WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool into a tool that is now being used to design all types of web pages – landing pages, product showcase pages, local business pages, etc.
Whatever you can imagine, someone is bound to be already building it with WordPress!
In this article you will discover the simplest visual editor for WordPress.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
The WordPress Visual Editor – Is There An Easier Tool For Creating Content Layouts In WordPress?
With so many developments that the WordPress platform has undergone in recent years, many WordPress developers feel that the WordPress editor is more suitable for performing conventional content editing (e.g. text running down the page with centered images or videos, etc.), than creating and editing page elements with more sophisticated layouts.
(The default WordPress content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” content, but adding more complex layouts can be quite challenging!)
For example, if you look at the screenshot below …
Creating the above in a page would require inserting something like this inside your WordPress visual content editor …
Generally, this is not an issue … unless you need to reconfigure your layout (for example, move some of the content from box 1 into box 2, or replace the background color inside box 3 from bright red to yellow. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code.
The WordPress visual content editor is supposed to provide non-technical users with an easy-to-use WYSIWYG content editor, but as you can see, if you are trying to add complex content elements, often what you see on your screen may not be what you are getting when the page is published …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some situations, some people argue that you could even be better off working inside the WordPress text editor tab instead of the WordPress visual editor when trying to build something other than simple page elements …
Even though WordPress is very user-friendly, this makes it difficult for WordPress site owners without coding skills to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental challenge with having to use shortcodes and HTML to create content in WordPress can be summarized by asking 2 questions:
1) Speed – How long does it take to create a page using this 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 when working in the editor looks nothing like what you see in the front end. This means that you need to mentally translate what your content will look like when working with complex layouts. Other solutions require multiple steps before you can begin configuring your page layout, or endlessly going back and forth between browser tabs and performing updates to see how your content is coming along, which can interrupt the creative process, as you wait for the updates to refresh.
A number of WordPress web developers have come up with a range of solutions to try to address this issue. Some of these alternative solutions range from plugins you can add to 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 content creation easier!)
Some solutions combine so many complex page-building features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these editors work, but they don’t address the fundamental challenge of using shortcodes and HTML as described earlier. Creating, adding and editing non-linear content 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 pages to look ”perfect” quickly, this can start to become very frustrating.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like to build and edit your web pages?
Now that you’ve asked this question, imagine the following scenario …
- You see something in the content that needs to be corrected so you, simply click on the content and start writing. Your content has been instantly fixed.
- You can 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 HTML or shortcodes.
- You have an idea for a specific item of content you would like to create, so you just start typing, and your web page gets built on the fly, without delays, no tab switching, and no waiting for new content to refresh.
Would that not be the ideal way to build content for your site? Just click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around your posts and pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex page layouts quickly for your web content with no 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 Landing Pages And Content Builder – WordPress Click-To-Edit Drag And Drop Content And Page Editing Plugin
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a unique WordPress plugin that allows website owners to easily create amazing content layout with true click-to-edit and drag and drop simplicity.
Thrive Content Builder is a new and exciting way to set up conversion-focused pages on your WordPress website.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor with a menu that lets you drag and drop design elements on your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new content editor to your WordPress site)
The 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 examine each of the above plugins and how all of this functionality works seamlessly together to help you transform and improve your site and create amazing marketing pages and content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Click-To-Edit Drag & Drop Content Editor
You can easily add content to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Every element of your page can be built with ”click-to-edit” and “drag and drop” ease …
Once elements have been positioned on the page, you can continue to further customize or edit them without going through multiple steps or switching screens …
You can also build stunning landing pages that can also be easily edited …
Thrive Content and Landing 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 effortlessly simple, that the developers warn that once you start using it, it will ruin the experience of using all other content editors forever, and you’ll never look back!
More info: Thrive Content Builder
Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages were created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another excellent plugin for WordPress that we have recommended on this site.
To read more about this plugin, see this article:
Plugin Benefits
Here we have listed just some of the many benefits of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up content creation:
Quick And Easy To Install And Configure. Ready To Go To Work In Very Little Time.
Thrive Content Builder installs like every other plugin. Simply upload it to your Plugin folder via your WordPress dashboard and activate.
Real-Time Content Content Creation
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 editor – fonts, elements, layouts, etc. is exactly what your visitors will see in the front end of your site.
Additional benefits of this plugin include:
- Beautiful Web Page Layouts With Drag And Drop Ease: Create any kind of layout you can imagine with intuitive drag and drop functionality.
- Customizable Elements Included: With Thrive Content Builder you not only get an amazing click-to-edit content builder, but the plugin also includes a very decent collection of design elements that you can customizable and use on your pages without using shortcodes, for e.g.: columns, content reveal feature, section dividers, Google Map embeds, etc.
- Distraction-Free Content Creation: Not having to deal with technical stuff for the updates 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 steps to get what you need done.
(Thrive Content Builder lets you easily insert, edit and customize page elements like testimonial boxes, flat design elements, table of contents builder, section dividers, Google Map embeds, etc.)
Features
Thrive Content Builder offers many features to WordPress users. Below we have listed just some:
- Regular Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have access to all of the built-in WordPress text editing options that you are used to (e.g. bold formatting, paragraph centering, heading styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” table of multi-style elements to your post or page screen when editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin includes a range of 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 Design: Add mobile-friendly columns, boxes, content section dividers, e.g. which will display great on devices with differently sized screens.
- Add Animation To Web Pages: The plugin’s Event Manager feature lets you insert animations, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your 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 all the way from initial signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages plugin lets you easily add conversion-optimized web pages to your web site)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Everything is hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time designing and customizing landing pages for your WordPress web site
- 100% conversion-optimized web pages
- No coding skills required
- Works with all WordPress themes
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages not only can be used to create beautiful-looking content in your WordPress posts and pages, but you can also choose from dozens of beautifully designed, landing 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 30+ templates available, with more templates being worked on. In addition to the templates that are currently available, the developers plan to release new page templates for email lead generation, sales pages, lesson pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Customizable Landing Page Template Sets
Normally, in order to fully customize a landing page template, you would need to either hire a web site designer to do the work, or learn how to code web pages 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 building conversion-optimized web pages.”
Thrive Landing Pages gives you stunning pre-designed page templates that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change and customize anything on your page templates …
The landing page templates included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Edit text in all buttons, bullet points, headlines, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other element of the landing page
- Change all background images and background colours
- Edit the color of links, text, buttons, etc.
- Use your own fonts
- Select your own images and graphics
- Modify the size of the content area
- Change the order of web page elements
- Translate everything on the page into a different language
- Add custom content in any of the pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own landing pages from scratch and save them as new page templates.
(Change or customize anything on your page template)
Transform Your Web Site Into A Powerful Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox Plugin
The Thrive plugin package also includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully editable 2-step opt-in forms and animated elements to your website …
(Add lead capture forms and animated elements to your marketing pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Thrive Lighbox 2-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-step opt-in process helps to increase your conversion rates. When visitors click on an image or button they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Visitors click on a button and 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 pages, using various animation effects (e.g. zoom in from the page center, slide in from bottom to top, roll in, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your WordPress 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.
User Testimonials
Below are some of the testimonials and comments that plugin users have written about Thrive Content Builder:
“I have had nothing but the best experience imaginable with this tool since I purchased it. This is by far one of, if not the best plug-in I have purchase to date and it has definitely made working with WordPress a whole new experience. Jim Bond”
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“I’m blown away by the plugin. Keep up the incredible, WordPress changing work, guys! Dean Phillips”
Thrive Content Builder Plugin – Useful Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any WordPress theme, not just with Thrive Landing Pages. You cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content that was not created using the plugin.
You can add WordPress short codes inside the Content Builder or Landing Pages plugin and they will be displayed correctly on on your web site.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build using Thrive Content Builder.
Support
Thrive Content and Landing Page Builder Plugin 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 well-supported, and users get unlimited upgrades, and one year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, 30 day, 100% money-back guarantee.
This is an exciting product that just keeps getting better.
Plugin 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 – This license option allows you to install the plugin on one website only. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Licensing – This option lets you set up the plugin on unlimited web sites that you personally own. Price includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency Licensing – Use on all your sites & on all your client sites. It includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Price = $247.00 per year.
Note: The cost to purchase this product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Currently, the plugin sells for the amounts shown above. This may or may not be the actual price charged by the plugin seller when you visit the product website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing here:
Additional Plugin Information
The Thrive Content and 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 templates that help to make designing your pages faster, and on the other hand, you also have complete control over the design process and the ability to edit everything on your page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, which lets you get things done without having to keep switching tabs or going through multiple steps.
For a demo video of the plugin in action, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive Content Builder website.
Get This Plugin …
If you want to edit something, you 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, just drag it and drop it into its new position. There are no unnecessary steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your website and create amazing marketing pages and engaging content, Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For more information, check out the plugin here:
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