WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool into a tool being used to create all kinds of sites.
Whatever you can imagine, somewhere around the world someone is probably already building it using WordPress!
In this article you will learn how to create stunning content and design beautiful web page layouts with drag & drop ease in WordPress.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Is The WordPress Visual Content Editor Still Meeting All Of Your Web Design Needs?
With so many developments that WordPress has gone through in recent years, many WordPress users and developers believe that using the default WordPress editor to create or edit more complex web pages can be quite challenging.
(The WordPress content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” text and images, but adding more complex page elements can be challenging!)
For example, let’s say you want to create something like the layout shown below …
To create the above layout in a page would require inserting something like this inside the default WordPress visual content editor …
Normally, this is not an issue … until you want to change some part of the layout (for example, move some of the content from box 3 into box 2, or replace the button inside box 1 from bright red to maroon. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with code.
The WordPress content editor is supposed to give users an easy-to-use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) content editor, but as you can see, if you are creating with complex page elements, what you see may not be what you are going to get when the content gets published …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some cases, users would probably be better off working directly with the source html itself instead of the WordPress WYSIWYG editor when trying to add fancy layouts …
Even though WordPress is very user-friendly, this makes it difficult for non-technical website owners to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental challenge with using shortcodes and HTML to create content with WordPress can be summarized by asking two questions:
1) Speed – How long does it take to create a page using the editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the ”back end” match the content in the “front end” when you are creating or editing a page?
As you can see from the above image, what you see when working in the editor doesn’t look even remotely similar to what you see in the front end. This means that you need 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 switching browser tabs and performing tweaks and updates to see how your content is coming along, which can interrupt the creative process, as you wait for your content to reload.
Many WordPress web developers have come up with various solutions aiming to address this issue. Some of these range from WordPress plugins you can add to your site that add new functionality to the editor, to WordPress themes that come with built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make content creation easier!)
Some solutions include so many page-building features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these solutions work, but they still don’t address the fundamental issue of using HTML and shortcodes as described earlier. Creating and adding 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 page content to look ”perfect” quickly, this can become very frustrating.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your web content builder to behave?
Now, imagine this …
- You see something in your content that needs fixing so you, just click on the content and start typing. Your content has been instantly changed.
- You simply drag and drop items on the page, and the page looks exactly as it will appear on the front end without having to mentally translate code.
- You have an idea for a specific item of content you’d like to add, so you simply begin typing, and your web page gets built on the fly, without delays, with no tab switching, and without having to wait for edits to refresh.
Would this not be the ideal way to build content for your WordPress site? A true visual content builder where all you have to do is click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the pages and posts?
(Imagine being able to create complex pages in real-time 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 Content Builder Plugin – Create Stunning Content Faster And Beautiful Page Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease In WordPress
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a unique WordPress plugin that lets you easily add amazing content to WordPress posts and pages using a click-to-edit and drag and drop content editor.
The Thrive Content Builder plugin provides you with a new and incredibly easy way to set up conversion-focused pages on your WordPress website.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor and a menu that lets you drag and drop design elements on your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new content builder 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 take a look at each of the above and how all of this exciting functionality works together to help you easily transform and improve your website and create awesome sales pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder Plugin For WordPress
With this plugin installed easily add content to your web pages and build complex page layouts using drag and drop elements …
Every element of your web page can be built, edited and customized by dragging and dropping things around the page and then clicking to edit them …
Once elements have been positioned on the page, you can then continue to customize or edit them without going through multiple steps or switching tabs …
You can also build stunning landing pages that can just as easily be edited or customized …
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, working on content with Thrive Content and Page Builder installed is so amazingly easy, that the developers guarantee that you’ll never look at creating and adding content the same way once you start using it
More info: Thrive Content Builder
The integrated Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder plugin was created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another fantastic plugin for WordPress that we have reviewed on this site.
Go here to read more about this plugin:
Benefits Of Using Thrive Content And Landing Page Builder
Here we have listed just a few of the benefits and advantages of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up your page design and content creation process:
Quick And Easy To Install And Implement. Be Up And Running In Minutes.
Thrive Content Builder installs like any regular WordPress plugin. Simply upload a zip file containing the plugin files to your Plugins folder via your WordPress dashboard and activate.
Real-Time Content Content Editing
Thrive Content Builder is is not only really simple and intuitive to use, it also lets you build 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, visual elements, page layouts, etc. is exactly what your visitors will see in the front end of your site.
Some additional benefits and advantages include:
- Eye-Catching Layouts With Drag-And-Drop Ease: Create any kind of layout you can imagine with intuitive drag and drop functionality.
- Add Customizable Elements Without Shortcodes: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get an exciting and easy-to-use drag and drop content editor, but the plugin also includes an impressive collection of customizable design elements that you can insert into your content layouts without using short codes, like pricing tables, styled lists, call to action buttons, HTML code insert boxes, etc.
- Ideal For Non-Technical Users: Not having to wait for the page 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.
(Create, edit and customize web page elements like testimonial boxes, columns, gradient boxes, dividers, Google Map embeds, etc.)
Thrive Content Builder Features
Thrive Content Builder offers WP users many powerful features. Below we have listed just some:
- All Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have all of the built-in WordPress editing options that you are used to (e.g. underlines, paragraph centering, heading styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Multi-Style Elements Menu: The plugin makes a “drag and drop” table of multi-style elements available on your post or page screen when creating and editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin comes with various attention-grabbing and customizable elements that will help increase the effectiveness of your sales pages, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonial boxes, and guarantees. In addition to being customizable, multiple design options are also available for various elements.
- Mobile-Friendly Design: Add responsive columns, guarantee boxes, section dividers, e.g. which will display great on devices with differently sized screens.
- Add Animation Events To Pages: Thrive Content Builder’s Event Manager feature lets you insert animated page content, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Web Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages – Landing Page Template Sets
Landing page template sets are 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 plugin gives you conversion-optimized page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Everything is hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time and money creating and customizing web pages
- 100% conversion-optimized landing page templates
- No coding skills required
- Works with all themes
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages not only lets you create beautiful content in your WordPress posts and pages, but you can also choose from dozens of professionally designed, conversion optimized web 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 currently over thirty templates available, with more templates being worked on. In addition to the templates that are currently available, the developers plan to release new templates for email lead generation, sales pages, lesson pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Completely Customizable And Flexible Landing Page Template Sets
Typically, to be able to have a completely customizable landing page template, you would need to either hire a web site 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 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 building conversion-optimized web pages.”
Thrive Landing Pages gives you great-looking pre-built pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that lets you change and customize any element of your page templates …
The landing page templates included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Modify text in any button, headline, bullet point, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other component of the landing page
- Replace any background images or color
- Edit the color of links, buttons, text, etc.
- Select your own fonts
- Select your own images
- Change content area size
- Change the order of page elements
- Translate everything on the page into different languages
- Add custom content anywhere in the pages
- Start with a blank web page and create your own page templates, or even build your own custom landing page templates library.
(Change and edit anything on the page templates)
Transform Your Site Into A 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 site …
(Add lead capture forms and events to your web pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-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 …
(Capture more leads and subscribers with a 2-step opt-in process)
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 an image, or when someone reaches a certain point on the page. You can also use the Event Manager to animate images on your pages, using various effects (e.g. zoom in, slide in from bottom to top, rotate, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your WordPress website with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Lightboxes and events are created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over the events, triggers and design.
User Testimonials
Here are a few of the testimonials and feedback users have submitted regarding the Thrive Content Builder plugin:
“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 on pages or posts that were not created with the plugin.
You can add short codes inside the Content Builder or Landing Pages plugin and they will be displayed correctly on the front end.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content built using Thrive Content Builder.
Plugin Support
Thrive Content and Page Builder Plugin provides free updates, new landing pages and upcoming features. The plugin developers are constantly working on adding new features and improving existing ones.
Thrive products are very well-supported, and users get unlimited software upgrades, and one 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 just keeps 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 – This license enables you to install the plugin on one website only. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites License – This enables you to run the plugin on unlimited websites that you personally own. It includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency License – Use on your sites and on all your client sites. Pricing includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: The cost of purchasing the Thrive Content Builder plugin depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. The above reflects the pricing at the time this article was written. This may or may not be the actual price charged by the product author when you visit the site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Info
The developers of the Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages plugin 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 web page elements and beautiful, pre-designed templates that help make designing your pages faster, and on the other hand, you also have 100% control over the design process and the ability to change everything on your web page, using the plugin’s click-to-edit and drag and drop features, that lets you get things done without having to go through multiple steps.
For a demo video showing how the software works, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive plugins website.
We Highly Recommend This …
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 can see the change happen instantly. If you want to move something, just drag it and drop it into its new location. There are no unnecessary steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your business online and create awesome marketing pages and engaging content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For more information, check out the plugin here:
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