WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging application into a tool that can be used to design all types of pages – landing pages, product showcase pages, local business pages, etc.
Whatever you can imagine, somewhere around the world someone is probably already building it using WordPress!
In this article you will discover how to create stunning content faster and design beautiful web page layouts with drag & drop ease in WordPress web sites.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The Default WordPress Visual Editor Meet All Of Your Web Design Needs?
With all the many developments that WordPress has gone through in recent years, many WordPress users believe that the WordPress content editor is more suitable for performing simple content editing than creating and customizing page content within sophisticated layouts.
(The built-in WordPress content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional text and media, but adding more complex content elements can be quite challenging!)
For example, let’s say you want to create something like the layout shown below …
Adding the above to a page would require inserting something that looks like this inside the default WordPress content editor …
Normally, this is not an issue … until you have to change the layout (for example, move part of the content from box 3 into box 2, or replace the button in a box from dark green to light blue. 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) editor, but as you can see, if you are creating with complex page elements, often what you see in the visual editor may not be the same as what you get …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some instances, users may even be better off working with the source html itself instead of the WordPress visual editor when trying to build non-linear page elements …
Even though WordPress is very user-friendly, this makes it difficult for non-technical website owners to have full control of their own content.
The fundamental issue with having to use shortcodes and HTML to create content with WordPress can be summarized as follows:
1) Speed – How long will it take to create a page using this editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the ”back end” match 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 back end 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 a number of steps before you can start configuring your page layout, or endlessly going back and forth between tabs and performing updates to see how your content is progressing, which can affect how quickly you can create your content, as you wait for your page to reload.
Many WordPress developers have tried to come up with a range of solutions aiming to make content editing easier. These range from standalone WordPress plugins you can install on your site that add new functionality to the editor, to themes that include 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-building features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these solutions work, but they don’t really address the fundamental challenge of using HTML and shortcodes 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 your content to look ”perfect” quickly, this can become quite frustrating.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your web page builder to work?
Now, visualize the following …
- You look at your content and if you see something that needs to be fixed, just click on the content and start writing. Your content has been instantly fixed.
- You can drag and drop elements on the page, and the page looks exactly as it will display on the front end without having to mentally translate code.
- You have an idea for a specific piece of content that you’d like to create, so you immediately start typing, and you build your page on the fly, with no delays, without switching of tab browsers, and without waiting for web pages to resave and reload.
Would that not be the ideal way to build content for your site? A true visual editor where all you have to do is click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around your pages and posts?
(Imagine being able to create complex web page layouts ”on the fly” 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 And Landing Pages
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a ground-breaking plugin for WordPress that allows anyone to quickly build stunning content layout using a truly visual click-to-edit and drag and drop content editor.
The Thrive Content Builder plugin 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 with a menu that lets you click, then drag and drop elements to your page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new 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 rolled into one, plus an additional plugin feature called Thrive Lightbox.
We will examine all of the above plugins and how these features work together to help you transform and improve your website and create awesome sales pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Click-To-Edit Drag And Drop Content Builder
This plugin lets you easily add complex design layouts to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Everything on your page can be designed and edited with ”click-to-edit” and “drag and drop” ease …
Once you have placed elements on your page, you can continue to further edit or customize them without having to go through additional steps or switching tabs …
The built-in Landing Pages editor also lets you create highly attractive landing pages and easily edit these …
Thrive 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 warn that once you start using it, it’ll ruin the experience of using any other content editor forever, and you’ll never look back!
For more details about the plugin go here: Thrive Content Builder
The integrated Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages plugin was created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another amazing plugin for WordPress we’ve previously recommended on this site.
Go here to read about this plugin:
Plugin Benefits
Below we have listed just a few of the benefits of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up the process of designing pages and creating content for your web site:
Fast Installation
Thrive Content Builder is very easy to install. Simply upload it to your Plugin folder via your admin area and activate.
Real-Time Content Content Editing
Thrive Content Builder is is not only really simple and intuitive 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 “back end” as you work within the content editor – fonts, elements, layouts, etc. is exactly what you get on the front end of your site.
Some additional benefits and advantages include the following:
- Eye-Catching Layouts With Drag-And-Drop Ease: Create any layout you can imagine with intuitive drag-and-drop functionality.
- Customizable Elements Included: With Thrive Content Builder you not only get a click-to-edit WordPress content builder, but the plugin also includes a very decent collection of customizable design elements that you can insert into your content layouts without using short codes, such as pricing tables, content reveal feature, section dividers, responsive Google maps, etc.
- Ideal For Non-Technical Users: Not having to deal with technical stuff for your updated content to refresh 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 steps to get what you need done.
(Insert, edit and customize web page elements like testimonial boxes, pricing tables, styled lists, call to action buttons, credit card icons, etc.)
Features
Thrive Content Builder offers site owners a number of unique features. Below we have listed just some of those features:
- All Content Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have access to all of the regular text editing options that you are used to (e.g. bold, paragraph formatting, heading styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Multi-Style Elements: The plugin makes a “drag and drop” table of multi-style elements available on your post or page screen for editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin includes various attention-grabbing and customizable elements that will help increase your 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 mobile-friendly columns, text boxes, content dividers, e.g. which will adjust to display great on different device screens.
- Add Animation Events To Your Web Pages: Thrive Content Builder’s Event Manager feature lets you add animated page content, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Landing Page Templates
Landing page template 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 plugin lets you easily add conversion-optimized web pages to your web site)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Everything is hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time building gorgeous-looking web pages for your WordPress website
- 100% conversion-optimized pages
- No tech skills required
- Works with all WordPress 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 professionally 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 30+ templates available, with more templates scheduled for 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.
Fully Customizable And Flexible Landing Page Template
Normally, in order to fully customize a landing page template, you would need to either hire a web site 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 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 creating conversion-optimized web pages.”
Thrive Landing Pages gives you stunning pre-designed pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that lets you change or edit anything on the page …
The landing page templates included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Modify text in any bullet point, button, headline, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other part of your landing page
- Replace the background image and background colors
- Change the color of buttons, links, text, etc.
- Select your own fonts
- Select your own images
- Change the size of the content area
- Change the order of elements on your page
- Translate everything on the page into a different language
- Add any type of custom content in the pages
- Start with a blank page and create your own templates, or even build your own custom landing pages library.
(Change or customize any element of your page)
Thrive Lightbox Plugin – Transform Your Website Into A Powerful Marketing Machine
The Thrive plugin combo also includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully configurable 2-step opt-in forms and animated objects to your site …
(Add opt-in forms and animated elements to your WordPress site with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Thrive Lighbox 2-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process helps to improve your conversion rates. Visitors click on an image or button, and then they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Capture more leads and subscribers with a 2-step opt-in process)
Thrive Lightbox Event Manager
An “event” consists of a trigger and an action. You can make opt-in forms appear when your visitor clicks or hovers their mouse over a button or graphic elements, or when someone scrolls down to a certain point on the page. You can also use the Event Manager to animate images on your web pages, using various animation effects (e.g. zoom out, slide in from bottom to top, rotate, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your WordPress site with Thrive Lightbox)
A lightbox and event is created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over events, triggers and design.
User Feedback
Below are just some testimonials and feedback plugin 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”
Plugin Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any WordPress theme, not just with Thrive Landing Pages. You cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content on existing pages or posts that were not created using the plugin.
You can add WordPress shortcodes inside the Content Builder or Landing Pages plugin and they will display correctly on the front end.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content built with Thrive Content Builder.
Product Support
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages 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 lifetime software upgrades, plus 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, thirty day, full refund guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users 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 License Edition – This license option allows you to configure the plugin on one domain only. Cost includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Price = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Edition – This edition lets you set up the plugin on all of your personal sites. Cost includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency Edition – This license option lets you install the plugin on all of your own web sites and any client sites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Note: The price of the Thrive Content Builder plugin can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The price shown above was current at the time this content was published. This may or may not be the actual price set by the product author 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 latest pricing details here:
Additional Info
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 page elements and templates that help speed up page design and content creation, and on the other hand, you have 100% control over the design process and the freedom to change and customize everything on your page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, which lets you see how the content you are working on will look when published.
For demo videos showing how the software works, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, 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’ll see the change happen immediately. If you want to move something, all you have to do is simply drag it and drop it into its new location. There are no complicated steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your web site and create awesome sales pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For more details, check out the plugin here:
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