WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool to a tool that can be used to design all types of web pages – marketing pages, product showcase pages, business pages, etc.
Whatever you can think of, somewhere around the world someone is most likely already building it with WordPress!
This article will help you discover the ultimate drag and drop front end content builder for WordPress sites.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
The WordPress Visual Content Editor – Is There An Easier Tool For Creating And Editing Content In WordPress?
With so many developments that the WordPress platform has gone through in recent years, many WordPress developers feel that using the built-in WordPress visual content editor to build or edit more complex website pages can sometimes be quite difficult.
(The WordPress visual content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional content, but adding complex layouts can be challenging!)
For example, if you look at the image below …
To create the above boxes with text and buttons, you would normally need to insert short codes into the content for every element you want to add to your page …
Normally, this is not 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 background color in box 2 from dark green to maroon. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with code.
The WordPress content editor is supposed to be an easy-to-use WYSIWYG editor, but as you can see, if you are creating with complex layouts, often what you see in the visual editor may not be what you are going to get when the content goes live …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some instances, users may even be better off working inside the html editor tab instead of the WordPress WYSIWYG editor when trying to build non-linear layouts …
Even though WordPress is extremely easy to use, this makes it hard for users without coding skills to have full control of their own content.
The fundamental problem with having to use shortcodes and HTML to create content in the default WordPress visual 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 editor 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 looks nothing 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 complex layouts. Other solutions require taking several steps before you can start configuring your page layout, or endlessly switching tabs and performing tweaks and updates to see how your content is progressing, which interrupts the creative process, as you wait for your page to reload.
A number of WordPress web developers have come up with a range of solutions to try to address this issue. Some of these range from plugins you can add to your site that add new functionality to the editor, to themes that offer built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make creating complex content easier!)
Some solutions end up requiring so many complex page-building features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these solutions work, but they don’t address the fundamental issue of using HTML and shortcodes as described earlier. 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 to create or edit complex page layouts quickly, this can become quite frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your page builder to function?
Now that you’ve asked this question, visualize the following scenario …
- You see something in your content that needs to be changed so you, just click on the content and start editing it. Your content has been instantly edited.
- You just drag and drop elements on the page, and see them exactly as they will display on the front end without having to mentally visualize code.
- You have an idea for a specific piece of content that you’d like to create, so you simply start typing, and you build your page on the fly, without delays, no tab switching, and no waiting for edits to resave and reload.
Would that not be the perfect way to build content for your WordPress website? A true visual editor where all you have to do is click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around your page?
(Imagine being able to create complex web pages quickly 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 Landing Pages And Content Builder – Click-To-Edit Drag And Drop Content Creator And Editor For WordPress
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a unique WordPress plugin that allows site owners to easily create and change content on their posts and pages with a truly visual click-to-edit and drag and drop content editor.
The Thrive Content Builder plugin provides you with a new and incredibly easy way to speed up the process of adding amazing content to your WordPress website.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor with a menu that lets you click, then drag and drop design elements to your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new content builder to your WordPress site)
The 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 a look at all of the above and how these exciting features work seamlessly together to help you easily transform and improve your site and create awesome sales pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder Plugin For WordPress
This plugin lets you easily add content to your web pages and build complex page layouts using drag and drop elements …
Everything on your web page can be created and edited using “drag and drop” and “click-to-edit” …
Once you have placed elements on the page, you can then easily edit them without having to go through multiple steps or complicated settings windows …
The built-in functionality of the plugin also lets you create beautiful landing pages that can just as easily be edited or customized …
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, designing pages and working on content with Thrive Content Builder installed is so effortlessly easy, that the developers guarantee that once you start using it, you’ll never look back!
For more details, visit the plugin site here: Thrive Content Builder
Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages were created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another excellent plugin that we have previously written about on this site.
See this post to read about this plugin:
Benefits Of Using Thrive Content Builder And Landing Pages Plugin
Here we have listed just a few of the benefits and advantages of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up your page design and content creation process:
Ready To Start Using In Minutes
Thrive Content Builder installs just like any regular plugin. Just upload it to your Plugins folder via your admin user login and activate.
Edit And Create Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is very simple to use and lets you edit and add content right inside your pages in real-time.
A Truly Visual Editor
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see as you work within the content editor – fonts, elements, layouts, etc. is exactly what your visitors will see in the front end of your site.
Additional benefits and advantages include:
- Attractive Page Layouts With Drag-And-Drop Ease: Create any type of layout you can imagine with intuitive drag-and-drop functionality.
- Add Customizable Elements With No Shortcodes Involved: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get an exciting and simple-to-use drag and drop content editor, but the plugin also includes an impressive collection of functional and eye-catching web design elements that you can add to your layouts without using short codes, for e.g.: flat design elements, star ratings for review pages, dividers, responsive video embeds, etc.
- More Enjoyable Content Creation: Not having to deal with technical stuff, or having to wait for the page to load 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 need done.
(Create, edit and customize page elements like testimonials, tabbed content, borderless content, buttons, custom HTML and CSS, etc.)
Features
Thrive Content Builder provides many features to web site owners. Here are just a few of these:
- Built-In Content Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have all of the regular WordPress editing options that you are used to (e.g. underlines, justified paragraphs, heading styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements Menu: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” table of multi-style elements to your post or page screen for creating and editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin comes with various eye-catching and customizable elements that will help you increase your conversions, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonial boxes, and guarantees. In addition to being customizable, multiple design options are also available for various elements.
- Responsive Web Page Design: Add responsive elements like columns, boxes, content section dividers, e.g. which will adjust to display correctly on different device screens.
- Add Animation To Pages: The plugin’s Event Manager feature lets you insert animated page content, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Web Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Landing Page Template Sets
Landing page template sets are templates that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language to take your visitors all the way from initial signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages provides you with conversion-optimized web page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time designing pages
- 100% conversion-optimized page templates
- No coding skills required
- Works with any WordPress theme
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, 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 currently 30+ templates available, with more templates being worked on. In addition to the templates shown above, the developers plan to release new 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 pay 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 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 beautiful pre-built page templates that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change or edit any element of your page templates …
The landing page template sets included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Change text in all bullet points, headlines, buttons, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other part of the landing page
- Change the background image or background color
- Change the color of links, buttons, text, etc.
- Select your own fonts
- Select your own images
- Change the size of the content area
- Change the order of web page elements
- Translate pages into a different language
- Add any kind of custom content anywhere inside your pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own from scratch and save them as new page templates.
(Change or customize any aspect of your page template)
Thrive Lightbox – Transform Your Web Site Into A Powerful Marketing Machine
The Thrive plugin package includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully configurable 2-step opt-in forms and animated objects to your pages …
(Add lead capture forms and animated objects to your WordPress site with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
2-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-step opt-in process can improve your conversion rates. When visitors click on an image or button they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Opt-in forms help to improve your conversion rates.)
Thrive Lightbox 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 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 images on your pages, using a range of effects (e.g. zoom in, slide in from left to right, roll out, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your WordPress website with Thrive Lightbox)
A lightbox and event is created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over all events, triggers and design.
User Feedback
Below are a couple of the testimonials and comments customers have submitted for Thrive Content Builder:
“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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”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”
Thrive Content Builder Plugin – Useful Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any theme in WordPress, not just with Thrive Landing Pages. Note, however, that 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 on on your web site.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build with Thrive Content Builder.
Thrive Content Builder Plugin Support
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages Plugin provides free updates, new landing pages and upcoming features. The plugin developers are constantly working on adding new features and improving existing ones.
Thrive plugins are really well-supported, and users get lifetime software updates, and 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, 30 day, complete money-back guarantee.
This is an exciting product that will just keep getting better.
Plugin 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 Edition – This lets you use the plugin on a single domain. Cost includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites License Edition – This enables you to activate the plugin on all of your personal websites. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency Edition – This edition enables you to set up the plugin on all of your own domains and any client sites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Price = $247.00 per year.
Note: The cost of purchasing Thrive Content Builder depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The above reflects the current price at the time this article was published. This may not be the actual price charged by the software developer when you visit the website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest price:
Additional Plugin Info
The Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder 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 the time-saving benefits of ready-made web page elements and templates that help speed up the page design and content creation process, and on the other hand, you also have 100% control over the design process and the ability to edit and customize anything and everything on your page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, that lets you see how the content you are working on will look when published.
For demo videos showing how the plugin works, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the plugin website.
Install This Plugin …
If you want to edit something, simply 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, you 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 site and create awesome sales pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For more details, visit the plugin website:
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