WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging application to a tool that can be used to create all types of web sites.
Whatever you can think of, somewhere around the world someone is bound to be already building it with WordPress!
In this article you will discover how to create stunning content and design beautiful layouts with drag & drop ease in WordPress web sites.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The WordPress Visual Editor Still Meet All Of Your Content Creation Needs?
With so many improvements that WordPress has undergone in recent years, many WordPress developers and users feel that the WordPress content editor is lagging behind all other developments being made to the software.
(The default WordPress visual content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional content, but adding complex layouts can be challenging!)
For example, if you look at the screenshot below …
To create the above in a page would require typing something that looks like this into the WordPress content editor …
Normally, this is not an issue … until you need to reconfigure your layout (for example, move some of the content from box 1 into box 2, or change the button inside a box from red to maroon. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with code.
The WordPress editor is supposed to provide users with an easy-to-use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) content editor, but as you can see, if you are trying to create more complex layouts, often what you see on your editor screen is not the same as what you are getting when the page gets published …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some cases, you may even be better off working inside the WordPress html (text) editor tab 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 WordPress site owners without coding skills to have full control of their own content.
The fundamental problem with using HTML and shortcodes to create content with WordPress can be summarized by asking two questions:
1) Speed – How long will it take to build a page using the editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the ”back end” resemble the content in the “front end” when you are creating or editing a page?
As you can see from the above screenshot, what you see in the editor does not look at all 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 sophisticated layouts. Other solutions require several steps before you can start configuring your page layout, or endlessly going back and forth between tabs and performing tweaks and updates to see how your content is progressing, which interrupts the creative process, as you wait for the content to refresh.
A number of WordPress web developers have tried to come up with different solutions to make content editing easier. Some of these range from stand alone WordPress 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 layouts easier!)
Some solutions include so many page-building features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these editors work fine, but they still fail to address the fundamental challenge of using shortcodes and HTML as described earlier. Adding and editing 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 to create or edit complex page content quickly, this can start to become quite frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your content editor to work?
Now, imagine the following …
- You spot something in the content that needs correction so you, just click on the content and start typing. Your content is then instantly fixed.
- You just drag and drop items around the page, and see them exactly as they will display on the front end without having to mentally translate any shortcodes or HTML.
- You have an idea for a specific item of content you would like to add, so you just start typing, and you build your page as you go, with no delays, with no switching tabs, and no waiting for pages to reload.
Would that not be the ideal way to build content for your WordPress site? Just click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around your pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex pages in real-time for your web content without 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 truly intuitive WordPress click-to-edit drag and drop content editing plugin.
The Thrive Content Builder plugin provides WordPress users with a new and exciting way to set up conversion-focused pages on any WordPress site.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder adds a visual content editor with a sidebar menu that lets you click, then drag and drop elements on your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new visual editor to WordPress)
The plugin is actually a combination of the Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages plugins combined into one, plus an additional plugin feature called Thrive Lightbox.
We’ll take a look at each of the above and how these features work seamlessly together to help you easily transform and improve your business online and create amazing sales pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder – Click-To-Edit Drag And Drop Content Builder Plugin For WordPress
This plugin lets you easily add content to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Every element on your page can be designed, edited and rearranged by ”clicking-to-edit” and “dragging and dropping” things around the page …
Once elements have been positioned on the page, you can then easily edit or customize them without having to go through multiple steps or opening extra settings windows …
You can also create stunning landing pages that can also be easily customized …
Thrive Landing Pages and 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 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
Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages were created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another amazing plugin that we have written about on this site.
See this post to read about the plugin:
Plugin Benefits
Below we have listed just some of the benefits and advantages of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up the process of creating content for your website:
Fast Installation
Thrive Content Builder is quite easy to install. Just upload the plugin file to your Plugins folder via your WP dashboard and activate.
Edit Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is is not only really simple to use, it also lets you create and edit content in real-time.
A Truly Visual Content Editor
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see on the “backend” as you work within the editor – fonts, elements, page layouts, etc. is exactly what you get in the front end of your site.
Additional benefits of this plugin include the following:
- Stunning Web Page Layouts With Drag And Drop Ease: Create any type of layout you can imagine with drag and drop ease.
- Customizable Elements Included: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get a drag and drop content editor, but the plugin also includes a collection of customizable design elements that you can customizable and use on your pages without using shortcodes, such as tabbed content, styled lists, dividers, responsive Google maps, etc.
- Distraction-Free Content Creation: Not having to constantly switch tabs as you tweak your content and then wait for your updated content to refresh frees up your attention and allows you to be more focused while you work or click through multiple steps to get what you need done.
(Add, edit and customize web page elements like testimonial boxes, flat design elements, table of contents builder, page section dividers, Google Map embeds, etc.)
Features
Thrive Content Builder provides site owners many features. Below we have listed just a few of these:
- Built-In WordPress Editor Functionality Is Still Available: You have access to all of the built-in WordPress editing options that you are used to (e.g. underline, justified text, heading styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Multi-Style Elements Menu: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” list of elements to your post or page screen for editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin comes with various eye-catching and customizable elements that will help you increase your sales conversions, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonial boxes, and guarantee forms. In addition to being customizable, various elements also offer multiple design options.
- Mobile-Friendly Design: Add mobile-friendly elements like column layouts, boxes, section dividers, e.g. which will adjust to display correctly on different device screens.
- Add Animation To Web Pages: Thrive Content Builder’s Event Manager feature lets you add animated page elements, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages – Landing Page Sets
Thrive Landing Pages provides sets of 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 plugin lets you add conversion-optimized pages to your website)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time and money building and customizing web pages
- 100% conversion-optimized landing page templates
- No tech skills required
- Works with all themes
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder not only lets you create beautiful-looking content in your WordPress posts and pages, but you can also choose from dozens of professionally designed, web 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 being worked on. In addition to the templates shown above, the developers plan to release new templates for email lead generation, sales pages, course pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Customizable Landing Page Template
Normally, in order to fully customize a landing page template, you would need to either hire a web 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 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 creating conversion-optimized web pages.”
Thrive Landing Pages gives you beautiful pre-built pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that lets you change or edit any element of the page …
With the landing page template sets included with this plugin, you can do the following:
- Edit text in any headline, bullet point, button, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other component of your landing page
- Change the background image and background color
- Change the color of text, links, buttons, etc.
- Choose your own fonts
- Select your own images and graphics
- Modify content area size
- Rearrange the order of elements on your page
- Translate everything on the page into a different language
- Add custom content anywhere in any of the pages
- Start with a blank web page and create your own templates, or even build your own library of custom landing page templates.
(Change and customize any element of the page templates)
Transform Your Site Into A Powerful Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox Plugin
The Thrive plugin combo includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully editable 2-step opt-in forms and events to your web pages …
(Add opt-in forms and animated elements to your marketing pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Thrive Lighbox Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-step opt-in process helps increase your conversion rates. Visitors click on an image or button, and then they are presented with your opt-in form …
(two-step opt-in forms help increase your conversion rates.)
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 attention-getting elements on your page, using various effects (e.g. zoom in from the page center, slide in from bottom to top, roll out, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your WordPress pages with Thrive Lightbox)
A lightbox and event is created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over all events, triggers and design.
Feedback From Users
Here are just a few of the testimonials that customers have submitted for Thrive Content Builder:
”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 the Thrive Landing Pages plugin. You cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content that was not created using the plugin.
You can add short codes inside the Content Builder or Landing Pages plugin and they will be displayed correctly when published.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content built using Thrive Content Builder.
Plugin Support
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder provides 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 really well-supported, and users get unlimited upgrades, plus one year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, 30 day, 100% money-back guarantee.
This is an exciting product that just keeps getting better.
Product License 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 – This option enables you to use the plugin on 1 web site only. Price includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Licensing – This allows you to set up the plugin on all domains that you personally own. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency License Edition – This option lets you activate the plugin on all of your own sites and all client websites. It includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Price = $247.00 per year.
Note: The cost to purchase Thrive Content Builder depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. The pricing shown above was current when this article was written. This may or may not be the actual pricing set by the plugin seller when you visit the plugin site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for the current price:
Additional Plugin Information
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 beautiful, pre-designed templates that help make designing your pages faster, and on the other hand, you have complete control over the design process and the ability to change anything and everything on your page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, that allows you to get things done without having to open multiple dialog boxes.
For a demo video showing plugin usage, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive Content Builder website.
We Recommend …
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 instantly. If you want to move something, 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 presence and create amazing sales pages and content, Thrive Content Builder delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For complete details, check out the plugin here:
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