WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool into a tool being used to create all types of web sites.
Whatever you can imagine, someone is most likely already building it using WordPress!
In this article you will discover the fastest way to create stunning content and beautiful layouts in WordPress websites.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
The WordPress Visual Content Editor – Is There A Faster Tool To Design Pages In WordPress?
Using the WordPress visual content editor to create or edit complex web pages can be quite difficult.
(The WordPress visual content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” content, but adding complex page elements can be challenging!)
For example, let’s say you want to create something like the content shown below …
To create the above layout, users would need to add short codes to the content for each of the elements they would like to display …
Typically, this is not an issue … unless you want to edit an element in the layout (for example, move part of the content from box 3 into box 2, or change the background colour in a box from dark green to another color. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code.
The WordPress visual editor is supposed to provide users with an easy-to-use WYSIWYG content editor, but as you can see, if you are working with more complex layouts, what you see on your editor screen may not be what you get …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some situations, you may even be better off working directly with the html source itself instead of the WYSIWYG editor when trying to build non-linear layouts …
Even though WordPress is very user-friendly, this makes it hard for WordPress users without knowledge of HTML or CSS to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental problem with using HTML and shortcodes to create content with WordPress can be summarized by asking 2 questions:
1) Speed – How long will it take to build a web page using this editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the editor match 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 editor looks nothing like 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 taking multiple steps before you can start configuring your page layout, or endlessly switching browser tabs and performing tweaks and updates to see how your content is progressing, which interrupts the creative process, as you wait for the updates to refresh.
A number of WordPress web developers have tried to come up with a range of solutions with the goal of addressing this issue. Some of these range from WordPress plugins you can install on 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 page layouts easier!)
Some solutions end up requiring so many page-building features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these alternative editors work, but they don’t address the fundamental problem with using shortcodes and HTML as described earlier. Creating, 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 layouts 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 builder to work?
Now, imagine this …
- You look at your content and if you spot something that needs to be corrected, just click on the content and start editing it. Your content has been instantly changed.
- You simply 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 code.
- You have an idea for a specific piece of content that you’d like to add, so you just begin typing, and your page gets built on the fly, without delays, no switching tabs, and no waiting for web pages to resave and reload.
Would that not be the ideal way to create content for your WordPress web site? Just click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around your pages and posts?
(Imagine being able to create complex page layouts 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 – The Ultimate Click-To-Edit Front End Visual Content Editor For WordPress Web Sites
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive click-to-edit drag and drop content and page creator for WordPress.
Thrive Content Builder provides you with a new and incredibly easy way to set up conversion-focused pages on any WordPress website.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor with a sidebar menu that lets you select, then drag and drop design elements to your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new content editor to WordPress)
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.
We’ll discuss each of the above plugins and how all of this exciting functionality works together to help you easily transform and improve your website and create amazing marketing pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Plugin
You can easily add content to your web pages and build complex page layouts using drag and drop elements …
Everything on your web page can be created using “drag and drop” and “click-to-edit” …
Once you have positioned your elements on the page, you can then further edit them without having to go through multiple steps or opening new option screens …
You can also work inside stunning landing pages that can just as easily be edited or customized …
Thrive Content and 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 easy, that the developers guarantee that you will never look at the process of creating and adding content the same way once you start using it
For more details, visit the plugin site here: Thrive Content Builder
Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages were created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another amazing plugin for WordPress we’ve previously written about on this site.
Go here to read more about the 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 site:
Fast And Easy To Install And Implement. Be Up And Running In No Time.
Thrive Content Builder is quite easy to install. Just upload the plugin file to your Plugin folder via your WP dashboard and activate.
Real-Time Content Content Creation
Thrive Content Builder is is not only simple to use, it also lets you create and add content right inside your web pages in real-time.
What You See Is Truly What You Get
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see as you work within the content editor – fonts, visual elements, page layouts, etc. is exactly what you get on the front end of your site.
Additional plugin benefits include the following:
- Add Attractive Web Page Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease: Create any layout you can imagine with intuitive drag-and-drop functionality.
- Add Customizable Elements With No Short Codes Involved: With Thrive Content Builder you not only get a visually exciting drag and drop content editor, but the plugin also includes a jaw-dropping collection of web design elements that you can add to your web pages without using shortcodes, such as flat design elements, feature grids, section dividers, responsive video embeds, etc.
- Distraction-Free Content Creation: Not having to constantly switch tabs as you tweak your content and then wait for your updated content to load frees up your attention and allows you to build the web pages your business needs, quickly and without having to deal with code or click through multiple layers of menus to get what you want done.
(Thrive Content Builder lets you easily create, edit and customize web page elements like testimonials, tabbed content, table of contents builder, dividers, custom HTML and CSS, etc.)
Features
Thrive Content Builder offers a number of features to WordPress users. Below we have listed just some of these features:
- Built-In Editor Functionality Is Still Available: You have access to all of the regular WordPress content editing options that you are used to (e.g. bold, paragraph centering, headings and font sizes, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements Menu: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” list of elements to your post or page screen when editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin comes with a range of eye-catching and customizable elements that will help you increase the effectiveness of your sales pages, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonials, and guarantees. In addition to customization options, various elements also offer multiple design options.
- Responsive Web Element Design: Add responsive columns, text boxes, content dividers, e.g. which will display correctly on different screens.
- Add Animation Events To Your Web Pages: Thrive Content Builder’s Event Manager feature lets you add animated page content, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages – Landing Page Template Sets
Landing page sets are web templates that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language to take your visitors all the way from signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages plugin lets you easily add conversion-optimized web pages to your website)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time designing pages for your web site
- 100% conversion-optimized landing pages
- No technical skills needed
- Works with all WordPress themes
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages not only can be used to create beautiful content in your WordPress posts and pages, but you can also choose from dozens of beautifully designed, conversion optimized page templates and fully customizable …
(Landing page template sets that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language)
There are over thirty templates available, with more templates being worked on. In addition to the available templates, the developers plan to release new templates for email lead generation, sales pages, course pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Fully Customizable Landing Page Template
Typically, in order to fully customize a landing page template, you would need to either pay a web developer to do the work, or learn web coding languages like HTML and CSS 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 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 great-looking pre-built page templates that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change or edit any element of the page templates …
The landing page templates included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Modify text in any headline, bullet point, button, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other component of the landing page
- Change any background images or background colour
- Change the color of text, buttons, links, etc.
- Use your own fonts
- Select your own images and graphics
- Modify the size of the content area
- Rearrange the order of web page elements
- Translate everything on the page into different languages
- Add any type of custom content anywhere inside your pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own landing pages from scratch and save them as new page templates.
(Change and edit any element of the page)
Thrive Lightbox Plugin – Transform Your WordPress Website Into A Marketing Machine
The Thrive plugin package includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully configurable two-step opt-in forms and animated elements to your WordPress site …
(Add opt-in forms and animation to your marketing pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process can help improve your conversion rates. When visitors click on a button or image they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Visitors click on a button and 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 when visitors click or hover 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 effects (e.g. zoom out, slide in from bottom to top, rotate, 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 your events, triggers and design.
Feedback From Users
Here are just a few of the testimonials and comments users have provided for 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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”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”
Thrive Content Builder Plugin – Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any theme in WordPress, not just with the Thrive Landing Pages plugin. Note, however, that you cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content on existing pages or posts that were not created with the plugin.
You can add WordPress shortcodes 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 built with Thrive Content Builder.
Thrive Content Builder Plugin Support
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages comes with free updates, new landing templates and upcoming features. The plugin developers are constantly working on adding new features and improving existing ones.
Thrive products are really well-supported, and users get lifetime software updates, and 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, 30 day, complete money-back guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users that will just keep getting better.
Software 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 license option lets you use the plugin on a single domain. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Edition – This allows you to install the plugin on all domains that you personally own. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency License Edition – Use on your domains & on all your client websites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: The cost to purchase the Thrive Content Builder 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 or may not be the actual pricing set by the plugin developer when you visit the product site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Information
The Thrive Landing Pages and Content 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 the time-saving benefits of ready-made page elements and beautiful, conversion-optimized templates that help to speed up the content creation process, and on the other hand, you have 100% control over your design process and the ability to edit everything on your web page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, that allows you to see exactly how the content you are working on will appear when published.
For a demo video of the plugin in action, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive Content Builder website.
Install The 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 can see the change happen instantly. If you want to move something, all you need to do is drag it and drop it into its new position. There are no extra steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your business online and create awesome sales pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For complete details, visit the plugin website here:
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