WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool into a tool that is now being used to create all types of sites.
Whatever you can imagine, someone is probably already building it using WordPress!
In this article you will discover the simplest way to build beautiful layouts in WordPress.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The WordPress Content Editor Meet All Of Your Content Creation And Editing Needs?
Using the default WordPress visual content editor to build or edit complex page elements can sometimes be difficult, especially for non-technical users.
(The built-in WordPress content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional text and images, but adding complex page elements can be challenging!)
For example, if you look at the screenshot below …
To create the above boxes with text and buttons, users would need to add short codes to the content for each element they would like to display to visitors …
Normally, this is not an issue … until you need to edit an element in the layout (for example, move some of the content from box 3 into box 2, or change the button in box 3 from bright red to orange. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code or html.
The WordPress visual content editor is supposed to provide users with an easy-to-use WYSIWYG editor, but as you can see, if you are trying to add complex layouts, often what you see in the WordPress content editor screen may not be the same as what you are going to get when your page is published …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some instances, users could be better off working with the source html itself instead of the WordPress WYSIWYG editor when trying to create complex page elements …
Even though WordPress is very user-friendly, this makes it hard for non-technical users to have full control of their own content.
The fundamental problem with having to use HTML and shortcodes to create content in the default WordPress visual editor can be summarized by asking two questions:
1) Speed – How long will it take to build a web page using this editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the editor resemble the content in the “front end” when you are creating or editing a page?
As you can see from the above, what you see when working in the back end does not look even remotely similar to what you see in the front end. This means that you have to abstract what your content will look like when working with sophisticated layouts. Other solutions require taking multiple steps before you can begin configuring your page layout, or endlessly switching tabs and performing updates to see how your content is coming along, which then affects how quickly you can create your content, as you wait for the updates to refresh.
A number of WordPress web developers have come up with different solutions with the aim of addressing this issue. These solutions range from standalone plugins you can add to your site that add new functionality to the editor, to themes that provide built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make content creation easier!)
Some solutions include so many page design features, that users need to learn how to work with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these solutions work, but they fail to address the fundamental problem with 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 to create or edit complex page layouts quickly, this can become very frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your page builder to function?
Now that you’ve asked this question, visualize this …
- You see something in your content that needs correction so you, simply click on the content and start changing it. Your content is instantly fixed.
- You simply drag and drop items around the page, and see them exactly as they will appear on the front end without having to mentally translate any code.
- You have an idea for a specific item of content that you would like to add, so you just begin typing, and your web page gets built as you go, without delays, with no switching of tab browsers, and without having to wait for web pages to resave and reload.
Would this not be the ideal way to build content for your web site? Just click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the posts and pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex web page layouts quickly for your web content with no 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 Builder Plugin – The Simplest, Most Intuitive Visual Content Builder For WordPress Websites
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive WordPress click-to-edit drag-and-drop content editor.
The Thrive Content Builder plugin provides WordPress users with a new and incredibly easy way to set up conversion-focused pages on any WordPress web site.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor and a menu that lets you click, then drag and drop elements on your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new content builder to your WordPress site)
The plugin is actually a combination of the Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages plugins rolled into one, plus an additional plugin feature called Thrive Lightbox.
In this article we’ll take a look at each of the above and how all of this functionality works seamlessly together to help you easily transform and improve your business online and create awesome marketing pages and content.
Thrive Content Builder Plugin For WordPress
You can easily add complex design layouts to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Every aspect of your page can be built using ”click-to-edit” and “drag and drop” …
Once you have placed your elements on a page, you can then easily customize these without going through multiple steps or complicated settings windows …
You can also build beautiful landing pages and easily customize these …
Thrive Content and Landing Page Builder is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, designing pages with the Thrive Content and Page Builder plugin installed is so amazingly 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
Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages were created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another great plugin for WordPress we’ve reviewed on this site.
To read more about this plugin, see this post:
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:
Ready To Go To Work In No Time
Thrive Content Builder is really easy to install. Just upload it to your Plugin folder via your WordPress administrator area and activate.
Real-Time Content Content Editing
Thrive Content Builder is really simple and intuitive to use and lets you build 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, visual elements, page layouts, etc. is exactly what you get in the front end of your site.
Additional benefits of using the plugin include:
- Eye-Catching Page Layouts With Drag-And-Drop Ease: Create any type of layout you can imagine with drag-and-drop ease.
- Customizable Elements Included: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get a click-to-edit content editor, but the plugin also includes a very decent collection of customizable web design elements that you can customizable and add to your pages without using shortcodes, like columns, styled lists, buttons, responsive videos, etc.
- Distraction-Free Content Creation: Not having to deal with technical stuff for your updated content to reload frees up your attention and allows you to build the web pages your business needs, quickly and without having to mess with code or click through multiple steps to get what you need done.
(Insert, edit and customize page elements like testimonials, flat design elements, borderless content, call to action buttons, countdown timers, etc.)
Thrive Content Builder Features
Thrive Content Builder provides website owners a number of features. Here are just some of those:
- Built-In WordPress Editor Functionality Is Still Available: You have access to all of the regular WordPress content editing options that you are used to (e.g. underlines, justified paragraphs, heading styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Multi-Style Elements: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” table of elements to your post or page screen when creating or editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin provides you with a range of attention-grabbing and customizable elements that will help you increase the effectiveness of your sales pages, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonial boxes, and guarantees. In addition to customization options, multiple design options are also available for various elements.
- Mobile-Friendly Design: Add responsive elements like columns, guarantee boxes, content section dividers, e.g. which will display correctly on different screens.
- Add Animation Events To Your 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 – Landing Page Templates
Landing page sets are web page templates that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language to take your visitors from initial signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages lets you easily add conversion-optimized pages to your website)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time creating and customizing pages
- 100% conversion-optimized landing page templates
- No tech skills required
- Works with all themes
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages not only lets you create beautiful 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 template sets that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language)
There are 30+ templates available, with more templates scheduled for future release. In addition to the available templates, 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
Normally, to be able to have completely customizable landing page templates, 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 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 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 stunning pre-built web page templates that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change and customize any aspect of the page templates …
With the landing page template sets included with this plugin, you can do the following:
- Edit text in any button, headline, bullet point, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other part of your landing page
- Replace the background image and background color
- Edit the color of links, text, buttons, etc.
- Select your own fonts
- Use your own images
- Edit content area size
- Rearrange the order of page elements
- Translate pages into a different language
- Add any kind of custom content inside your pages
- Start with a blank page and create your own templates, or even build your own custom landing pages library.
(Change or customize any aspect of the page template)
Thrive Lightbox – Transform Your WordPress Site Into A Marketing Machine
The Thrive package also includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully editable 2-step opt-in forms and animated objects to your pages …
(Add opt-in forms and events to your pages with Thrive Lightbox)
Thrive Lighbox 2-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process can help increase your conversion rates. Visitors click on an image or button, and then they are presented with your opt-in form …
(2-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 when visitors click or hover their mouse 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 attention-getting elements on your page, using various animation effects (e.g. fade out, slide in from top to bottom, roll out, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your marketing pages with Thrive Lightbox)
Lightboxes and events are created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over your events, triggers and design.
Feedback From Customers
Below are a few of the testimonials customers have provided for the Thrive Content Builder plugin:
”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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”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”
Useful Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any theme in WordPress, not just with Thrive Landing Pages. You cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content on existing pages or posts that were not created with the plugin installed.
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 built using Thrive Content Builder.
Support
Thrive Content Builder Plugin comes with free updates, new landing pages and upcoming features. The plugin developers are constantly working on adding new features and improving existing ones.
Thrive plugins are very well-supported, and users get unlimited updates, plus one year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, 30 day, full refund guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users that just keeps 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 allows you to configure the plugin on a single domain. Pricing includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Licensing – This enables you to install the plugin on all web sites that you own. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency License – This edition lets you run the plugin on all of your own sites and any client sites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: Pricing details of this product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Presently, the product is selling for the amounts shown above. This may not be the actual price set by the software seller when you visit the 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 Information
The Thrive Landing Pages and Content 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 the time-saving benefits of ready-made web page elements and beautiful, conversion-optimized templates that help make designing your content faster, and on the other hand, you also have 100% control over the design process and the freedom to edit and customize anything and 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 of the plugin in action, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive plugins website.
Download The Plugin …
If you want to edit something, simply click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, you will see the change happen immediately. If you want to move something, simply drag it and drop it into its new position. There are no unnecessary steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your web site and create awesome marketing pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content, Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For complete details, check out the plugin here:
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