WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool to a tool being used to design all types of pages – marketing pages, product showcase pages, local business pages, etc.
Whatever you can think of, someone is most likely already building it with WordPress!
This article will help you discover the most straight-forward visual content editor for WordPress.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Is The WordPress Visual Content Editor Still Meeting All Of Your Content Creation And Editing Needs?
Using the built-in WordPress WYSIWYG content editor to build or edit sophisticated layouts can sometimes be challenging, especially for non-technical users.
(The default WordPress visual content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” text and images, but adding more complex layouts can be challenging!)
For example, if you look at the image below …
To add the above to a page would require inserting something like this inside the default WordPress content editor …
Generally, this is not really an issue … unless you want to edit something in the layout (for example, move part of the content from box 1 into box 2, or replace the button inside a box from red to gray. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code or html.
The WordPress visual editor is supposed to give non-technical users an easy-to-use WYSIWYG editor, but as you can see, if you are trying to add complex page elements, often what you see on your screen may not be the same as what you get …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some cases, you may even be better off working with the source html itself instead of the WordPress visual editor when trying to add complex layouts …
Even though WordPress is very user-friendly, this makes it hard 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 as follows:
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 screenshot, what you see in the content editor doesn’t look anything like what you see in the front end. This means that users have to translate mentally what the content will look like when working with complex layouts. Other solutions require taking multiple steps before you can begin configuring your page layout, or endlessly switching tabs and performing updates to see how your content is coming along, which can interrupt the creative process, as you wait for your updated content to reload.
Many WordPress developers have tried to come up with different solutions with the aim of addressing this issue. Some of these range from 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 creating complex content easier!)
Some solutions end up including 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 really address the fundamental challenge of using shortcodes and HTML as described earlier. 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 layouts quickly, this can start to become really frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like to build and edit your web content?
Now, imagine the following …
- You see something in your content that needs correction so you, simply click on the content and start editing it. Your content is instantly edited.
- You can just drag and drop elements on 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 you would like to create, so you just begin typing, and your page gets built on the fly, without delays, with no switching of tab browsers, and without having to wait for new web content to reload.
Would that not be the perfect way to create content for your site? Just click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the pages and posts?
(Imagine being able to create complex web pages ”on the fly” 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 Plugin – Create Beautiful Web Page Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease In WordPress Web Sites
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a unique WordPress plugin that lets you easily add amazing content to WordPress posts and pages with true click-to-edit and drag and drop simplicity.
The Thrive Content Builder plugin is a new and incredibly easy way to speed up the process of creating great content on your WordPress website.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder 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 visual content builder to WordPress)
The Thrive Content And Landing Page 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.
We’ll examine all of the above plugins and how these powerful features work seamlessly together to help you easily transform and improve your site and create amazing sales pages and content.
Thrive Content Builder
This plugin lets you easily add content to your web pages and build complex page layouts using drag and drop elements …
Everything on your page can be designed by dragging and dropping things around the page and then clicking to edit them …
Once you have positioned your elements on your page, you can then easily edit or customize them without having to go through additional steps or switching tabs …
You can also build stunning landing pages that can also be easily customized …
Thrive Content Builder is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, designing web pages with the plugin installed is so effortlessly easy, that the developers warn that you will never look back once you start using it
More info: Thrive Content Builder
Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages were created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another terrific plugin that we have written about on this site.
To read about this plugin, see this page:
Plugin Benefits
Below are just a few of the benefits of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up your page design and content creation process:
Quick And Easy To Install And Use. Be Up And Running In Very Little Time.
Thrive Content Builder is really easy to install. Just upload it to your Plugins folder via your WordPress dashboard and activate.
Real-Time Content Content Editing
Thrive Content Builder is is not only simple and intuitive to use, it also lets you build content in real-time.
A Truly Visual Content Builder
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see as you work within the editor – fonts, elements, layouts, etc. is exactly what your visitors will see on the front end of your site.
Additional benefits of using this plugin include:
- Add Eye-Catching Page Layouts With Drag-And-Drop Ease: Create any type of layout you can imagine with drag and drop ease.
- Add Customizable Elements Without Using Shortcodes: With Thrive Content Builder you not only get a drag and drop WordPress content editor, but the plugin also includes a collection of customizable web design elements that you can insert into your layouts without using shortcodes, such as columns, star ratings for review pages, call to action buttons, responsive videos, etc.
- Ideal For Non-Technical Users: Not having to wait for for your updated content to reload frees up your attention and allows you to be more focused while you build or edit your content or click through multiple steps to get what you need done.
(Thrive Content Builder lets you easily add, edit and customize web page elements like testimonials, columns, gradient boxes, call to action buttons, countdown timers, etc.)
Thrive Content Builder Features
Thrive Content Builder provides WordPress users many unique features. Here are just some of those:
- All Editor Functionality Is Still Available: You have all of the regular text editing options that you are used to (e.g. bold formatting, centering text, font styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Multi-Style Elements Menu: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” list of multi-style elements to your post or page screen when editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin provides you with a range of eye-catching and customizable elements that will help increase your sales conversions, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonials, and guarantees. In addition to customization options, various elements also offer multiple design options.
- Responsive Element Design: Add responsive columns, text boxes, dividers, e.g. which will adjust to display great on different device screens.
- Add Animation Events To Pages: The plugin’s Event Manager feature lets you add animated page content, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Web Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Landing Page Template 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 signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages plugin provides you with conversion-optimized web page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time and money creating pages for your web site
- 100% conversion-optimized web page templates
- No tech 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 professionally designed, conversion optimized landing 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 templates that are currently available, the developers plan to release new templates for email lead generation, sales pages, course pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Customizable Landing Page Template
Normally, to be able to have completely customizable landing page templates, you would need to either hire a web designer to do the work, or learn how to code web pages 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 overly 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 web page templates that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change or edit anything on your page template …
The landing page template sets included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Edit text in all buttons, headlines, bullet points, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other element of the landing page
- Change the background image and edit colours
- Edit the color of text, links, buttons, etc.
- Use your own fonts
- Select your own images and graphics
- Modify content area size
- Change the order of page elements
- Translate everything on the page into different languages
- Add any kind of custom content anywhere in your pages
- Start with a blank web page and create your own templates, or even build your own library of custom landing page templates.
(Change or customize anything on the page template)
Thrive Lightbox – Transform Your WordPress Site Into A Powerful Marketing Machine
The Thrive package also includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully configurable 2-step opt-in forms and events to your content pages …
(Add lead capture forms and animation to your WordPress site with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Thrive Lighbox Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-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 …
(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 your visitor clicks or hovers 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 images on your page, using various animation effects (e.g. fade out, slide in from bottom to top, rotate, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your marketing pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Lightboxes and events are created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over your events, triggers and design.
Feedback From Customers
Below are just a few of the testimonials that customers have provided for 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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”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 Plugin – Useful 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 pages or posts that were not created with the plugin.
You can add WordPress short codes 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.
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 software is really well-supported, and users get lifetime updates, 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 just keeps getting better.
Plugin 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 Edition – This option lets you install the plugin on one website only. It includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites License Edition – This license enables you to activate the plugin on unlimited sites that you personally own. Cost includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency License – This license enables you to configure the plugin on all of your own sites and all client domains. Pricing includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: Current pricing for Thrive Content Builder can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The above reflects the current pricing when this review was published. This may not be the actual price charged by the software seller when you visit the product 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 Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages plugin developers 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 template sets that help to speed up content design, and on the other hand, you also have 100% control over the design process and the freedom to edit anything and everything on your web page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, which allows you to get things done without having to keep switching tabs or going through multiple steps.
For ”how to” videos of the plugin, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive plugins website.
Our Recommendation …
If you want to edit something, you click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, you’ll see the change happen immediately. If you want to move something, just drag it and drop it into its new location. There are no overly complicated steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your web presence 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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