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, business pages, etc.
Whatever you can think of, someone is most likely already building it with WordPress!
This article will help you learn how to create stunning content and design beautiful layouts with drag & drop ease in WordPress.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The WordPress Visual Content Editor Meet All Of Your Web Design Needs?
Using the WordPress visual content editor to create or edit sophisticated website pages can be quite difficult, especially for non-technical website owners.
(The default WordPress editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional content, but adding more complex layouts can be quite challenging!)
For example, let’s say you want to create something like the layout shown below …
Creating the above boxes with text and buttons in your content would require inserting something like this into the default WordPress editor …
Generally, this is not really an issue … until you choose to reconfigure your layout (for example, move part of the content from box 3 into box 2, or replace the background color in box 1 from dark green to purple. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with code.
The WordPress editor is supposed to be an easy-to-use WYSIWYG editor, but as you can see, when working with complex layouts, what you see in the WordPress visual editor may not be the same as what you are going to get when your content gets published …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some instances, users could be better off working inside the html editor tab instead of the WordPress WYSIWYG editor when trying to add something other than simple page elements …
Even though WordPress is the most user-friendly CMS platform available, this makes it hard for non-technical website owners to have full control of their own content.
The fundamental problem with having to use shortcodes and HTML to create content in WordPress can be summarized as follows:
1) Speed – How long does it take to build a page using this editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the ”back end” match the “front end” content when you are creating or editing a page?
As you can see from the above screenshot, what you see when working in the back end 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 a number of steps before you can begin configuring your page layout, or endlessly switching browser tabs and performing tweaks and updates to see how your content is coming along, which then impacts how fast you can create your content, as you wait for the updated content to reload.
Many WordPress developers have tried to come up with different solutions to try and address 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 include built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make creating complex layouts easier!)
Some solutions combine so many page-building features, that users need to learn how to work with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these editors work fine, 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 your web pages to look “just right” quickly, this can become quite frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your web content builder to work?
Now, imagine the following scenario …
- You look at your content and if you spot something that needs to be fixed, simply click on the content and start editing it. Your content has been instantly edited.
- 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 abstract from HTML or shortcodes.
- You have an idea for some content that you’d like to create, so you immediately begin typing, and your page gets built on the fly, without delays, without switching of tab browsers, and without waiting for new content to refresh and reload.
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 posts and pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex 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 – The Ultimate Click-To-Edit Front End Visual Content Builder For WordPress Web Sites
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive click-to-edit drag-and-drop content and page creator and editor for WordPress.
Thrive Content Builder is a new and exciting way to set up conversion-focused pages on any WordPress web site.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor and a sidebar menu that lets you select, then drag and drop design elements on your page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new content builder to your WordPress site)
The Thrive Landing Pages And Content Builder 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 an in-depth a look at all of the above and how these powerful features work seamlessly together to help you transform and improve your web site and create awesome sales pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Plugin
You can easily add content to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Every aspect of your web page can be configured and edited with “drag and drop” and “click-to-edit” ease …
Once you have positioned elements on your page, you can then easily edit or customize them without having to go through multiple steps or switching screens …
The built-in functionality of the plugin also lets you build beautiful landing pages that can also be easily customized …
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, working on content with Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages installed is so amazingly simple, that the developers warn that you’ll never look back once you start using it
Go here to learn more about the plugin: Thrive Content Builder
Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages were created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another great plugin that we have previously reviewed on this site.
To read more about this plugin, see this page:
Benefits
Here are just some of the many benefits of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up content creation:
Fast And Simple To Install And Set Up. Ready To Go To Work In Very Little Time.
Thrive Content Builder is really easy to install. Simply upload it to your Plugin folder via your WP admin account and activate.
Edit Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is is not only really simple to use, it also lets you build content in real-time.
A Truly Visual Editor
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 benefits and advantages include the following:
- Attractive Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease: Create any type of layout you can imagine with intuitive drag-and-drop functionality.
- Customizable Elements Included: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get a drag and drop content builder, but the plugin also includes an impressive collection of customizable web design elements that you can add to your content layouts without using short codes, for e.g.: pricing tables, borderless content, call to action buttons, custom HTML and CSS, etc.
- Distraction-Free Content Creation: Not having to deal with technical stuff for your updates to reload frees up your attention and allows you to be more focused while you build content or click through multiple layers of menus to get what you want done.
(Insert, edit and customize web page elements like testimonial boxes, flat design elements, guarantee boxes, call to action buttons, responsive videos, etc.)
Features
Thrive Content Builder offers a number of unique features to WordPress users. Below we have listed just some of these:
- Built-In Content Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have all of the regular text editing options that you are used to (e.g. underlines, paragraph formatting, font styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements: The plugin makes a “drag and drop” list of elements available on your post or page screen for creating and editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin provides you with various attention-grabbing and customizable elements that will help you increase your conversions, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonial boxes, and guarantee forms. In addition to customization options, multiple design options are also available for various elements.
- Responsive Element Design: Add mobile-friendly columns, guarantee boxes, dividers, e.g. which will adjust to display great on different device screens.
- Add Animation To Pages: The 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 Sets
Landing page template sets are web page templates that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language to take your visitors from initial signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages plugin lets you easily add conversion-optimized pages to your site)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Everything is hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time and money building web pages
- 100% conversion-optimized landing pages
- No web coding skills required
- Works with all WordPress themes
Thrive Content and Page Builder not only can be used to create beautiful-looking content in your WordPress posts and pages, but you can also choose from dozens of professionally designed, landing page templates that are conversion-optimized and fully customizable …
(Landing page template sets that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language)
There are 30+ templates available, with more templates planned for release. 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.
Completely Customizable And Flexible Landing Page Template
Typically, in order to fully customize landing page templates, you would need to either hire a web developer to do the work, or learn web coding languages like HTML and CSS 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 creating conversion-optimized web pages.”
Thrive Landing Pages gives you great-looking pre-designed page templates that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change or edit anything on the page …
With the landing page templates included with this plugin, you are able to:
- Edit text in all buttons, bullet points, headlines, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other element of your landing page
- Replace any background images and edit colour
- Edit the color of buttons, links, text, etc.
- Choose your own fonts
- Use your own images and graphics
- Edit content area size
- Change the order of web page elements
- Translate pages into different languages
- Add custom content in the pages
- Start with a blank page and create your own page templates, or even build a custom landing pages library.
(Change or edit anything on the page template)
Transform Your Website Into A Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox Plugin
The Thrive plugin package includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully editable two-step opt-in forms and animated elements to your pages …
(Add opt-in forms and animation to your WordPress site with Thrive Lightbox)
Thrive Lighbox 2-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process helps to improve your conversion rates. Visitors click on a button or image, and then they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Capture more leads and subscribers with a two-step opt-in process)
Thrive Lightbox Event Manager
An “event” consists of a trigger and an action. You can make opt-in forms appear when your visitor clicks or hovers 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, roll out, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your pages 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.
Testimonials From Customers
Here are just a few of the testimonials and feedback plugin customers have written about 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 – 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 with the plugin.
You can add shortcodes inside Thrive Content Builder or Thrive Landing Pages and they will display correctly when published.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build with Thrive Content Builder.
Support
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder Plugin 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 software is really well-supported, and users get unlimited updates, plus 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, thirty day, 100% refund guarantee.
This is an exciting product that will just keep 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 enables you to configure the plugin on one site only. Cost includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites License – This allows you to configure the plugin on unlimited web sites that you personally own. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency Licensing – Use on your sites & on client websites. Price includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Price = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: Pricing for Thrive Content Builder can vary, depending 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 not be the actual pricing charged by the plugin seller when you visit the website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Plugin Information
The developers of the Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder 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 web page elements and template sets that help to speed up the content creation process, and on the other hand, you have complete control over the design process and the ability to edit everything on your page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, that allows you to work unhindered by overly complicated steps.
For a demo video showing how the plugin works, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the plugin website.
We Recommend …
If you want to edit something, just 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 overly complicated steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your web presence and create awesome marketing pages and engaging content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
To learn more, visit the plugin website:
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