WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging application to a tool that is now used to create all types of sites.
Whatever you can imagine, somewhere around the world someone is most likely already building it with WordPress!
This article will help you discover how to create beautiful page layouts with drag & drop ease in WordPress websites.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
The WordPress Content Editor – Is There An Easier Tool For Designing Pages In WordPress?
Using the built-in WordPress WYSIWYG content editor to build or edit complex layouts can be quite difficult.
(The WordPress WYSIWYG content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional text and images, but adding more complex page elements can be challenging!)
For example, if you look at the illustration below …
To create the above boxes with text and buttons in your content would require entering something like this in your WordPress content editor …
Typically, this is not really an issue … unless you decide to reconfigure the layout (for example, move part of the content from box 3 into box 2, or replace the background colour in box 3 from red to gray. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code or html.
The WordPress editor is supposed to give users an easy-to-use WYSIWYG editor, but as you can see, if you are trying to add more complex layouts, what you see on your editor screen is not what you get …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some cases, some people argue that you would probably be better off working directly with the source html itself instead of the WordPress visual editor when trying to add fancy page elements …
Even though WordPress is extremely easy to use, this makes it difficult for non-technical users to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental issue about having to use shortcodes and HTML to create content in the default WordPress WYSIWYG editor can be summarized as follows:
1) Speed – How long will it take to create a web page using the 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 image, what you see in the editor 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 a number of 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 impacts how fast you can create your content, as you wait for your page to refresh.
Many WordPress developers have come up with different solutions with the goal of addressing this issue. These solutions range from standalone plugins you can add to your site that add new functionality to the editor, to WP 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 end up including so many complex page design features, that users need to learn how to work with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these solutions work fine, 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 web pages 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 pages?
Now, imagine this …
- You look at your content and if you see something that needs to be corrected, simply click on the content and start editing it. Your content is instantly edited.
- You simply drag and drop elements on the page, and the page looks exactly as it will display on the front end without having to mentally abstract from code.
- You have an idea for a specific item of content that you would like to create, so you immediately begin typing, and you build your web page on the fly, without delays, with no switching tabs, and without waiting for pages to reload.
Would that not be the ideal way to build content for your site? A true visual content builder where all you have to do is click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around your posts and 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 – The Simplest Way To Build Stunning Content In WordPress Web Sites
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a unique plugin for WordPress that allows you to easily create amazing content layout with a powerful click-to-edit and drag and drop content editor.
Thrive Content Builder is a new and incredibly easy way to speed up the process of creating content on your WordPress website.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder adds a visual content editor with a sidebar menu that lets you drag and drop design elements on your page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new content editor to WordPress)
The Thrive Content And Page 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 all of the above plugins and how these features work seamlessly together to help you transform and improve your web site and create amazing sales pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Plugin
This plugin lets you easily add content to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Everything on your page can be designed by ”clicking-to-edit” and “dragging and dropping” things around the page …
Once elements have been added to a page, you can then edit or customize these without going through multiple steps or switching screens …
The built-in Thrive Landing Pages also lets you work inside beautiful landing pages and easily customize these …
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 Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages installed is so effortlessly simple, that the developers guarantee that once you start using it, it will ruin the experience of using any other content editor forever, and you’ll never look back!
Go here to learn more: Thrive Content Builder
Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages were created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another fantastic plugin for WordPress we’ve reviewed on this site.
To learn more about the plugin, see this page:
Plugin Benefits
Here are just some of the benefits and advantages of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up content creation:
Quick And Easy To Install And Implement. Ready To Go To Work In Very Little Time.
Thrive Content Builder installs just like every other plugin. Simply upload it to your Plugins folder via your admin account 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, edit and add content right inside your pages in real-time.
What You See Is Really What You Get
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see on the “back-end” as you work within the editor – typefaces, elements, layouts, etc. is exactly what you get on the front end of your site.
Some additional benefits and advantages include:
- Eye-Catching Layouts With Drag And Drop Ease: Create any type of layout you can imagine with drag-and-drop ease.
- Add Customizable Elements Without Shortcodes: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get a visually exciting drag and drop content editor, but the plugin also includes an impressive collection of customizable web design elements that you can customizable and add to your layouts without using short codes, like columns, feature grids, call to action buttons, credit card icons, etc.
- Ideal For Non-Technical Users: Not having to deal with technical stuff, or wait for for your updated content to reload 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 want done.
(Thrive Content Builder lets you easily insert, edit and customize page elements like testimonials, columns, star ratings for review pages, dividers, code insert boxes, etc.)
Features
Thrive Content Builder provides site owners a number of unique features. Here are just a few of these:
- Built-In Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have access to all of the built-in text editing options that you are used to (e.g. underline, centering text, font sizes, 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 comes with a range of eye-catching and customizable elements that will help increase your conversions, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonial boxes, and guarantees. In addition to being customizable, various elements also offer multiple design options.
- Responsive Element Design: Add responsive columns, text boxes, section dividers, e.g. which will display correctly on different-sized screens.
- Add Animation To Web Pages: The Event Manager feature lets you add animation in buttons, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Web Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages – Landing Page Template Sets
Thrive Landing Pages provides sets of templates that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language to take your visitors from signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages lets you add conversion-optimized pages to your web site)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time and money designing and customizing pages for your website
- 100% conversion-optimized page templates
- No coding skills required
- Works with all WordPress 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 professionally designed, conversion optimized page templates and fully customizable …
(Thrive Landing Pages provides sets of templates that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language)
There are over 30 templates available, with more templates scheduled for future release. In addition to the templates that are currently available, expect to see new templates in the future for email lead generation, sales pages, lesson pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Customize Your Landing Page Template
Normally, in order to have a fully 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 building conversion-optimized web pages.”
Thrive Landing Pages gives you attractive pre-designed web pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change and edit anything on the page template …
The landing page template sets included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Modify text in any bullet point, headline, button, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other element of the landing page
- Replace any background images and edit colors
- Edit the color of links, text, buttons, etc.
- Select your own fonts
- Select your own images
- Change the size of the content area
- Rearrange the order of elements on your pages
- Translate pages into a different language
- Add any type of custom content inside any of the pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own web pages from scratch and save them as new page templates.
(Change or customize anything on the page template)
Transform Your Site Into A Powerful Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox Plugin
The Thrive package includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully editable two-step opt-in forms and animated elements to your web pages …
(Add lead capture forms and animation to your WordPress pages with Thrive Lightbox)
Thrive Lighbox 2-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process helps increase your conversion rates. When visitors click on an image or button they are presented with your opt-in form …
(When visitors click on the button, they are presented with an opt-in form)
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 attention-getting elements on your web pages, using a range of effects (e.g. fade out, slide in from right to left, roll in, 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 your events, triggers and design.
Feedback From Users
Here are a few of the testimonials and feedback plugin users have submitted regarding 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”
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 that was not created with the plugin.
You can add shortcodes inside the Content Builder or Landing Pages plugin and they will display correctly on on your web site.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content built using Thrive Content Builder.
Product Support
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages Plugin comes with free updates, new landing templates and upcoming features. The Thrive team is constantly working on adding new features and improving existing ones.
Thrive software is well-supported, and users get unlimited updates, and 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.
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 Licensing – This allows you to run the plugin on one website only. Pricing includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites License Edition – This enables you to configure the plugin on all of your personal sites. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency Licensing – Use on all your sites and on client web sites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Price = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: The cost of purchasing this product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Currently, the product is selling for the prices shown above. This may not be the actual pricing charged by the product seller when you visit the product site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Information
The Thrive Content and Landing Page Builder plugin developers 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 time-saving features like ready-made page elements and template sets that help make designing your pages faster, and on the other hand, you also have 100% control over the design process and the freedom to change everything on your web 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 showing plugin usage, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the plugin website.
Our Recommendation …
If you want to edit something, you just click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, you can see the change happen instantly. If you want to move something, you drag it and drop it into its new location. There are no extra steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your website and create awesome marketing pages and content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For more details, visit the plugin website here:
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