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, someone is probably already building it using WordPress!
In this article you will discover how to create stunning content and design beautiful page layouts with drag & drop ease in WordPress web sites.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The Default WordPress Content Editor Still Meet All Of Your Web Design Needs?
Using the default WordPress WYSIWYG content editor to create or edit complex content elements can sometimes be quite difficult.
(The built-in WordPress visual content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional text and media, but adding complex layouts can be challenging!)
For example, if you look at the image below …
To create the above layout, users would need to insert shortcodes into the content for every single page element they want to create …
Typically, this is not really an issue … unless you have to change your layout (for example, move part of the content from box 3 into box 2, or change the button inside a box from green to maroon. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code or html.
The WordPress visual content editor is supposed to be an easy-to-use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, but as you can see, when working with more complex layouts, often what you see in the WordPress content editor screen may not be the same as what you are going to get when your web 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 directly with the html source itself instead of the visual editor when trying to create fancy layouts …
Even though WordPress is extremely easy to use, this makes it hard for non-technical website owners to have full control of their own content.
The fundamental challenge with using HTML and shortcodes to create content in the default WordPress editor can be summarized by asking 2 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 ”back end” resemble the content in the “front end” when you are creating or editing a page?
As you can see from the above, what you see when working in the content editor looks nothing like what you see in the front end. This means that users need to translate mentally what the content will look like when working with sophisticated layouts. Other solutions require taking multiple steps before you can begin configuring your page layout, or endlessly switching browser tabs and performing tweaks and updates to see how your content is progressing, which then affects how quickly you can create your content, as you wait for your updated content to reload.
A number of WordPress web developers have come up with different solutions with the objective of making the visual editor more intuitive. These solutions range from standalone WP plugins you can add to your site that add new functionality to the editor, to WordPress themes that provide 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 complex page design features, that users need to learn how to work with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these alternative solutions work fine, but they don’t really seem to address the fundamental challenge of using HTML and shortcodes as described earlier. Creating, adding and editing 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 to create or edit complex page content quickly, this can become quite frustrating.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your web content editor to behave?
Now that you’ve asked this question, imagine this …
- You spot something in the content that needs correction so you, simply click on the content and start writing. Your content is then instantly fixed.
- You simply drag and drop items on the page, and see them exactly as they will display on the front end without having to mentally abstract from code.
- You have an idea for a specific item of content you’d like to create, so you just start typing, and your page gets built as you go, with no delays, with no switching tabs, and without having to wait for new web content to resave and reload.
Would this not be the perfect 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 pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex web page layouts quickly 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 And Landing Pages – Click-To-Edit Drag And Drop Content Creator For WordPress
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a ground-breaking plugin for WordPress that allows you to quickly add beautiful content to your posts and pages using a powerful click-to-edit and drag and drop content editor.
Thrive Content Builder is a new and exciting way to speed up the process of adding content to WordPress sites.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor with a sidebar menu that lets you click, then drag and drop elements on your 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.
Let’s examine all of the above and how all of this functionality works together to help you easily transform and improve your site and create awesome marketing pages and content.
Thrive Content Builder For WordPress
You can easily build complex web page design layouts using drag and drop elements …
Every aspect of your page can be configured using ”click-to-edit” and “drag and drop” …
Once you have placed your elements on a page, you can continue to further customize these without going through additional steps or complicated option windows …
You can also create highly attractive landing pages that can also be easily edited …
Thrive 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 easy, that the developers guarantee that you will never look back once you start using it
For more details, visit the plugin site here: Thrive Content Builder
The integrated Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages plugin was created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another amazing plugin we’ve previously recommended on this site.
To read more about this plugin, see this page:
Plugin Benefits
Below are just some of the many benefits of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up your page design and content creation process:
Easy To Install
Thrive Content Builder installs like every WP plugin. Just upload it to your Plugins folder via your dashboard and activate.
Build And Edit Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is is not only really simple and intuitive to use, it also lets you edit and build content in real-time.
What You See Is Exactly What You Get
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see on the “back-end” as you work within the content editor – fonts, elements, page layouts, etc. is exactly what you get on the front end of your site.
Some additional benefits of the plugin include:
- Stunning Page Layouts With Drag And Drop Ease: Create any kind of layout you can imagine with intuitive drag and drop functionality.
- Add Design Elements With No Short Codes Involved: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get an amazing click-to-edit WordPress content builder, but the plugin also includes a collection of professional design elements that you can customizable and add to your pages without using shortcodes, for e.g.: pricing tables, content reveal feature, dividers, custom HTML and CSS, etc.
- Ideal For Non-Technical Users: Not having to deal with technical stuff for the content to load frees up your attention and allows you to build the content your business needs, quickly and without having to edit code or click through multiple layers of menus to get what you want done.
(Insert, edit and customize page elements like testimonials, content toggle, styled lists, section dividers, responsive video embeds, etc.)
Features
Thrive Content Builder provides a number of unique features to website owners. Below we have listed just some of these features:
- Regular Content Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have access to all of the regular WordPress editing options that you are used to (e.g. underlines, left-aligned paragraphs, headings and font sizes, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Multi-Style Elements: The plugin makes a “drag and drop” list of multi-style elements available on your post or page screen for creating and editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin includes various attention-grabbing and customizable elements that will help increase your sales conversions, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonial boxes, and guarantee forms. In addition to being customizable, multiple design options are also available for various elements.
- Mobile-Friendly Design: Add mobile-friendly elements like columns, text boxes, section dividers, e.g. which will resize and display great on different device screens.
- Add Animation To Web Pages: Thrive Content Builder’s Event Manager feature lets you create animations, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Web Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – 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 from initial signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages provides you with conversion-optimized page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time and money creating web pages for your site
- 100% conversion-optimized page templates
- No coding skills needed
- Works with any WordPress theme
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder 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 planned for future release. In addition to the existing templates, the developers plan to release new templates for email lead generation, sales pages, lesson pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Fully Customizable And Flexible Landing Page Template Sets
Typically, to be able to have completely customizable landing page templates, you would need to either hire a web site designer 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 complex 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 stunning pre-designed web pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change and customize any aspect of your page templates …
With the landing page templates included with this plugin, you are able to:
- Modify text in all headlines, buttons, bullet points, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other part of your landing page
- Replace the background image or color
- Change the color of links, buttons, text, etc.
- Use your own fonts
- Select your own images
- Change content area size
- Change the order of web page elements
- Translate pages into a different language
- Add custom content inside the 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 your page templates)
Thrive Lightbox Plugin – Transform Your Website Into A Marketing Machine
The Thrive package also includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully customizable 2-step opt-in forms and animated objects to your web site …
(Add opt-in forms and animation to your web pages with Thrive Lightbox)
Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-step opt-in process can help increase your conversion rates. Visitors click on an image or button, and then they are presented with your opt-in form …
(When visitors click on the button, they 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 when visitors click or hover 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 attention-getting elements on your page, using a range of effects (e.g. zoom out, slide in from top to bottom, rotate, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your web pages with Thrive Lightbox)
Lightboxes and events are 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 and comments that customers have provided for 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”
Thrive Content Builder – Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any theme in WordPress, not just with Thrive Landing Pages. 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 shortcodes inside the Content Builder or Landing Pages plugin and they will be displayed correctly when published.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content built with Thrive Content Builder.
Support
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder provides free updates, new landing pages and upcoming features. The Thrive team is constantly working on adding new features and improving existing ones.
Thrive products are very well-supported, and users get unlimited software updates, and 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, 30 day, 100% refund guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users that will just keep getting better.
Product Cost
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 use the plugin on 1 website only. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites License – This license option lets you install the plugin on unlimited websites that you own. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency Licensing – Use on all your web sites and on client websites. Price includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: The cost to purchase Thrive Content Builder depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. When we last checked, the plugin is being retailed for the amounts shown above. This may or may not be the actual pricing set by the plugin developer when you visit the product site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Plugin Information
The developers of the Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder plugin repeatedly assert 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 conversion-optimized templates that help speed up content design, and on the other hand, you have 100% control over the design process and the freedom to change and customize anything and everything on your web page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, that lets you get things done without having to go through multiple steps.
For a demo video showing how the software works, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive Content Builder website.
Install This Plugin …
If you want to edit something, just click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, do it, and you can see the change happen immediately. If you want to move something, all you need to do is drag it and drop it into its new position. There are no overly complicated steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your web site and create amazing marketing pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
To learn more, check out the plugin here:
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