Still Available: You have all of the built-in WordPress editing options that you are used to (e.g. underline, paragraph centering, 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 for editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin comes with various eye-catching and customizable elements that will help increase your sales conversions, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonials, and guarantee forms. In addition to customization options, multiple design options are also available for various elements.
- Mobile-Friendly Design: Add responsive columns, boxes, content section dividers, e.g. which will display correctly on different screens.
- Add Animation Events To Web Pages: Thrive Content Builder’s Event Manager feature lets you create animated page content, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Web Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Landing Page Sets
Landing page sets are web page 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 gives you access to conversion-optimized web page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time creating web pages
- 100% conversion-optimized web page templates
- No coding skills required
- Works with all themes
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages not only lets you create beautiful-looking content in your WordPress posts and pages, but you can also choose from dozens of beautifully designed, page templates that are conversion-optimized and fully customizable …
(Landing page sets that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language)
There are currently over thirty templates available, with more templates being worked on. In addition to the templates that are currently available, expect to see new templates in the future for email lead generation, sales pages, lesson pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Customizable Landing Page Template Sets
Typically, to be able to have a completely customizable landing page template, you would need to either pay a web site designer to do the work, or learn web coding languages like HTML and CSS 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 great-looking pre-designed page templates that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change and customize any element of the page template …
The landing page templates included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Edit text in all headlines, buttons, bullet points, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other element of the landing page
- Change the background image or colour
- Change the color of links, buttons, text, etc.
- Choose your own fonts
- Select your own images and graphics
- Edit content area size
- Rearrange the order of page elements
- Translate everything on the page into a different language
- Add any kind of custom content inside your pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own landing pages from scratch and save them as new web page templates.
(Change or customize any aspect of the page template)
Transform Your WordPress Site Into A Powerful Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox Plugin
The Thrive plugin combo includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully configurable 2-step opt-in forms and events to your web pages …
(Add lead capture forms and animated objects to your WordPress website with Thrive Lightbox)
Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-step opt-in process helps to improve your conversion rates. Visitors click on a button or image, and then they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Capture more leads and subscribers with a 2-step opt-in process)
Event Manager
An “event” consists of a trigger and an action. You can make opt-in forms appear when when visitors click or hover their mouse 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 images on your pages, using various effects (e.g. zoom in from the page center, slide in from right to left, roll out, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your WordPress website with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
A lightbox and event is created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over the events, triggers and design.
Feedback From Users
Below are some of the testimonials plugin users have submitted regarding the Thrive Content Builder plugin:
“I have had nothing but the best experience imaginable with this tool since I purchased it. This is by far one of, if not the best plug-in I have purchase to date and it has definitely made working with WordPress a whole new experience. Jim Bond”
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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 theme in WordPress, not just with the Thrive Landing Pages plugin. Note, however, that you cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content that was not created using the plugin.
You can add short codes inside the Content Builder or Landing Pages plugin and they will display correctly on the front end.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build with Thrive Content Builder.
Product Support
Thrive Content and Landing Page Builder Plugin provides free updates, new landing templates and upcoming features. The Thrive team is constantly working on adding new features and improving existing ones.
Thrive software is very well-supported, and users get unlimited software updates, plus 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, 30 day, complete refund guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users that just keeps 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 – This allows you to install the plugin on a single domain. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites License – This lets you configure the plugin on all domains that you own. Pricing includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency Edition – Use on all your domains & on client websites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: Price details for the Thrive Content Builder plugin depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The above reflects the current pricing when this content was written. This may or may not be the actual price set by the software developer when you visit the plugin website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for the current price here:
Additional Information
The developers of the Thrive Content Builder plugin 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 pages faster, and on the other hand, you also have complete control over the design process and the freedom to change and customize anything and everything on your page, using the plugin’s click-to-edit and drag and drop features, that allows you to work unhindered by overly complicated options.
For a demo video showing how the plugin works, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the plugin website.
Our Recommendation …
If you want to edit something, you just click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, you can see the change happen immediately. If you want to move something, all you have to do is 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 marketing pages and engaging content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For more information, check out the plugin here:
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