WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool to a tool being used to create all kinds of sites.
Whatever you can imagine, someone is bound to be already building it with WordPress!
This article will help you discover the simplest and easiest to use WYSIWYG content builder for WordPress sites.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The WordPress Visual Content Editor Meet All Of Your Web Design Needs?
With all the rapid developments that WordPress has undergone in recent years, many WordPress users and developers believe that using the default WordPress visual content editor to create or edit complex web pages can be quite challenging.
(The built-in WordPress WYSIWYG content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional content, but adding more complex page elements can be quite challenging!)
For example, if you look at the illustration below …
To create the above layout, users would normally have to insert shortcodes into the content for every single page element they want to add to their page …
Generally, this is not an issue … until you have to change your layout (for example, move some of the content from box 3 into box 2, or change the background color inside a box from green to orange. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with code.
The WordPress content editor is supposed to give non-technical users an easy-to-use WYSIWYG content editor, but as you can see, if you are working with more complex content elements, often what you see may not be what you get …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some instances, you could be better off working directly inside the WordPress text editor tab instead of the WordPress visual editor when trying to build non-linear page elements …
Even though WordPress is the most user-friendly CMS platform available, this makes it hard for WordPress site owners without coding skills to have full control of their own content.
The fundamental issue with having to use shortcodes and HTML to create content in WordPress can be summarized by asking the following questions:
1) Speed – How long does it take to create a web page using the editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the editor 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 users need to mentally translate what the content will look like when working with complex layouts. Other solutions require multiple steps before you can start configuring your page layout, or endlessly switching tabs and performing updates to see how your content is progressing, which then affects how fast you can create your content, as you wait for the updated content to load.
A number of WordPress web developers have come up with a range of solutions with the aim of addressing this issue. Some of these range from plugins you can add to your site that add new functionality to the editor, to themes that offer 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 requiring so many complex page design features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these alternative solutions work, but they don’t really seem to address the fundamental challenge of using HTML and shortcodes as described earlier. Creating and adding sophisticated content elements 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 web content to look ”perfect” quickly, this can start to become really frustrating.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like to build and edit your web content?
Now that you’ve asked this question, imagine this …
- You look at your content and if you see something that needs to be changed, simply click on the content and start editing it. Your content has been instantly edited.
- You can just drag and drop elements on the page, and the page looks exactly as it will display 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 add, so you simply start typing, and you build your page on the fly, without delays, with no switching tabs, and without having to wait for edits to resave and reload.
Would that not be the ideal way to create content for your site? A true WYSIWYG editor where all you have to do is click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the posts and pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex web pages ”on the fly” 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 And Page Builder – Click-To-Edit Drag & Drop Content Creation Tool For WordPress
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive click-to-edit drag-and-drop content and page creation tool for WordPress.
The Thrive Content Builder plugin is a new and exciting way to set up conversion-focused pages on any WordPress web site.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder adds a visual content editor with a menu that lets you drag and drop elements to your page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new visual content editor to your WordPress site)
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.
We will address each of the above and how these features work seamlessly together to help you transform and improve your business online and create amazing sales pages and content.
Thrive Content Builder Plugin
Thrive Content Builder lets you easily add content to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Everything on your page can be created and edited with “drag and drop” and “click-to-edit” ease …
Once elements have been positioned on a page, you can then further edit them without going through multiple steps or switching tabs …
You can also build stunning landing pages and easily edit these …
Thrive Content and Page 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 amazingly simple, that the developers warn that you will never look back once you start using it
Learn more here: Thrive Content Builder
The integrated Thrive Content and Page Builder plugin was created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another fantastic plugin for WordPress we’ve reviewed on this site.
To read more about the plugin, go here:
Plugin Benefits
Below are just some of the benefits and advantages of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up your page design and content creation process:
Fast And Easy To Install And Configure. Ready To Use In Very Little Time.
Thrive Content Builder is quite easy to install. Simply upload the plugin file to your Plugin folder via your WP dashboard and activate.
Real-Time Content Building And Editing
Thrive Content Builder is is not only really simple and intuitive to use, it also lets you edit and build content 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 editor – fonts, elements, layouts, etc. is exactly what your visitors will see in the front end of your site.
Some additional benefits of using this plugin include the following:
- Eye-Catching Web Page Layouts With Drag-And-Drop Ease: Create any layout you can imagine with drag-and-drop ease.
- Customizable Elements Included: With Thrive Content Builder you not only get an exciting and easy-to-use drag and drop content builder, but the plugin also includes a very decent collection of customizable design elements that you can customizable and add to your pages without using shortcodes, like flat design elements, gradient boxes, buttons, HTML code insert boxes, etc.
- Ideal For Non-Technical Users: Not having to deal with technical stuff for the updated content to load frees up your attention and allows you to be more focused while you work or click through multiple layers of menus to get what you need done.
(Insert, edit and customize web page elements like testimonials, flat design elements, content reveal feature, call to action buttons, responsive Google maps, etc.)
Features
Thrive Content Builder provides WP users a number of powerful features. Here are just some of these features:
- All Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have all of the built-in WordPress text editing options that you are used to (e.g. underlines, paragraph centering, headings, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements Menu: The plugin makes a “drag and drop” table of elements available on your post or page screen when editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin comes with a range of eye-catching and customizable elements that will help you increase the effectiveness of your sales pages, 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.
- Responsive Element Design: Add mobile-friendly columns, text boxes, dividers, e.g. which will adjust to display correctly on different device screens.
- Add Animation 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 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 gives you conversion-optimized web page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time designing professional landing pages
- 100% conversion-optimized web page templates
- No tech skills needed
- Works with any WordPress theme
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 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 currently 30+ templates available, with more templates planned for future 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.
Fully Customizable Landing Page Template Sets
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 mess around with 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-designed web page templates that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that lets you change or customize any aspect of the page template …
The landing page templates included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Change text in any bullet point, headline, button, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other element of your landing page
- Change all background images or color
- Edit the color of buttons, links, text, etc.
- Choose your own fonts
- Select your own images and graphics
- Modify content area size
- Rearrange the order of page elements
- Translate everything on the page into different languages
- Add custom content in your pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own landing pages from scratch and save them as new web page templates.
(Change or customize any aspect of the page)
Thrive Lightbox Plugin – Transform Your Web Site Into A Powerful Marketing Machine
The Thrive package also includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully editable two-step opt-in forms and animated elements to your content pages …
(Add opt-in forms and animation to your web pages with Thrive Lightbox)
Thrive Lighbox 2-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process helps to increase your conversion rates. When visitors click on a button or image they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Capture more leads and subscribers with a two-step opt-in process)
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 graphic elements, 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 effects (e.g. fade out, slide in from right to left, rotate, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your pages 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 a couple of the testimonials plugin users have submitted for Thrive Content Builder:
”Wow! This is just getting better & better. This plugin is making my websites look so professional. Keep up the great work and thank you for the new features. Ladonna Ragalin”
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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”
Thrive Content Builder Plugin – Useful Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any WordPress theme, not just with the Thrive Landing Pages plugin. Note, however, that 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 WordPress shortcodes inside Thrive Content Builder or Thrive Landing Pages and they will display correctly on the front end.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build with Thrive Content Builder.
Support
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder Plugin comes with free updates, new landing pages and upcoming features. The Thrive team is constantly working on adding new features and improving existing ones.
Thrive software is really well-supported, and users get unlimited software updates, and one year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, thirty day, 100% money-back guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users that will just keep getting better.
Product 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 option enables you to activate the plugin on one site only. Cost includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites License – This enables you to configure the plugin on all of your personal web sites. Price includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency Licensing – Use on your websites and on all your client websites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: The cost of purchasing this product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The above reflects the current pricing when this article was published. This may not be the actual pricing set by the product author when you visit the site 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 Plugin Info
The Thrive Content Builder plugin developers repeatedly 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 time-saving features like ready-made web page elements and beautiful, conversion-optimized templates that help to make designing your content faster, and on the other hand, you also have complete control over the design process and the ability to change and customize anything and everything on your page, using the plugin’s click-to-edit and drag and drop features, that allows you to see how the content you are working on will appear to visitors after publishing.
For demo videos showing how the software works, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive website.
Get 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 will see the change happen instantly. 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 extra steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your business online and create amazing marketing pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content, Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For complete details, visit the plugin website:
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