WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging application to a tool being used to create all types of websites.
Whatever you can imagine, somewhere around the world someone is probably already building it using WordPress!
This article will help you discover how to create stunning content faster and design beautiful page layouts with drag & drop ease in WordPress.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The Default WordPress WYSIWYG Editor Still Meet All Of Your Content Creation And Editing Needs?
With so many developments that WordPress has undergone in recent years, many WordPress users feel that the WordPress editor is lagging behind the developments being made to the software.
(The WordPress WYSIWYG editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” 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 content in a page would require adding something that looks like this into your default WordPress editor …
Normally, this is not really an issue … unless you want to change your layout (for example, move part of the content from box 3 into box 2, or change the button inside a box from green to some other colour. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with code inside the editor.
The WordPress visual 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, when working with more complex page elements, often what you see in the visual editor is not what you get …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some instances, you could be better off working directly with the source html itself instead of the visual editor when trying to build fancy layouts …
Even though WordPress is extremely easy to use, 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 in the default WordPress WYSIWYG editor can be summarized by asking two questions:
1) Speed – How long does it take to build a web page using this editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the editor resemble the content in the “front end” when you are creating or editing a page?
As you can see from the above, what you see in the content editor doesn’t look even remotely similar to 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 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 interrupts the creative process, as you wait for your page to load.
A number of WordPress web developers have come up with various solutions aiming to address this issue. 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 page layouts easier!)
Some solutions end up requiring so many page design features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these alternative solutions work fine, but they don’t really seem to address the fundamental challenge of using shortcodes and HTML as described earlier. 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 to create or edit complex page layouts quickly, this can start to become very frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like to build and edit your web pages?
Now, visualize this …
- You see something in your content that needs fixing so you, just click on the content and start writing. Your content has been instantly fixed.
- You simply drag and drop items around the page, and the page looks exactly as it will appear on the front end without having to mentally abstract from code.
- You have an idea for some content you’d like to add, so you simply begin typing, and you build your web page on the fly, with no delays, with no switching of tab browsers, and no waiting for pages to refresh.
Would this not be the ideal way to create content for your site? Just click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the posts and pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex page layouts quickly 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 Content Builder Plugin – Create Stunning Content Faster With Drag & Drop Ease In WordPress Sites
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive click-to-edit drag-and-drop content creator and editor for WordPress.
The Thrive Content Builder plugin provides WordPress users with a new and incredibly easy way to speed up the process of adding amazing content to WordPress sites.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder adds a visual content editor with a sidebar menu that lets you click, then drag and drop design elements on your page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new editor to WordPress)
The Thrive Content And 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.
Let’s review all of the above and how these features work seamlessly together to help you easily transform and improve your site and create amazing marketing pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Plugin
You can easily add content to your web pages and build complex page layouts using drag and drop elements …
Every element on your page can be built using “drag and drop” and “click-to-edit” …
Once you have placed elements on your page, you can then easily edit these without having to go through multiple steps or complicated configuration screens …
You can also build beautiful landing pages and easily edit these …
Thrive Content and Landing Page Builder is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, designing web pages and working on content with the Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder plugin installed is so effortlessly easy, that the developers warn that once you start using it, it’ll ruin the experience of using all other content editors forever, and you’ll never look back!
Learn more here: Thrive Content Builder
The integrated Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages plugin was created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another amazing plugin for WordPress we’ve reviewed on this site.
To read about this plugin, see this article:
Benefits Of Using Thrive Landing Pages And Content Builder Plugin
Here we have listed just some of the many benefits of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up your page design and content creation process:
Really Easy To Install
Thrive Content Builder is quite easy to install. Just upload a zip folder containing the plugin files to your Plugin folder via your WordPress admin section and activate.
Build & Edit Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is very simple to use and lets you edit and build content in real-time.
A Truly Visual Content Builder
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see on the “back-end” as you work within the content editor – fonts, elements, layouts, etc. is exactly what you get on the front end of your site.
Additional plugin benefits include the following:
- Add Eye-Catching Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease: Create any type of layout you can imagine with drag-and-drop ease.
- Add Design Elements With No Shortcodes Involved: With Thrive Content Builder you not only get an amazing click-to-edit WordPress content builder, but the plugin also includes a very decent collection of professional web design elements that you can insert into your layouts without using short codes, for e.g.: pricing tables, borderless content, buttons, responsive maps, etc.
- More Enjoyable Content Creation: Not having to deal with technical stuff for your page to load 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 steps to get what you need done.
(Easily insert, edit and customize web page elements like testimonials, flat design elements, text boxes, call to action buttons, Google Map embeds, etc.)
Thrive Content Builder Features
Thrive Content Builder offers many unique features to website owners. Here are just a few of these:
- Regular Editor Functionality Is Still Available: You have all of the built-in WordPress content editing options that you are used to (e.g. bold, left-aligned text, font styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Multi-Style Elements: The plugin makes a “drag and drop” table of multi-style elements available on your post or page screen for editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin includes various attention-grabbing and customizable elements that will help you increase the effectiveness of your sales pages, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonial boxes, and guarantee forms. In addition to being customizable, multiple design options are also available for various elements.
- Mobile-Friendly Design: Add responsive columns, boxes, content section dividers, e.g. which will resize and display correctly on different device screens.
- Add Animation To Pages: The Event Manager feature lets you create animated page content, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Landing Page 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 lets you add conversion-optimized web pages to your website)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time designing web pages
- 100% conversion-optimized landing page templates
- No coding skills required
- Works with all WordPress themes
Thrive Content and Landing Page Builder not only lets you create beautiful content in your WordPress posts and pages, but you can also choose from dozens of beautifully designed, conversion optimized landing 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 over thirty templates available, with more templates scheduled for release. In addition to the available templates, 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 And Flexible Landing Page Template Sets
Typically, in order to fully customize a 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 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 attractive pre-built web pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change or edit anything on the page template …
With the landing page templates included with this plugin, you can do the following:
- Edit text in all buttons, headlines, bullet points, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other component of your landing page
- Replace the background image or background colors
- Change the color of links, buttons, text, etc.
- Select your own fonts
- Use your own images
- Edit the size of the content area
- Change the order of page elements
- Translate everything on the page into a different language
- Add custom content anywhere inside your pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own landing pages from scratch and save them as new web page templates.
(Change or edit any aspect of the page template)
Transform Your Website Into A Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox Plugin
The Thrive plugin combo includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully customizable 2-step opt-in forms and events to your web pages …
(Add lead capture forms and animation to your sales pages with Thrive Lightbox)
Thrive Lighbox 2-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process can 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 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 graphic elements, or when someone scrolls down to 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 from the page center, slide in from top to bottom, roll in, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your WordPress website with Thrive Lightbox)
Lightboxes and events are created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over events, triggers and design.
Testimonials From Plugin Customers
Here are a few of the testimonials plugin customers 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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”Your stuff is beautifully designed, fast and has great options for marketers that you just don’t see with other themes. Great, great job! Absolutely love Thrive! David Coleman”
Thrive Content Builder – 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 shortcodes inside Thrive Content Builder or Thrive Landing Pages and they will display correctly on on your web site.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build using Thrive Content Builder.
Thrive Content Builder Support
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages 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 very well-supported, and users get unlimited software upgrades, and 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, thirty day, 100% refund guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users that will just keep 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 Licensing – This allows you to use the plugin on a single website. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Licensing – This allows you to activate the plugin on all web sites that you own. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency License – This allows you to use the plugin on all of your own domains and any client web sites. Pricing 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. The pricing shown above was current at the time this article was published. This may not be the actual pricing set 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 the current pricing details here:
Additional Plugin Information
The Thrive Content and Page Builder plugin developers 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 the time-saving benefits of ready-made web page elements and beautiful, conversion-optimized template sets that help to speed up the content creation process, and on the other hand, you have complete control over your design process and the ability to change and customize anything and everything on your web page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, that lets you see exactly how the content you are working on will display when published.
For a demo video showing how the software works, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the plugin website.
The Bottom Line …
If you want to edit something, simply click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, you’ll see the change happen instantly. If you want to move something, you drag it and drop it into its new location. There are no unnecessary steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your web site and create amazing marketing pages and content, Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For more information, visit the plugin website:
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