WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging application into a tool that can be used to design all types of pages – landing pages, portfolio pages, business pages, etc.
Whatever you can imagine, somewhere around the world someone is probably already building it using WordPress!
This article will help you discover the ultimate click-to-edit front end builder for WordPress web sites.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The Default WordPress Visual Content Editor Still Meet All Of Your Content Creation And Editing Needs?
With all the rapid developments that the WordPress platform has gone through in recent years, many WordPress users believe that using the WordPress visual content editor to create or edit complex web site pages can sometimes be quite challenging.
(The default WordPress WYSIWYG editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” text and images, but adding complex layouts can be challenging!)
For example, if you look at the image below …
To create the above layout, you would normally have to insert short codes into the content for every page element you want to display …
Normally, this is not really an issue … unless you choose to change your layout (for example, move part of the content from box 3 into box 2, or change the button in a box from dark green to light blue. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code.
The WordPress visual content 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 edit more complex page elements, what you see in the WordPress visual editor may not be what you are going to get when your page is published …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some instances, some people argue that users could even be better off working inside the html (text) editor tab instead of the WYSIWYG editor when trying to create fancy layouts …
Even though WordPress is extremely easy to use, this makes it difficult for users without knowledge of HTML or CSS to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental problem of using shortcodes and HTML to create content in the default WordPress editor can be summarized as follows:
1) Speed – How long will it take to create a web 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 screenshot, what you see when working in the back end doesn’t look at all 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 sophisticated layouts. Other solutions require taking several steps before you can start configuring your page layout, or endlessly going back and forth between browser tabs and performing updates to see how your content is progressing, which can affect how fast you can create your content, as you wait for the new content to reload.
A number of WordPress web developers have come up with a range of solutions with the objective of addressing this issue. Some of these range from stand alone plugins you can install on your site that add new functionality to the editor, to 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 end up requiring so many page design features, that users need to learn how to work with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these alternative editors work fine, but they still fail to address the fundamental problem with using shortcodes and HTML 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 to create or edit complex page content quickly, this can become quite frustrating.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your content editor to function?
Now, visualize the following …
- You see something in your content that needs to be changed so you, just click on the content and start writing. Your content is then instantly fixed.
- You just drag and drop items on the page, and see them exactly as they will display on the front end without having to mentally translate code.
- You have an idea for some content you’d like to add, so you immediately start typing, and you build your page on the fly, without delays, without switching tabs, and no waiting for new content to refresh and reload.
Would that not be the ideal way to create content for your website? A true visual content editor where all you have to do is click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around your pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex pages ”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 – WordPress Click-To-Edit Drag And Drop Content Creation Plugin
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a ground-breaking WordPress plugin that lets anyone easily build and change content on their posts and pages with true click-to-edit and drag and drop simplicity.
Thrive Content Builder provides you with a new and exciting way to set up conversion-focused pages on any WordPress website.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor and a menu that lets you click, then drag and drop design elements on your page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new content editing option 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 will examine each of the above plugins and how these exciting features work together to help you transform and improve your web site and create amazing marketing pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder
You can easily build complex web page design layouts using drag and drop elements …
Everything on your web page can be created and edited with “drag and drop” and “click-to-edit” ease …
Once elements have been added to the page, you can then customize these without going through additional steps or opening more configuration windows …
You can also create 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 easy, that the developers warn that you will never look at creating content the same way once you start using it
Learn more here: Thrive Content Builder
The integrated Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder plugin was created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another amazing plugin for WordPress that we have previously recommended on this site.
Go here to read more about the plugin:
Plugin Benefits
Below are just some of the benefits and advantages of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up the process of designing pages and creating content for your WordPress site:
Fast And Easy To Install And Use. Ready To Start Using In No Time.
Thrive Content Builder installs just like every other plugin. Just upload the plugin file to your Plugins folder via your admin user account and activate.
Real-Time Content Content Creation
Thrive Content Builder is very simple to use and lets you add content right inside your web pages in real-time.
What You See Is Really What You Get
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see as you work within the content editor – typefaces, elements, layouts, etc. is exactly what you get on the front end of your site.
Additional benefits of using this plugin include the following:
- Beautiful Layouts With Drag And Drop Ease: Create any type of layout you can imagine with intuitive drag and drop functionality.
- Design Elements Included: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get an amazing drag and drop content editor, but the plugin also includes a jaw-dropping collection of web design elements that you can customizable and insert into your content layouts without using shortcodes, such as flat design elements, content reveal feature, section dividers, custom HTML and CSS, etc.
- Distraction-Free Content Creation: Not having to deal with technical stuff, or having to wait for your updates to load frees up your attention and allows you to be more focused while you work or click through multiple steps to get what you want done.
(Insert, edit and customize page elements like testimonials, tabbed content, feature grids, page section dividers, countdown timers, etc.)
Plugin Features
Thrive Content Builder offers many features to web site owners. Below we have listed just some of these features:
- Regular Content Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have all of the built-in WordPress text editing options that you are used to (e.g. underline, left-aligned text, font styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” list of multi-style elements to your post or page screen for editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin comes with a range of eye-catching and customizable elements that will help 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 Element Design: Add mobile-friendly columns, boxes, section dividers, e.g. which will adjust to display correctly on different device screens.
- Add Animation Events To Your Pages: The plugin’s Event Manager feature lets you insert animation in buttons, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Web Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages – Landing Page Templates
Thrive Landing Pages provides sets of 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 provides you with conversion-optimized page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time and money building web pages
- 100% conversion-optimized web page templates
- No technical skills required
- Works with any theme
Thrive Landing Pages and Content 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 …
(Thrive Landing Pages provides sets of templates that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language)
There are currently 30+ templates available, with more templates being worked on. In addition to the templates shown above, the developers plan to release new page templates for email lead generation, sales pages, training pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Customizable Landing Page Template Sets
Typically, in order to have a fully customizable landing page template, you would need to either pay a web designer 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 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 creating conversion-optimized web pages.”
Thrive Landing Pages gives you attractive pre-built pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change and edit any aspect of your page …
The landing page templates included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Edit text in all bullet points, buttons, headlines, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other element of your landing page
- Replace the background image or colour
- Edit the color of text, links, buttons, etc.
- Select your own fonts
- Select your own images
- Edit the size of the content area
- Rearrange the order of elements on your pages
- Translate everything on the page into a different language
- Add any type of custom content anywhere in your pages
- Start with a blank page and create your own templates, or even build a library of custom landing page templates.
(Change or edit any element of the page)
Thrive Lightbox Plugin – Transform Your Site Into A Powerful Marketing Machine
The Thrive plugin package also includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully editable two-step opt-in forms and events to your web site …
(Add lead capture forms and events to your sales pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Thrive Lighbox Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process helps increase your conversion rates. When visitors click on a button or image they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Opt-in forms can improve your conversion rates.)
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 graphic elements, or when someone scrolls down to a certain point on the page. You can also use the Event Manager to animate images on your pages, using various animation effects (e.g. fade out, slide in from left to right, rotate, 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.
Feedback From Users
Here are just a few of the testimonials plugin users have published about the Thrive Content Builder plugin:
”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”
***
”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”
Plugin Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any theme in WordPress, not just with Thrive Landing Pages. You cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content on existing pages or posts that were 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 Content and Page Builder Plugin comes with 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 well-supported, and users get lifetime updates, and 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, thirty day, full money-back guarantee.
This is an exciting product that just keeps getting better.
Product Licensing 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 allows you to set up the plugin on a single domain. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Edition – This edition lets you run the plugin on all of your personal web sites. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency Edition – This option lets you activate the plugin on all of your own domains and any client web sites. It includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Note: The price of the Thrive Content Builder product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The pricing shown above was correct when this review was published. This may not be the actual pricing charged by the software author when you visit the plugin site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing here:
Additional Info
The Thrive Content and Page Builder plugin developers repeatedly 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, conversion-optimized templates that help make designing your content 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 allows you to work unhindered by overly complicated options.
For a demo video showing plugin usage, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive Content Builder website.
We Highly Recommend This …
If you want to edit something, simply click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, do it, and you will see the change happen immediately. If you want to move something, just drag it and drop it into its new location. There are no complicated steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your business online and create amazing sales pages and content, Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For full details, visit the plugin website:
***