WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool into a tool being used to design all types of pages – marketing pages, product showcase pages, local business pages, etc.
Whatever you can imagine, somewhere around the world someone is probably already building it using WordPress!
In this article you will learn how to create stunning content and design beautiful page layouts with drag & drop ease in WordPress web sites.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The Default WordPress Visual Content Editor Still Meet All Of Your Web Design Needs?
With so many improvements that the WordPress platform has gone through in recent years, many WordPress users and developers believe that using the built-in WordPress WYSIWYG content editor to create or edit complex web pages can be quite challenging.
(The default WordPress WYSIWYG content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional content, but adding more complex page elements can be quite challenging!)
For example, if you look at the illustration below …
To create the above layout, users would normally need to insert shortcodes into the content for each of the elements they want to create …
Generally, this is not really an issue … unless you choose to change your layout (for example, move some 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 code inside the editor.
The WordPress visual content editor is supposed to give users an easy-to-use WYSIWYG content editor, but as you can see, if you are trying to edit complex layouts, often what you see on your screen is not exactly what you are going to get when your page gets published …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some instances, some people argue that you could even be better off working with the source html itself instead of the WordPress WYSIWYG editor when trying to add fancy layouts …
Even though WordPress is extremely easy to use, this makes it hard for WordPress site owners with no coding skills 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 build a web page using this 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, what you see in the content editor doesn’t look even remotely similar to what you see in the front end. This means that you have to abstract what the content will look like when working with sophisticated layouts. Other solutions require a number of steps before you can start configuring your page layout, or endlessly going back and forth between 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 updated content to refresh.
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 WP 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 combine so many complex page design features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these editors work fine, but they don’t really seem to address the fundamental problem with using shortcodes and HTML as described earlier. Creating, adding and editing 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 your web pages to look “just right” quickly, this can start to become really frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your content builder to function?
Now, imagine the following …
- You see something in your content that needs fixing so you, simply click on the content and start changing it. Your content is instantly edited.
- You can drag and drop elements on the page, and see them exactly as they will display on the front end without having to mentally visualize any code.
- You have an idea for an item of content you’d like to add, so you simply begin typing, and you build your page on the fly, without delays, no switching of tab browsers, and no waiting for new web content to refresh.
Would this not be the ideal way to build content for your WordPress web site? A true WYSIWYG editor where all you have to do is click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the page?
(Imagine being able to create complex web page layouts in real-time for your web content without technical constraints!)
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 And Beautiful Page Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease In WordPress Web Sites
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a ground-breaking plugin for WordPress that allows you to quickly build and edit content on your posts and pages using true click-to-edit and drag and drop simplicity.
The Thrive Content Builder plugin is a new and incredibly easy way to set up conversion-focused pages on any WordPress web site.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor and a menu that lets you click, then drag and drop elements on your page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new visual content editing option to WordPress)
Thrive Content Builder 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.
In this article we’ll take a look at each of the above and how all of this powerful functionality works together to help you easily transform and improve your site and create awesome sales pages and content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Click-To-Edit Drag & Drop Content Builder Plugin
You can easily add complex design layouts to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Every aspect of your web page can be built using simple ”click-to-edit” and “drag and drop” …
Once elements have been positioned on a page, you can then further edit or customize them without having to go through multiple steps or switching tabs …
You can also build beautiful landing pages and easily customize these …
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages 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 simple, that the developers warn that once you start using it, it’ll ruin the experience of using any other content editor forever, and you will never look back!
Go here to learn more: Thrive Content Builder
Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages were created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another amazing plugin that we have previously written about on this site.
See this page to read more about the plugin:
Benefits
Here are just a few of the benefits and advantages of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up the process of creating content for your WordPress website:
Be Up And Running In No Time
Thrive Content Builder installs just like every other WordPress plugin. Simply upload a zip file containing the plugin to your Plugin folder via your dashboard and activate.
Edit Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is simple and intuitive to use and lets you create and add content right inside your pages in real-time.
What You See Is Truly What You Get
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:
- Eye-Catching Layouts With Drag And Drop Ease: Create any type of layout you can imagine with drag-and-drop ease.
- Add Customizable Elements Without Short Codes: With Thrive Content Builder you not only get a visually exciting drag and drop WordPress content builder, but the plugin also includes a jaw-dropping collection of customizable design elements that you can customizable and add to your pages without using shortcodes, for e.g.: tabbed content, borderless content, section dividers, responsive video embeds, etc.
- Ideal For Non-Technical Users: Not having to deal with technical stuff for your updates to reload frees up your attention and allows you to build the web pages your business needs, quickly and without having to mess with code or click through multiple steps to get what you need done.
(Add, edit and customize page elements like testimonial boxes, flat design elements, content reveal feature, page section dividers, countdown timers, etc.)
Thrive Content Builder Features
Thrive Content Builder provides many unique features to WordPress users. Below we have listed just some:
- Regular Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have all of the regular text editing options that you are used to (e.g. underline, left-aligned paragraphs, heading styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements Menu: The plugin makes a “drag and drop” list of multi-style elements available on your post or page screen for editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin includes various 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 being customizable, various elements also offer multiple design options.
- Responsive Element Design: Add responsive columns, boxes, content dividers, e.g. which will display great on different-sized screens.
- Add Animation Events To Your Pages: Thrive Content Builder’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
Landing page sets are 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 lets you easily add conversion-optimized web pages to your web site)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Benefits
- Everything is hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time and money creating and customizing landing pages
- 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 professionally designed, 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 over thirty templates available, with more templates scheduled for future release. In addition to the templates that are currently available, the developers plan to release new templates for email lead generation, sales pages, lesson pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Completely Customizable And Flexible Landing Page Template
Typically, in order to have completely 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 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 building conversion-optimized web pages.”
Thrive Landing Pages gives you stunning 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 the page templates …
With the landing page templates included with this plugin, you can:
- Change text in any headline, bullet point, button, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other component of your landing page
- Replace all background images and edit colours
- Change the color of buttons, links, text, etc.
- Select your own fonts
- Select your own images
- Modify content area size
- Rearrange the order of page elements
- Translate pages into different languages
- Add any type of custom content anywhere in any of the pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own from scratch and save them as new web page templates.
(Change or customize any aspect of your page template)
Transform Your Site Into A Powerful Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox Plugin
The Thrive plugin package includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully configurable two-step opt-in forms and animated elements to your website …
(Add lead capture forms and events to your WordPress pages with Thrive Lightbox)
Thrive Lighbox Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-step opt-in process helps improve your conversion rates. When visitors click on a button or image 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 your visitor clicks or hovers their mouse over a button or an image, 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 pages, using a range of effects (e.g. zoom out, slide in from right to left, roll in, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your WordPress pages with Thrive Lightbox)
Lightboxes and events are created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over your events, triggers and design.
User Testimonials
Here are some of the testimonials and comments that customers have published about the Thrive Content Builder plugin:
”Wow! This is just getting better & better. This plugin is making my websites look so professional. Keep up the great work and thank you for the new features. Ladonna Ragalin”
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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 Thrive Landing Pages. You cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content that was not created with the plugin.
You can add WordPress shortcodes inside the Content Builder or Landing Pages plugin and they will display correctly on your website.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content built using Thrive Content Builder.
Thrive Content Builder Support
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder Plugin provides 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 well-supported, and users get lifetime upgrades, and 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, thirty day, full refund guarantee.
This is an exciting product that will just keep getting better.
Plugin Pricing
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 Edition – This allows you to configure the plugin on 1 web site only. Price includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Price = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites License – This edition lets you use the plugin on all web sites that you personally own. Cost includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency License Edition – This enables you to use the plugin on all of your own sites and any client sites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Note: The cost of purchasing the Thrive Content Builder plugin can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Currently, the product retails for the prices shown above. This may not be the actual price charged by the plugin developer when you visit the site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Information
The Thrive Content and Landing 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 the time-saving benefits of ready-made page elements and beautiful, pre-designed templates that help make designing your pages faster, and on the other hand, you also have complete control over the design process and the ability to change anything and everything on your web page, using the plugin’s click-to-edit and drag and drop features, that lets you see how the content you are working on will appear after being published.
For a demo video showing how the plugin works, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the plugin website.
Our Recommendation …
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 immediately. If you want to move something, simply drag it and drop it into its new position. There are no additional steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your business online and create amazing sales pages and engaging content, Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For full details, check out the plugin here:
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