WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging application into a tool being used to create all types of web sites.
Whatever you can imagine, somewhere around the world someone is probably already building it with WordPress!
This article will help you discover the simplest visual editor for WordPress.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The WordPress Visual Editor Still Meet All Of Your Web Design Needs?
Using the built-in WordPress WYSIWYG content editor to create or edit complex content elements can sometimes be challenging, especially for non-technical users.
(The WordPress editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional content, but adding complex page elements can be quite challenging!)
For example, if you look at the screenshot below …
Adding the above boxes with text and buttons would require inserting something that looks like this into the default WordPress content editor …
Typically, this is not an issue … unless you have to change your layout (for example, move part of the content from box 1 into box 2, or change the background color in box 3 from green to gray. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code.
The WordPress visual content editor is supposed to give users an easy-to-use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) content editor, but as you can see, if you are creating with complex content elements, what you see in the WordPress content editor screen 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 cases, you could even be better off working directly with the source html itself instead of the visual editor when trying to create fancy layouts …
Even though WordPress is very user-friendly, this makes it difficult for users with no knowledge of HTML or CSS to have full control of their own content.
The fundamental problem with having to use HTML and shortcodes to create content with WordPress can be summarized by asking two questions:
1) Speed – How long does it take to create a web page using this 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, what you see in the back end doesn’t look even remotely similar to what you see in the front end. This means that you need to abstract what your content will look like when working with sophisticated layouts. Other solutions require multiple steps before you can begin configuring your page layout, or endlessly going back and forth between tabs and performing tweaks and updates to see how your content is coming along, which can interrupt the creative process, as you wait for your new content to load.
A number of WordPress developers have come up with different solutions with the objective of addressing this issue. Some of these alternative solutions range from stand alone plugins you can install on your site that add new functionality to the editor, to WordPress themes that offer built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make creating complex layouts easier!)
Some solutions require so many complex page design features, that users need to learn how to work with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these alternative solutions work fine, but they still fail to address the fundamental issue of using shortcodes and HTML as described earlier. Creating and adding 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 your content to look “just right” quickly, this can become quite frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like to build and edit your content?
Now, imagine the following …
- You look at your content and if you spot something that needs to be fixed, simply click on the content and start editing it. Your content is instantly changed.
- You just drag and drop elements around the page, and the page looks exactly as it will display on the front end without having to mentally visualize shortcodes or HTML.
- You have an idea for some content that you’d like to create, so you just start typing, and you build your page on the fly, without delays, with no switching of tab browsers, and without waiting for new pages to refresh and reload.
Would that not be the ideal way to create content for your web site? A true visual content builder where all you have to do is click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around your pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex web page layouts ”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 Builder – Create Stunning Content With Drag & Drop Ease In WordPress
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive click-to-edit drag and drop content and landing page building plugin for WordPress.
Thrive Content Builder is a new and exciting way to speed up the process of adding amazing content to WordPress sites.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder adds a visual content editor and a sidebar menu that lets you drag and drop design elements on your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new visual editor to WordPress)
The Thrive Content And Page 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 exciting functionality works together to help you easily transform and improve your site and create awesome marketing pages and content.
Thrive Content Builder Plugin For WordPress
With this plugin installed easily add complex design layouts to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Every aspect of your web page can be created by dragging and dropping things around the page and then clicking to edit them …
Once elements have been positioned on a page, you can then customize or edit them without going through additional steps or switching tabs …
You can also create stunning landing pages that can just as easily be edited or customized …
Thrive Content Builder is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, designing pages with the plugin installed is so amazingly simple, that the developers guarantee that you’ll never look at creating content the same way once you start using it
More info: Thrive Content Builder
The integrated Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder plugin was created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another fantastic plugin we’ve previously recommended on this site.
See this post to read more about this plugin:
Plugin Benefits
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:
Quick And Simple To Install And Configure. Be Up And Running In Minutes.
Thrive Content Builder is really easy to install. Simply upload it to your Plugins folder via your WordPress dashboard and activate.
Real-Time Content Content Creation
Thrive Content Builder is really simple to use and lets you edit and build content in real-time.
What You See Is Truly What You Get
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see on the “back end” as you work within the content editor – typefaces, visual elements, layouts, etc. is exactly what your visitors will see in the front end of your site.
Additional benefits and advantages include the following:
- Beautiful Page Layouts With Drag And Drop Ease: Create any kind of layout you can imagine with drag and drop ease.
- 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 very decent collection of functional and eye-catching web design elements that you can insert into your pages without using short codes, like flat design elements, borderless content, section dividers, custom HTML and CSS, etc.
- More Enjoyable Content Creation: Not having to deal with technical stuff for the updated content to reload frees up your attention and allows you to build the content your business needs, quickly and without having to mess with code or click through multiple steps to get what you want done.
(Easily insert, edit and customize page elements like testimonials, pricing tables, content reveal feature, section dividers, responsive video embeds, etc.)
Features
Thrive Content Builder offers WordPress users many unique features. Here are just some:
- Built-In WordPress Content Functionality Is Still Available: You have access to all of the regular content editing options that you are used to (e.g. bold formatting, left-aligned paragraphs, font sizes, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Multi-Style Elements: The plugin makes a “drag and drop” table of elements available on your post or page screen for editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin provides you with various 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 guarantee forms. In addition to being customizable, various elements also offer multiple design options.
- Responsive Element Design: Add responsive columns, text boxes, content dividers, e.g. which will resize and display correctly on different device screens.
- Add Animation To Web Pages: Thrive Content Builder’s Event Manager feature lets you insert animated images, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Web Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Landing Page Sets
Landing page template sets are 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 page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time and money designing and customizing web pages
- 100% conversion-optimized web pages
- No tech skills needed
- Works with any theme
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, 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 30 templates available, with more templates being worked on. In addition to the templates shown above, the developers plan to release new templates for email lead generation, sales pages, training pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Fully Customizable Landing Page Template Sets
Typically, to be able to have a completely customizable landing page template, you would need to either pay a web designer to do the work, or learn how to code web pages 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 creating conversion-optimized web pages.”
Thrive Landing Pages gives you attractive pre-designed web page templates that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change and edit any element of your page templates …
With the landing page templates included with this plugin, you can:
- Change text in any bullet point, button, headline, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other component of your landing page
- Replace any background images or background colour
- Edit the color of text, links, buttons, etc.
- Choose your own fonts
- Select your own images and graphics
- Edit the size of the content area
- Change the order of elements on the pages
- Translate pages into a different language
- Add custom content anywhere in your pages
- Start with a blank page and create your own page templates, or even build your own library of custom landing page templates.
(Change and edit any element of the page)
Transform Your Website Into A Powerful Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox Plugin
The Thrive package also includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully configurable two-step opt-in forms and animated objects to your content pages …
(Add lead capture forms and events to your pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
2-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process helps to increase your conversion rates. Visitors click on a button or image, 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 when visitors click or hover 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 effects (e.g. fade in, slide in from bottom to top, roll out, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your WordPress web site with Thrive Lightbox)
Lightboxes and events are created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over all events, triggers and design.
Testimonials From Plugin Customers
Here are some of the testimonials and comments plugin 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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”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”
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 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 when published.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build with Thrive Content Builder.
Support
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder Plugin 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 very well-supported, and users get unlimited updates, plus 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, 30 day, full refund guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users that will just keep getting better.
Product 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 configure the plugin on a single website. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites License Edition – This license lets you activate the plugin on all of your personal websites. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency License – Use on your domains and on all your client sites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: Pricing for Thrive Content Builder can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. The above reflects the current price at the time this review was published. This may not be the actual pricing charged by the plugin developer when you visit the plugin site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Plugin Info
The developers of the Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages plugin 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 the time-saving benefits of ready-made web page elements and conversion-optimized template sets that help to speed up content creation, and on the other hand, you have 100% control over the design process and the ability to edit everything on your page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, which allows you to get things done without having to open multiple dialog boxes.
For ”how-to” videos showing plugin usage, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive website.
Install 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’ll see the change happen instantly. If you want to move something, all you have to do is 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 sales pages and content, Thrive Content and Page Builder delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For complete details, check out the plugin here:
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