WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool into a tool that can be used to design all types of pages – marketing pages, portfolio pages, local business pages, etc.
Whatever you can imagine, someone is bound to be already building it using WordPress!
In this article you will discover how to create beautiful web page layouts with drag & drop ease in WordPress sites.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
The WordPress Editor – Is There A Better Option For Designing Web Pages In WordPress?
Using the WordPress content editor to create or edit sophisticated web pages can be difficult.
(The built-in WordPress WYSIWYG editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” content, but adding complex layouts can be challenging!)
For example, let’s say you want to create something like the layout shown below …
Creating the above page elements in a page would require inserting something like this inside your default WordPress visual editor …
Generally, this is not really an issue … until you have to change the layout (for example, move part of the content from box 1 into box 2, or replace the button in box 1 from green to light blue. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with code.
The WordPress content editor is supposed to give users an easy-to-use WYSIWYG editor, but as you can see, if you are trying to create complex page elements, what you see in the WordPress content editor 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 instances, you may even be better off working directly inside the text editor tab instead of the WYSIWYG editor when trying to build fancy page elements …
Even though WordPress is extremely easy to use, this makes it difficult for users without coding skills to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental problem with having to use shortcodes and HTML to create content in the default WordPress editor can be summarized by asking 2 questions:
1) Speed – How long will it take to create a web page using this 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, what you see when working in the back end doesn’t look even remotely similar to what you see in the front end. This means that you 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 tweaks and updates to see how your content is progressing, which interrupts the creative process, as you wait for pages to refresh.
A number of WordPress developers have come up with a range of solutions with the aim of making content editing easier. Some of these range from stand alone WordPress plugins you can install on your site that add new functionality to the editor, to WP themes that provide 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 need to learn how to work with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these editors work, but they still don’t address the fundamental issue of using shortcodes and HTML as described earlier. Adding and editing sophisticated content elements 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 to create or edit complex page content quickly, this can become quite frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your web page builder to behave?
Now, visualize the following …
- You look at your content and if you spot something that needs correction, just click on the content and start writing. Your content is instantly edited.
- You simply drag and drop items on the page, and the page looks exactly as it will display on the front end without having to mentally translate any shortcodes or HTML.
- You have an idea for some content that you would like to create, so you simply begin typing, and you build your page on the fly, with no delays, without switching of tab browsers, and without waiting for new web pages to resave and reload.
Would this not be the ideal way to build content for your web site? A true visual content editor where all you have to do is click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around your posts and pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex web pages 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 And Landing Pages
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive click-to-edit drag-and-drop content editor for WordPress.
Thrive Content Builder provides you with 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 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 WordPress)
The plugin 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.
Let’s review each of the above plugins and how all of this functionality works together to help you easily transform and improve your business online and create awesome sales pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder – Click-To-Edit Drag & Drop Content Editing Plugin For WordPress
With the Thrive Content Builder plugin, you can easily add complex design layouts to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Every element of your page can be configured by ”clicking-to-edit” and “dragging and dropping” things around the page …
Once you have placed your elements on the page, you can then easily edit these without having to go through additional steps or switching tabs …
You can also work inside stunning landing pages that can just as easily be edited or customized …
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, designing pages and working on content with the Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder plugin installed is so effortlessly easy, that the developers guarantee that you’ll never look back once you start using it
More info: Thrive Content Builder
The integrated Thrive Content Builder plugin was created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another great plugin we’ve recommended on this site.
See this article for more information about using the plugin:
Benefits
Below are just a few of the benefits of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up your page design and content creation process:
Installation Is Easy
Thrive Content Builder is quite easy to install. Simply upload it to your Plugins folder via your dashboard and activate.
Edit & Add Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is simple and intuitive to use and lets you create, edit and add content right inside your pages in real-time.
What You See Is Truly What You Get
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see on the “back end” as you work within the content editor – fonts, visual elements, page layouts, etc. is exactly what you get on the front end of your site.
Some additional benefits include:
- Eye-Catching Layouts With Drag And Drop Ease: Create any type of layout you can imagine with drag and drop ease.
- Add Customizable Elements Without Short Codes: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get a click-to-edit content builder, but the plugin also includes a very decent collection of professional web design elements that you can customizable and add to your pages without using short codes, like pricing tables, content reveal feature, page section dividers, responsive videos, etc.
- Distraction-Free Content Creation: Not having to deal with technical stuff, or having to wait for the updates to load 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 steps to get what you need done.
(Add, edit and customize page elements like testimonials, columns, star ratings for review pages, call to action buttons, responsive video embeds, etc.)
Plugin Features
Thrive Content Builder offers many unique features to site owners. Below we have listed just some of these features:
- Regular Content Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have access to all of the built-in text editing options that you are used to (e.g. underline, paragraph formatting, 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 creating and editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin comes with various attention-grabbing and customizable elements that will help increase your sales conversions, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonials, and guarantees. In addition to customization options, multiple design options are also available for various elements.
- Responsive Design: Add mobile-friendly elements like columns, guarantee boxes, dividers, e.g. which will display great on all different kinds of devices.
- Add Animation To Web Pages: Thrive Content Builder’s Event Manager feature lets you add animated page elements, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Web Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – 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 initial signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages 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 designing and customizing pages
- 100% conversion-optimized pages
- No coding skills needed
- Works with all WordPress themes
Thrive Content and Landing 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, 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 currently 30+ templates available, with more templates planned for 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 Sets
Normally, to be able to have a fully customizable landing page template, you would need to either pay a web designer to do the work, or learn web coding languages like HTML and CSS and figure out how to edit the page code 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 complex 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 pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change or customize any aspect of your page …
The landing page templates included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Modify text in any button, headline, bullet point, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other element of your landing page
- Change all background images and edit colours
- Change the color of links, buttons, text, etc.
- Select your own fonts
- Use your own images
- Modify the size of the content area
- Change the order of elements on the page
- Translate everything on the page into a different language
- Add any kind of custom content anywhere in the pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own landing pages from scratch and save them as new web page templates.
(Change or edit any aspect of the page)
Thrive Lightbox – Transform Your Web Site Into A Marketing Machine
The Thrive plugin combo includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully editable two-step opt-in forms and events to your site …
(Add opt-in forms and events to your web pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process helps 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 help to improve your conversion rates.)
Thrive Lightbox 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 an image, or when someone reaches a certain point on the page. You can also use the Event Manager to animate images on your web pages, using a range of animation effects (e.g. fade in, slide in from left to right, roll in, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your marketing pages with Thrive Lightbox)
A lightbox and event is created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over the events, triggers and design.
User Feedback
Below are a couple of the testimonials that users have provided for Thrive Content Builder:
“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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”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”
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 existing pages or posts that were not created using the plugin.
You can add short codes inside the Content Builder or Landing Pages plugin and they will be displayed correctly on on your web site.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content built using Thrive Content Builder.
Thrive Content Builder Support
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder Plugin comes with free updates, new landing templates and upcoming features. The plugin developers are constantly working on adding new features and improving existing ones.
Thrive software is really well-supported, and users get lifetime software updates, and one year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, thirty day, 100% refund guarantee.
This is an exciting product that just keeps getting better.
Software 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 allows you to configure the plugin on a single site. Price includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites License – This allows you to install the plugin on all sites that you personally own. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency Licensing – This enables you to set up the plugin on all of your own sites and your client web sites. Pricing includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Price = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: The price of the Thrive Content Builder plugin can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Presently, the product sells for the pricing shown above. This may not be the actual price set by the product seller when you visit the product website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Plugin Info
The Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages plugin developers repeatedly 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 the time-saving benefits of ready-made web page elements and templates that help to speed up page design and content creation, and on the other hand, you also have 100% control over your design process and the ability to edit anything and everything on your page, using the plugin’s click-to-edit and drag and drop features, which lets you get things done without having to go through multiple steps.
For demo videos showing how the software works, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive website.
We Recommend …
If you want to edit something, you click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, you will see the change happen instantly. If you want to move something, all you need to do is drag it and drop it into its new location. There are no complicated steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your web presence and create awesome marketing pages and engaging content, Thrive Content and Landing Page Builder delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For full details, check out the plugin here:
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