WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging application into a tool that is now being used to design all types of pages – marketing pages, product showcase pages, local business pages, etc.
Whatever you can think of, someone is bound to be already building it using WordPress!
In this article you will discover the simplest, most intuitive WYSIWYG content editor for WordPress websites.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
The WordPress Visual Content Editor – Is There An Easier Option To Create Stunning-Looking Content Layouts In WordPress?
With so many improvements that the WordPress platform has undergone in recent years, many WordPress developers believe that the WordPress editor is not flexible enough for building and changing sophisticated layouts.
(The default WordPress content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional text and media, but adding complex content elements can be quite challenging!)
For example, if you look at the image below …
To create the above layout, users would normally need to insert shortcodes into the content for every single element they want to display on their page …
Generally, this is not an issue … unless you want to reconfigure the layout (for example, move part of the content from box 1 into box 2, or replace the button inside box 1 from bright red to light blue. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code.
The WordPress visual editor is supposed to give non-technical users an easy-to-use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, but as you can see, if you are trying to create complex layouts, what you see may not be what you are going to get when the web page goes live …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some situations, users may even be better off working directly inside the WordPress html (text) editor tab instead of the visual editor when trying to create complex page elements …
Even though WordPress is extremely easy to use, this makes it difficult for non-technical website owners to have full control of their own content.
The fundamental challenge with having to use shortcodes and HTML to create content with WordPress can be summarized by asking 2 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 back end looks nothing like what you see in the front end. This means that users need to abstract what the content will look like when working with sophisticated layouts. Other solutions require taking several steps before you can start configuring your page layout, or endlessly switching tabs and performing updates to see how your content is coming along, which can affect how quickly you can create your content, as you wait for your page to reload.
A number of WordPress web developers have come up with different solutions to make content editing more intuitive. Some of these range from standalone plugins you can install on your site that add new functionality to the editor, to WP themes that include built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make content creation 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 really seem to address the fundamental issue of using shortcodes and HTML as described earlier. Creating, adding and editing sophisticated content elements 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 your web pages to look “just right” quickly, this can start to become quite frustrating.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your content builder to function?
Now, visualize the following scenario …
- You spot something in the content that needs to be changed so you, just click on the content and start changing it. Your content is then instantly edited.
- You simply drag and drop elements on the page, and the page looks exactly as it will appear on the front end without having to mentally translate HTML or shortcodes.
- You have an idea for a specific piece of content that you’d like to create, so you simply begin typing, and your web page gets built on the fly, with no delays, with no switching of tab browsers, and without having to wait for new web content to refresh and reload.
Would that not be the ideal way to create content for your site? A true WYSIWYG content editor 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 page layouts ”on the fly” for your web content without 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 Landing Pages And Content Builder
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a ground-breaking plugin for WordPress that gives you complete control over every aspect of your content layout with a click-to-edit and drag and drop content editor.
Thrive Content Builder provides you with a new and exciting way to set up conversion-focused pages on any WordPress website.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder adds a visual content editor and an item menu that lets you drag and drop design elements to your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new content editor to WordPress)
The Thrive Landing Pages And Content Builder plugin is actually a combination of the Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages plugins merged into one, plus an additional plugin feature called Thrive Lightbox.
Let’s take a look at all of the above and how these exciting features work seamlessly together to help you easily transform and improve your web site and create amazing sales pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder
With Thrive Content Builder easily add complex design layouts to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Every aspect of your page can be built by dragging and dropping things around the page and then clicking to edit them …
Once elements have been added to your page, you can then further edit these without having to go through multiple steps or switching screens …
The built-in Landing Pages editor also lets you build beautiful landing pages and easily customize these …
Thrive Content Builder is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, designing web pages with the Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder plugin installed is so amazingly simple, that the developers guarantee that you will never look at the process of creating content the same way once you start using it
Learn more about this plugin here: 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 we’ve reviewed on this site.
To read about the plugin, see this post:
Plugin Benefits
Here are just a few of the benefits and advantages of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up your page design and content creation process:
Easy And Fast To Install
Thrive Content Builder is very easy to install. Just upload the plugin file to your Plugins folder via your WP administrator account and activate.
Real-Time Content Content Editing
Thrive Content Builder is simple to use and lets you build content in real-time.
What You See Is Exactly What You Get
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see as you work within the editor – fonts, visual elements, page layouts, etc. is exactly what you get in the front end of your site.
Additional benefits include:
- Add Beautiful Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease: Create any layout you can imagine with intuitive drag and drop functionality.
- Add Design Elements Without Using Short Codes: With Thrive Content Builder you not only get a drag and drop WordPress content editor, but the plugin also includes a collection of customizable design elements that you can customizable and use on your web pages without using short codes, for e.g.: columns, styled lists, buttons, responsive Google map embeds, etc.
- More Enjoyable Content Creation: Not having to constantly switch tabs as you edit content and then wait for your new content to reload frees up your attention and allows you to build the pages your business needs, quickly and without having to mess with code or click through multiple layers of menus to get what you want done.
(Add, edit and customize page elements like testimonial boxes, columns, feature grids, section dividers, HTML code insert boxes, etc.)
Features
Thrive Content Builder provides a number of great features to site owners. Below we have listed just some of these features:
- Built-In Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have all of the built-in WordPress editing options that you are used to (e.g. bold formatting, paragraph centering, headings and font sizes, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements Menu: The plugin makes a “drag and drop” table of multi-style elements available on your post or page screen when creating or editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin provides you with a range of eye-catching and customizable elements that will help increase your conversions, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonials, and guarantees. In addition to customization options, multiple design options are also available for various elements.
- Responsive Element Design: Add responsive columns, boxes, section dividers, e.g. which will display great on different-sized screens.
- Add Animation Events To Pages: Thrive Content Builder’s Event Manager feature lets you add animated buttons, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages – Landing Page Templates
Landing page sets are web page 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 web page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time creating and customizing pages for your website
- 100% conversion-optimized pages
- No technical skills needed
- Works with all themes
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder 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, web page templates that are conversion-optimized and fully customizable …
(Landing page sets 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 shown above, expect to see new templates in the future for email lead generation, sales pages, training pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Fully Customizable Landing Page Template Sets
Normally, in order to have fully customizable landing page templates, you would need to either pay a web 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 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 attractive pre-designed pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that lets you change and customize any element of your page template …
The landing page templates included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Change text in any headline, button, bullet point, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other element of the landing page
- Change all background images or background color
- Change the color of links, text, buttons, etc.
- Choose your own fonts
- Select your own images
- Change the size of the content area
- Rearrange the order of page elements
- Translate everything on the page into a different language
- Add custom content anywhere in the pages
- Start with a blank web page and create your own templates, or even build your own library of custom landing pages.
(Change or customize any aspect of the page templates)
Transform Your WordPress Website Into A Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox Plugin
The Thrive plugin combo also includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully customizable 2-step opt-in forms and animated objects to your content pages …
(Add opt-in forms and events to your pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Thrive Lighbox 2-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process can improve your conversion rates. When visitors click on an image or button they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Capture more leads and subscribers with a two-step opt-in process)
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 graphic elements, 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 in, slide in from bottom to top, roll in, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your WordPress site with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
A lightbox and event is created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over all events, triggers and design.
User Testimonials
Here are a few of the testimonials plugin users have published about 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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“I’m blown away by the plugin. Keep up the incredible, WordPress changing work, guys! Dean Phillips”
Thrive Content Builder – Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any WordPress theme, not just with the Thrive Landing Pages plugin. Note, however, that you cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content on pages or posts that were not created using the plugin.
You can add WordPress short codes inside Thrive Content Builder or Thrive Landing Pages and they will display correctly on your website.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content built with Thrive Content Builder.
Product Support
Thrive Landing Pages and Content 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 software is very well-supported, and users get lifetime software upgrades, plus one year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, 30 day, full money-back guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users that will just keep getting better.
Product License Price
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 edition allows you to install the plugin on a single site. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Licensing – This allows you to install the plugin on all of your personal sites. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency License – This license enables you to run the plugin on all of your own web sites and all client websites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: Price details for Thrive Content Builder depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. When we last checked, the product retails for the prices shown above. This may or may not be the actual price charged by the software seller when you visit the plugin site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest pricing:
Additional Information
The developers of the Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages 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 page elements and beautiful, pre-designed template sets that help speed up your content creation, and on the other hand, you have 100% control over your design process and the ability to edit and customize anything and everything on your page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, which lets you get things done without having to open multiple dialog boxes.
For demo videos of the plugin in action, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive Content Builder website.
The Bottom Line …
If you want to edit something, just click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, you will see the change happen instantly. If you want to move something, you drag it and drop it into its new position. There are no extra steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your website and create amazing sales pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For full details, check out the plugin here:
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