WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging application to a tool that is now being used to create all kinds of web sites.
Whatever you can think of, someone is probably already building it using WordPress!
This article will help you discover the most straight-forward WYSIWYG content editor for WordPress.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The Default WordPress Content Editor Meet All Of Your Content Creation And Editing Needs?
With all the rapid advancements that the WordPress platform has undergone in recent years, many WordPress users and developers believe that the WordPress editor is now lagging behind all other improvements made to the software.
(The default WordPress visual content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” content, but adding complex layouts can be quite challenging!)
For example, let’s say you want to create something like the content shown below …
To create the above boxes with text and buttons, users would normally need to insert short codes into the content for each of the page elements they would like to display on their page …
Generally, this is not an issue … unless you want to change a fundamental aspect of the layout (for example, move some of the content from box 1 into box 2, or replace the background color in box 3 from bright red to orange. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code or html.
The WordPress visual content 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, if you are trying to add more complex page elements, what you see in the visual editor may not be what you get …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some situations, users could be better off working directly with the source html itself instead of the WYSIWYG editor when trying to create fancy page elements …
Even though WordPress is very user-friendly, this makes it difficult for non-technical website owners to have full control of their own content.
The fundamental problem about using HTML and shortcodes to create content in the default WordPress editor can be summarized by asking two questions:
1) Speed – How long does it take to create 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 image, what you see when working in the back end doesn’t look anything like what you see in the front end. This means that users need to mentally translate what the content will look like when working with sophisticated layouts. Other solutions require a number of 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 the updated content to reload.
A number of WordPress developers have tried to come up with various solutions with the aim of addressing this issue. Some of these solutions range from WordPress plugins you can install on your site that add new functionality to the editor, to themes that include built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make content creation easier!)
Some solutions end up combining so many complex page-building features, that users need to learn how to work with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these editors work fine, but they don’t really seem to address the fundamental challenge of 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 content to look “just right” quickly, this can start to become quite frustrating.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like to build and edit your web pages?
Now, visualize the following scenario …
- You spot something in your content that needs correction so you, simply click on the content and start typing. Your content has been instantly fixed.
- You can just drag and drop items around the page, and the page looks exactly as it will display on the front end without having to mentally visualize any shortcodes or HTML.
- You have an idea for some content that you would like to add, so you immediately start typing, and you build your page on the fly, with no delays, with no switching of tab browsers, and no waiting for new pages to refresh.
Would this not be the ideal way to build content for your website? Just click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around your posts and pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex web page layouts in real-time 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 Description
Thrive Content Builder is a ground-breaking plugin for WordPress that allows users to quickly create and change content on their posts and pages with a true WYSIWYG click-to-edit and drag and drop content editor.
The Thrive Content Builder plugin is a new and exciting way to speed up the process of creating content on.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor and an item menu that lets you select, then drag and drop design elements to your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new content editor to WordPress)
The 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 plugins and how these features work seamlessly together to help you transform and improve your site and create awesome sales pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Plugin
You can easily add content to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Everything on your web page can be created by ”clicking-to-edit” and “dragging and dropping” things around the page …
Once elements have been added to the page, you can continue to further edit or customize these without going through additional steps or switching screens …
The built-in Landing Pages editor also lets you create highly attractive landing pages that can also be easily customized …
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, working on content with the plugin installed is so amazingly simple, that the developers guarantee that once you start using it, it will ruin the experience of using all other content editors forever, and you will never look back!
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 we’ve recommended on this site.
To learn more about this plugin, go here:
Benefits Of Using Thrive Landing Pages And Content Builder Plugin
Here we have listed 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:
Quick And Easy To Install And Configure. Ready To Use In Very Little Time.
Thrive Content Builder is very easy to install. Simply upload it to your Plugins folder via your WordPress dashboard and activate.
Edit Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is really simple to use and lets you build and add content to your web pages in real-time.
A Truly Visual Content Builder
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see as you work within the editor – typefaces, elements, page layouts, etc. is exactly what your visitors will see on the front end of your site.
Some additional plugin benefits include the following:
- Add Stunning Web Page Layouts With Drag-And-Drop Ease: Create any type of layout you can imagine with intuitive drag and drop functionality.
- Add Customizable Elements Without Using Shortcodes: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get a drag and drop content builder, but the plugin also includes a jaw-dropping collection of functional and attractive web design elements that you can customizable and add to your layouts without using short codes, such as pricing tables, borderless content, page section dividers, code insert boxes, etc.
- Distraction-Free Content Creation: Not having to wait for the updates to reload frees up your attention and allows you to build the web pages your business needs, quickly and without having to edit code or click through multiple layers of menus to get what you want done.
(Add, edit and customize web page elements like testimonial boxes, tabbed content, borderless content, call to action buttons, responsive videos, etc.)
Thrive Content Builder Features
Thrive Content Builder offers site owners many features. Below we have listed just a few of these:
- Regular Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have all of the regular WordPress editing options that you are used to (e.g. underlines, left-aligned paragraphs, heading styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Multi-Style Elements: The plugin makes a “drag and drop” list of elements available on your post or page screen when editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin comes with a range of eye-catching and customizable elements that will help you increase your sales conversions, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonials, and guarantee forms. In addition to being customizable, various elements also offer multiple design options.
- Responsive Element Design: Add mobile-friendly elements like columns, guarantee boxes, dividers, e.g. which will resize and display correctly on different device screens.
- Add Animation Events To Your Web Pages: Thrive Content Builder’s Event Manager feature lets you create animation in images, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your 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 from signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages lets you easily add conversion-optimized pages to your site)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time and money creating and customizing web pages for your web site
- 100% conversion-optimized landing pages
- No coding skills required
- Works with any theme
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder not only lets you create beautiful-looking content in your WordPress posts and pages, but you can also choose from dozens of beautifully 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 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.
Fully Customizable Landing Page Template
Normally, in order to fully customize landing page templates, you would need to either hire a web developer 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 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 stunning pre-built page templates that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change or customize anything on your page template …
The landing page template sets included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Change text in all headlines, bullet points, buttons, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other component of your landing page
- Replace all background images and background color
- Change the color of links, buttons, text, etc.
- Select your own fonts
- Use your own images and graphics
- Change content area size
- Rearrange the order of elements on the page
- Translate everything on the page into different languages
- Add custom content anywhere in any of the pages
- Start with a blank web page and create your own templates, or even build a library of custom landing page templates.
(Change and customize anything on the page)
Thrive Lightbox – Transform Your Web Site Into A Powerful Marketing Machine
The Thrive plugin combo includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully editable two-step opt-in forms and events to your web pages …
(Add opt-in forms and animation to your WordPress website with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Thrive Lighbox 2-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process can help improve your conversion rates. When visitors click on a button or image they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Opt-in forms help increase your conversion rates.)
Event Manager
An “event” consists of a trigger and an action. You can make an opt-in form appear when when visitors click or hover 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 attention-getting elements on your page, using a range of animation effects (e.g. zoom out, slide in from left to right, roll in, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your pages with Thrive Lightbox)
A lightbox and event is created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over events, triggers and design.
Feedback From Users
Below are a few of the testimonials and feedback customers have published about Thrive Content Builder:
”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”
***
”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 – 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 pages or posts that were not created with the plugin installed.
You can add shortcodes inside the Content Builder or Landing Pages plugin and they will display correctly on on your web site.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content built using Thrive Content Builder.
Plugin Support
Thrive Content and Page Builder Plugin provides free updates, new landing templates and upcoming features. The Thrive team is constantly working on adding new features and improving existing ones.
Thrive products are really well-supported, and users get unlimited updates, plus 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, thirty day, full money-back guarantee.
This is an exciting product that will just keep getting better.
Software 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 lets you use the plugin on one website only. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Licensing – This lets you activate the plugin on all of your personal domains. Price includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency Edition – Use on all your sites and on client domains. Pricing includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Note: Pricing details of this product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Presently, the plugin retails for the prices shown above. This may or may not be the actual price charged by the software seller when you visit the plugin website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest pricing details here:
Additional Plugin Info
The Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages plugin developers emphatically 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 beautiful, conversion-optimized templates that help make designing your pages faster, and on the other hand, you also have 100% control over your design process and the ability to change and customize everything on your web page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, which allows you to work unhindered by overly complicated options.
For ”how-to” videos showing plugin usage, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive plugins website.
In Conclusion …
If you want to edit something, just click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, you will see the change happen immediately. If you want to move something, you drag it and drop it into its new position. There are no complicated steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your web site and create amazing sales pages and content, Thrive Content Builder delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For complete details, visit the plugin website:
***