WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool to a tool being used to design all types of pages – direct sales 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!
In this article you will learn how to create stunning content and design beautiful layouts with drag & drop ease in WordPress web sites.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The WordPress Content Editor Meet All Of Your Page Design Needs?
With so many developments that WordPress has undergone in recent years, many WordPress developers and users believe that the WordPress content editor is more suitable for performing simple content editing (e.g. text running down the page with left-aligned images or videos, etc.), than creating and customizing page elements within sophisticated layouts.
(The built-in WordPress editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional content, but adding complex page elements can be challenging!)
For example, let’s say you want to create something like the layout shown below …
To create the above in your content would require inserting something like this inside your WordPress visual editor …
Typically, this is not really an issue … unless you want to reconfigure the layout (for example, move part of the content from box 1 into box 2, or replace the button inside box 3 from dark green to gray. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code.
The WordPress editor is supposed to give non-technical users an easy-to-use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) content editor, but as you can see, when creating with complex layouts, what you see in the visual editor may not be the same as what you are getting when your page is published …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some cases, you may even be better off working inside the html editor tab instead of the visual editor when trying to create fancy page elements …
Even though WordPress is the most user-friendly CMS platform available, this makes it difficult for non-technical users to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental problem with 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” resemble the “front end” content when you are creating or editing a page?
As you can see from the above screenshot, what you see when working in the editor looks nothing like what you see in the front end. This means that users need to mentally translate what the content will look like when working with sophisticated layouts. Other solutions require several 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 interrupts the creative process, as you wait for the content to load.
Many WordPress developers have tried to come up with different solutions with the goal of addressing this issue. These range from WP plugins you can install on your site that add new functionality to the editor, to WordPress themes that provide built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make creating complex page layouts easier!)
Some solutions end up including so many complex page-building features, that users need to learn how to work with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these solutions work, but they don’t really address the fundamental challenge of using shortcodes and HTML as described earlier. Creating, 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 start to become quite frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your web page editor to work?
Now that you’ve asked this question, visualize this …
- You look at your content and if you spot something that needs changing, simply click on the content and start editing it. Your content has been instantly changed.
- You can drag and drop elements around the page, and the page looks exactly as it will appear on the front end without having to mentally visualize HTML or shortcodes.
- You have an idea for an item of content that you would like to create, so you just begin typing, and your web page gets built on the fly, with no delays, no tab switching, and no waiting for new web pages to refresh.
Would this not be the ideal way to build content for your website? A true visual content builder where all you have to do is click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex web 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 – The Ultimate Drag And Drop Front End Builder For WordPress Websites
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive click-to-edit drag and drop content and page building plugin for WordPress.
Thrive Content Builder provides you with a new and exciting way to speed up the process of creating amazing content on your WordPress website.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor with a menu that lets you select, then drag and drop elements to your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new visual editor to WordPress)
The Thrive Landing Pages And Content Builder 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 all of the above and how all of this powerful functionality works seamlessly together to help you easily transform and improve your web presence and create amazing sales pages and content.
Thrive Content Builder – Click-To-Edit Drag & Drop Content Builder Plugin For WordPress
You can easily add content to your web pages and build complex page layouts using drag and drop elements …
Everything on your web page can be designed, edited and repositioned by dragging and dropping things around the page and then clicking to edit them …
Once elements have been positioned on your page, you can then customize or edit them without having to go through multiple steps or opening extra configuration windows …
You can also create 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 plugin installed is so effortlessly easy, that the developers warn that once you start using it, you’ll never look back!
For more details about the 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 that we have recommended on this site.
To read more about the plugin, go here:
Benefits Of Using Thrive Landing Pages And Content Builder Plugin
Here we have listed just a few of the benefits and advantages of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up the process of designing pages and creating content for your web site:
Fast And Easy To Install And Implement. Be Up And Running In Minutes.
Thrive Content Builder is very easy to install. Simply upload the plugin file to your Plugins folder via your WordPress dashboard and activate.
Real-Time Content Content Editing
Thrive Content Builder is is not only simple to use, it also lets you create and add content to your web pages in real-time.
A Truly Visual Content Editor
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see on the “backend” as you work within the content editor – fonts, elements, page layouts, etc. is exactly what you get on the front end of your site.
Additional benefits include the following:
- Eye-Catching Layouts With Drag And Drop Ease: Create any kind of layout you can imagine with intuitive drag-and-drop functionality.
- Add Design Elements Without Using Shortcodes: With Thrive Content Builder you not only get an exciting and simple-to-use drag and drop WordPress content editor, but the plugin also includes a jaw-dropping collection of customizable web design elements that you can insert into your layouts without using shortcodes, like columns, star ratings for review pages, section dividers, Google Map embeds, etc.
- More Enjoyable Content Creation: Not having to wait for the updated content to load frees up your attention and allows you to build the pages your business needs, quickly and without having to edit code or click through multiple layers of menus to get what you need done.
(Create, edit and customize web page elements like testimonial boxes, columns, styled lists, page section dividers, credit card icons, etc.)
Features
Thrive Content Builder offers WP users a number of powerful features. Below we have listed just a few of these:
- Built-In WordPress Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have access to all of the built-in text editing options that you are used to (e.g. underline, justified paragraphs, heading styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements Menu: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” list of elements to your post or page screen for creating or editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin includes a range of 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 Element Design: Add mobile-friendly columns, guarantee boxes, content section dividers, e.g. which will display great on different screens.
- Add Animation Events To Web Pages: The Event Manager feature lets you add animated images, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Web Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages – Landing Page Templates
Landing page sets are 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 access to conversion-optimized page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Benefits
- Everything is hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time creating gorgeous pages for your WordPress web site
- 100% conversion-optimized web pages
- No technical skills needed
- Works with any theme
Thrive Content and Landing Page Builder not only lets you create beautiful content in your WordPress posts and pages, but you can also choose from dozens of professionally designed, page templates that are conversion-optimized and fully customizable …
(Thrive Landing Pages provides sets of templates that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language)
There are 30+ templates available, with more templates planned for release. In addition to the existing 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
Normally, in order to fully customize a landing page template, you would need to either hire a web developer 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 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 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 lets you change and customize any aspect of the page …
With the landing page templates 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
- Replace the background image or background colour
- Change the color of text, buttons, links, etc.
- Use your own fonts
- Use your own images
- Change the size of the content area
- Rearrange the order of elements on your pages
- Translate everything on the page into different languages
- Add custom content inside any of the pages
- Start with a blank web page and create your own templates, or even build your own custom landing page templates library.
(Change and customize any aspect of your page template)
Thrive Lightbox – Transform Your Site Into A Powerful Marketing Machine
The Thrive plugin package includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully editable two-step opt-in forms and events to your web pages …
(Add opt-in forms and animation to your web pages with Thrive Lightbox)
2-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-step opt-in process can increase your conversion rates. When visitors click on a button or image they are presented with your opt-in form …
(When visitors click on the button, they 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 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 pages, using a range of animation effects (e.g. fade out, slide in from right to left, roll in, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your web pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Lightboxes and events are created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over all events, triggers and design.
Feedback From Users
Here are a couple of the testimonials 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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”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”
Thrive Content Builder Plugin – Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any theme in WordPress, not just with the Thrive Landing Pages plugin. You cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content that was not created with the plugin installed.
You can add WordPress short codes inside Thrive Content Builder or Thrive Landing Pages and they will be displayed correctly on the front end.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build with Thrive Content Builder.
Plugin Support
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages provides 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 unlimited upgrades, plus one year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, thirty day, 100% refund guarantee.
This is an exciting product that will just keep getting better.
Plugin Cost
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 edition enables you to install the plugin on one site only. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites License Edition – This license allows you to run the plugin on all web sites that you own. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency License – This lets you run the plugin on all of your own domains and any client sites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Price = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: Pricing details of the Thrive Content Builder plugin depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. The pricing above was correct when this review was published. This may not be the actual pricing charged by the software seller when you visit the product website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Info
The developers of the Thrive Content and Page 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 web page elements and beautiful, conversion-optimized template sets that help make designing your pages faster, and on the other hand, you also have 100% control over your design process and the freedom to change everything on your web page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, that lets you see exactly how the content you are working on will display on the “front end” when published.
For a demo video showing how the plugin works, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive website.
Download The Plugin …
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 immediately. If you want to move something, all you need to do is drag it and drop it into its new location. There are no unnecessary steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your site and create awesome sales pages and engaging content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
To learn more, visit the plugin website here:
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