WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool into a tool that is now being used to design all types of web pages – landing pages, portfolio pages, local business pages, etc.
Whatever you can think of, somewhere around the world someone is most likely already building it using WordPress!
This article will help you discover the simplest, most intuitive WYSIWYG content editor for WordPress sites.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The Default WordPress WYSIWYG Editor Still Meet All Of Your Content Creation And Editing Needs?
Using the WordPress WYSIWYG editor to build or edit complex page layouts can be quite difficult, especially for non-technical users.
(The WordPress editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” content, but adding complex layouts can be challenging!)
For example, if you look at the screenshot below …
To add the above page elements to your content would require adding something like this inside the WordPress visual content 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 background colour inside box 2 from dark green to gold. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code or html.
The WordPress content 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, if you are trying to add complex page elements, what you see on your screen is not really what you are getting when the content gets published …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some instances, some people argue that users could be better off working directly inside the text editor tab instead of the WordPress WYSIWYG editor when trying to add complex layouts …
Even though WordPress is the most user-friendly CMS platform available, this makes it difficult for non-technical website owners to have full control of their own content.
The fundamental challenge about using shortcodes and HTML to create content in WordPress can be summarized as follows:
1) Speed – How long does it take to build a page using the editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the editor match the “front end” content when you are creating or editing a page?
As you can see from the above image, what you see when working in the content editor looks nothing like what you see in the front end. This means that users have to mentally translate what the content will look like when working with complex layouts. Other solutions require taking 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 your new content to refresh.
A number of WordPress developers have tried to come up with various solutions to try and make content editing more intuitive. Some of 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 creating complex content easier!)
Some solutions end up including so many complex page design features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these solutions work, but they still don’t address the fundamental problem with using shortcodes and HTML as described earlier. Creating, adding and editing non-linear content on a page becomes overly complicated, involves multiple steps and doesn’t match what users expect to see on the “front end.”
If you want your page content to look “just right” quickly, this can start to become very frustrating.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your content editor to work?
Now that you’ve asked this question, visualize the following scenario …
- You see something in your content that needs to be changed so you, simply click on the content and start typing. Your content is then instantly changed.
- You just drag and drop items around the page, and the page looks exactly as it will appear on the front end without having to mentally translate HTML or shortcodes.
- You have an idea for a specific piece of content that you would like to add, so you simply begin typing, and you build your page as you go, with no delays, without tab switching, and without having to wait for new web content to reload.
Would this not be the ideal way to build content for your website? A true visual editor where all you have to do is click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the pages and posts?
(Imagine being able to create complex web pages in real-time for your web content without 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 unique WordPress plugin that gives you complete control over every aspect of your content layout with true click-to-edit and drag and drop simplicity.
Thrive Content Builder provides WordPress users with a new and incredibly easy way to speed up the process of adding content to WordPress sites.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder adds a visual content editor with a sidebar menu that lets you select, then drag and drop design elements to your page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new content editor to your WordPress site)
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.
Let’s review each of the above and how all of this exciting functionality works together to help you easily transform and improve your website and create amazing sales pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder Plugin
With this plugin installed easily add content to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Every aspect of your web page can be built using simple “drag and drop” and “click-to-edit” …
Once elements have been added to the page, you can continue to further customize these without having to go through multiple steps or switching tabs …
The built-in Landing Pages editor also lets you build 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 web pages and working on content with the Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages plugin installed is so effortlessly simple, that the developers guarantee that once you start using it, it’ll ruin the experience of using all other content editors forever, and you will never look back!
Learn more about the plugin here: Thrive Content Builder
The integrated Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder plugin was created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another excellent plugin for WordPress we’ve previously recommended on this site.
See this page to read more about the plugin:
Benefits
Below we have listed just a few of the benefits and advantages of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up your page design and content creation process:
Be Up And Running In Minutes
Thrive Content Builder is very easy to install. Just upload a zip file that contains the plugin to your Plugin folder via your WP dashboard and activate.
Create And Edit Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is is not only simple and intuitive to use, it also lets you edit and add content to your web pages in real-time.
A Truly Visual Editor
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see as you work within the editor – fonts, visual elements, page layouts, etc. is exactly what your visitors will see in the front end of your site.
Additional benefits and advantages include:
- Attractive Page Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease: Create any type of layout you can imagine with intuitive drag-and-drop functionality.
- Design Elements Included: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get an amazing click-to-edit content editor, but the plugin also includes a collection of functional and eye-catching web design elements that you can insert into your pages without using short codes, like flat design elements, styled lists, call to action buttons, countdown timers, etc.
- Ideal For Non-Technical Users: Not having to deal with technical stuff for the updated content to reload frees up your attention and allows you to be more focused while you build content or click through multiple layers of menus to get what you want done.
(Add, edit and customize page elements like testimonials, flat design elements, styled lists, dividers, Google Map embeds, etc.)
Thrive Content Builder Features
Thrive Content Builder offers WordPress users many unique features. Below we have listed just a few:
- All Content Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have all of the regular text editing options that you are used to (e.g. bold formatting, paragraph centering, headings, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements Menu: The plugin makes a “drag and drop” table of multi-style elements available on your post or page screen for creating and editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin provides you with various eye-catching 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 customization options, multiple design options are also available for various elements.
- Responsive Design: Add mobile-friendly columns, guarantee boxes, content section dividers, e.g. which will adjust to display correctly on different device screens.
- Add Animation To Pages: The plugin’s Event Manager feature lets you create animated page elements, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages – Landing Page Template Sets
Landing page sets are 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 web site)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Benefits
- Everything is hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time building and customizing pages for your WordPress site
- 100% conversion-optimized pages
- No web coding skills required
- Works with all themes
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder not only can be used to create beautiful 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 over thirty templates available, with more templates scheduled for release. In addition to the templates shown above, the developers plan to release new web page templates for email lead generation, sales pages, course pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Fully Customizable And Flexible Landing Page Template
Normally, to be able 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 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 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 beautiful pre-designed pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that lets you change and customize anything on your page template …
With the landing page template sets included with this plugin, you are able to:
- Change text in all bullet points, headlines, buttons, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other element of the landing page
- Change the background image or colors
- Change the color of links, buttons, text, etc.
- Choose your own fonts
- Use your own images
- Change the size of the content area
- Rearrange the order of elements on the pages
- 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 a custom landing pages library.
(Change and edit any element of the page template)
Transform Your WordPress Website Into A Powerful Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox
The Thrive plugin package also includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully customizable 2-step opt-in forms and animated elements to your web site …
(Add lead capture forms and animated elements to your pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
2-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-step opt-in process can help improve your conversion rates. When visitors click on a button or image they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Visitors click on a button and are presented with an opt-in form)
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 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 images on your page, using a range of effects (e.g. fade in, slide in from top to bottom, roll out, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
A lightbox and event is created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over your events, triggers and design.
User Testimonials
Here are a few of the testimonials and comments that customers have submitted regarding 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 theme in WordPress, not just with Thrive Landing Pages. Note, however, that you cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content on 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 display correctly on on your web site.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build using Thrive Content Builder.
Plugin Support
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages 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 very well-supported, and users get lifetime software updates, 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.
Software Price
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 – This enables you to install the plugin on one website only. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Edition – This edition enables you to run the plugin on unlimited websites that you personally own. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency License – Use on all your domains and on client domains. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Note: The cost to purchase the Thrive Content Builder plugin can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Presently, the product is being retailed for the pricing shown above. This may not be the actual pricing charged by the product author 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 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 templates that help to make designing your pages faster, and on the other hand, you also have 100% control over your design process and the freedom to change and customize anything and everything on your page, using the plugin’s click-to-edit and drag and drop features, that lets you work unhindered by overly complicated options.
For a demo video of the plugin in action, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive Content Builder website.
Install The 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, just drag it and drop it into its new position. There are no additional steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your website and create awesome marketing pages and content, Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For more details, visit the plugin website:
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