WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging application to a tool being used to design all types of pages – marketing pages, portfolio pages, business pages, etc.
Whatever you can think of, somewhere around the world someone is probably already building it with WordPress!
This article will help you discover the simplest way to create stunning content in WordPress web sites.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The WordPress Editor Still Meet All Of Your Content Creation And Editing Needs?
Using the WordPress WYSIWYG editor to create or edit complex web pages can sometimes be quite difficult.
(The WordPress editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” content, but adding complex content elements can be quite challenging!)
For example, if you look at the image below …
To create the above layout, users would have to add shortcodes to the content for every page element they want to add to their page …
Typically, this is not really an issue … unless you want to reconfigure the layout (for example, move part of the content from box 3 into box 2, or replace the background colour in a box from red to maroon. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with code inside the content editor.
The WordPress content editor is supposed to be an easy-to-use WYSIWYG content editor, but as you can see, if you are trying to add complex page elements, often what you see on your screen may not be what you are going to get when the content is published …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some cases, you would probably be better off working inside the html (text) editor tab instead of the WordPress visual editor when trying to add non-linear layouts …
Even though WordPress is the most user-friendly CMS platform available, this makes it hard for WordPress users without knowledge of HTML or CSS to have full control of their own content.
The fundamental issue of having to use shortcodes and HTML to create content with WordPress can be summarized by asking two questions:
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” 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 does not 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 complex layouts. Other solutions require several steps before you can start configuring your page layout, or endlessly switching tabs and performing updates to see how your content is progressing, which then impacts how fast you can create your content, as you wait for your updated content to load.
A number of WordPress web developers have tried to come up with different solutions to try to make content editing easier. Some of these range from stand alone WP 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 end up requiring so many page design features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these editors work fine, but they still fail to address the fundamental challenge of using HTML and shortcodes as described earlier. Creating, adding and editing non-linear content on a web 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 content to look “just right” quickly, this can become quite frustrating.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like to build and edit your web content?
Now, visualize this …
- You look at your content and if you see something that needs to be fixed, just click on the content and start editing it. Your content is instantly edited.
- You just drag and drop items on the page, and see them exactly as they will appear on the front end without having to mentally visualize code.
- You have an idea for some content that you’d like to create, so you immediately start typing, and you build your page as you go, without delays, without tab switching, and without having to wait for new content to reload.
Would this not be the perfect way to create content for your WordPress web site? A true WYSIWYG content builder where all you have to do is click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the posts and pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex page layouts quickly 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 – The Simplest WYSIWYG Content Editor For WordPress
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a ground-breaking WordPress plugin that gives you total control over every aspect of your content pages using a click-to-edit and drag and drop content editor.
Thrive Content Builder provides you with a new and incredibly easy way to set up conversion-focused pages on your WordPress website.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor and an item menu that lets you select, then drag and drop elements to your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new visual content editing option to your WordPress site)
Thrive Landing Pages And Content Builder 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.
We’ll take an in-depth look at all of the above and how these powerful features work seamlessly together to help you easily transform and improve your web presence and create awesome marketing pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Plugin
With the Thrive Content Builder plugin, you can easily build complex web page design layouts using drag and drop elements …
Every element on your page can be designed, edited and moved around using simple “drag and drop” and “click-to-edit” …
Once elements have been added to the page, you can then further edit or customize them without having to go through multiple steps or switching screens …
The built-in functionality of the plugin also lets you create highly attractive landing pages and easily edit these …
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 the plugin installed is so effortlessly easy, that the developers guarantee that once you start using it, you’ll never look back!
For more details, visit the plugin site here: Thrive Content Builder
The integrated Thrive Content and Landing Page Builder plugin was created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another excellent plugin that we have reviewed on this site.
See this post for more information about the plugin:
Plugin Benefits
Here we have listed just a few of the benefits of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up content creation:
Ready To Use In Minutes
Thrive Content Builder installs like every plugin. Just upload it to your Plugins folder via your WP admin user section and activate.
Edit & Build Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is is not only really simple to use, it also lets you create and add content to your pages in real-time.
What You See Is Exactly What You Get
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see as you work within the editor – typefaces, visual elements, layouts, etc. is exactly what you get in the front end of your site.
Additional benefits include the following:
- Add Stunning Page Layouts With Drag-And-Drop Ease: Create any kind of layout you can imagine with drag and drop ease.
- Design Elements Included: With Thrive Content Builder you not only get an amazing drag and drop content editor, but the plugin also includes a collection of professional web design elements that you can customizable and insert into your content layouts without using short codes, such as pricing tables, borderless content, buttons, countdown timers, etc.
- More Enjoyable Content Creation: Not having to deal with technical stuff for the content to refresh frees up your attention and allows you to be more focused while you work or click through multiple steps to get what you need done.
(Thrive Content Builder lets you easily create, edit and customize web page elements like testimonials, columns, styled lists, buttons, responsive videos, etc.)
Thrive Content Builder Features
Thrive Content Builder provides web site owners a number of features. Below we have listed just some of those features:
- All Content Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have access to all of the regular WordPress editing options that you are used to (e.g. underlines, centering text, headings, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements Menu: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” table of multi-style elements to your post or page screen for editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin includes various attention-grabbing and customizable elements that will help increase the effectiveness of your sales pages, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonial boxes, and guarantees. In addition to being customizable, various elements also offer multiple design options.
- Responsive Design: Add mobile-friendly columns, boxes, dividers, e.g. which will resize and display great on different device screens.
- Add Animation To Your Web Pages: Thrive Content Builder’s Event Manager feature lets you insert animated page content, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Landing Page Sets
Landing page template sets are 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 site)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Benefits
- Everything is hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time designing beautiful landing pages
- 100% conversion-optimized pages
- No web coding skills required
- Works with any WordPress theme
Thrive Content and Page Builder not only lets you create beautiful-looking content in your WordPress posts and pages, but you can also choose from dozens of beautifully 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 currently over 30 templates available, with more templates planned for release. In addition to the templates that are currently available, the developers plan to release new web page templates for email lead generation, sales pages, training pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Fully Customizable And Flexible Landing Page Template Sets
Normally, to be able to fully customize a landing page template, you would need to either pay a web site 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 creating conversion-optimized web pages.”
Thrive Landing Pages gives you attractive pre-built web page templates that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that lets you change and edit any element of your page template …
With the landing page template sets included with this plugin, you are able to:
- Modify text in all buttons, bullet points, headlines, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other element of your landing page
- Change the background image or background colour
- Change the color of text, buttons, links, etc.
- Choose your own fonts
- Select your own images and graphics
- Change content area size
- Rearrange the order of page elements
- Translate pages 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 page templates.
(Change or edit any aspect of the page)
Transform Your Web Site Into A Powerful Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox Plugin
The Thrive plugin combo includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully customizable two-step opt-in forms and animated objects to your website …
(Add lead capture forms and events to your pages with Thrive Lightbox)
Thrive Lighbox Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-step opt-in process can improve your conversion rates. When visitors click on a button or image they are presented with your opt-in form …
(two-step opt-in forms can increase your conversion rates.)
Event Manager
An “event” consists of a trigger and an action. You can make an opt-in form appear when your visitor clicks or hovers 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 page, using a range of animation effects (e.g. zoom out, slide in from bottom to top, roll out, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your sales pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Lightboxes and events are created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over events, triggers and design.
Testimonials From Users
Below are a few of the testimonials and feedback users have provided for 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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”Great stuff! I am really impressed by all the new additions. You guys have shown a true commitment to making these themes and the Content Builder awesome. Michael Johnson”
Useful Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any WordPress theme, not just with Thrive Landing Pages. 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 when published.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content built using Thrive Content Builder.
Plugin Support
Thrive Content and 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 products are really well-supported, and users get lifetime software upgrades, plus one 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 Licensing – This edition enables you to install the plugin on 1 website only. Pricing includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Edition – This lets you run the plugin on all of your personal domains. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency License – This license option lets you install the plugin on all of your own web sites and any client domains. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Price = $247.00 per year.
Note: Pricing for the product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. When we last checked, the software is selling for the prices shown above. This may not be the actual price charged by the plugin seller when you visit the site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest pricing:
Additional Information
The Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages 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 page elements and beautiful, conversion-optimized template sets that help to speed up content creation, and on the other hand, you also have complete control over the design process and the ability to edit everything on your page, using the plugin’s click-to-edit and drag and drop features, which lets you work unhindered by overly complicated options.
For a demo video of the plugin, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive Content Builder website.
Get This Plugin …
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’ll see the change happen immediately. If you want to move something, simply drag it and drop it into its new position. There are no extra steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your business online and create awesome marketing pages and content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For more information, visit the plugin website:
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