WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool into a tool that can be used to design all types of pages – marketing pages, portfolio pages, business pages, etc.
Whatever you can imagine, somewhere around the world someone is bound to be already building it using WordPress!
This article will help you discover the simplest way to create stunning web page layouts in WordPress.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
The WordPress Visual Content Editor – Is There An Easier Way For Creating Beautiful-Looking Content Layouts In WordPress?
Using the default WordPress editor to create or edit complex website pages can be challenging.
(The default WordPress WYSIWYG editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” text and images, but adding more complex layouts can be quite challenging!)
For example, if you look at the screenshot below …
To create the above in a page would require entering something like this inside your default WordPress visual content editor …
Normally, this is not an issue … until you have to reconfigure your layout (for example, move some of the content from box 1 into box 2, or change the background colour in box 1 from bright red to dark red. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code or html.
The WordPress editor is supposed to provide non-technical users with an easy-to-use WYSIWYG content editor, but as you can see, if you are trying to edit more complex page elements, what you see on your editor screen is not really what you get …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some instances, users could be better off working inside the WordPress text editor tab instead of the WordPress visual editor when trying to create non-linear layouts …
Even though WordPress is the most user-friendly CMS platform available, this makes it hard for WordPress site owners with no knowledge of HTML or CSS to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental challenge about having to use shortcodes and HTML to create content with WordPress can be summarized by asking two questions:
1) Speed – How long will it take to create a web page using this editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the editor resemble the “front end” content when you are creating or editing a page?
As you can see from the above, what you see in the back end looks nothing like what you see in the front end. This means that you need to translate mentally what your 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 updates to see how your content is progressing, which can impact how fast you can create your content, as you wait for the updates to reload.
A number of WordPress web developers have tried to come up with a range of solutions aiming to make content editing easier. Some of these solutions range from plugins you can install on your site that add new functionality to the editor, to WordPress themes that offer 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 including so many complex page design features, that users need to learn how to work with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these alternative editors work, but they still don’t address the fundamental challenge of using shortcodes and HTML as described earlier. Creating and adding 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 content quickly, this can become very frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your web content editor to function?
Now, imagine the following scenario …
- You see something in the content that needs changing so you, just click on the content and start changing it. Your content is instantly edited.
- You can drag and drop elements on the page, and the page looks exactly as it will display on the front end without having to mentally translate any code.
- You have an idea for an item of content you would like to create, so you simply begin typing, and you build your web page as you go, without delays, without tab switching, and without having to wait for pages to republish and reload.
Would that not be the ideal way to create content for your website? Just click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around your pages and posts?
(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 – The Simplest, Most Intuitive Visual Editor For WordPress
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive WordPress click-to-edit drag and drop content editing plugin.
Thrive Content Builder provides WordPress users with a new and incredibly easy way to set up conversion-focused pages on any WordPress site.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder adds a visual content editor with a sidebar menu that lets you drag and drop elements on your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new editor to WordPress)
The Thrive Landing Pages And Content Builder 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.
In this article we’ll take an in-depth look at all of the above and how these features work together to help you easily transform and improve your web presence and create awesome marketing pages and content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Plugin
You can easily add complex design layouts to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Every element on your page can be built with ”click-to-edit” and “drag and drop” ease …
Once elements have been added to a page, you can continue to further customize or edit these without going through multiple steps or switching screens …
You can also build highly attractive landing pages that can just as easily be edited or 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 Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages installed is so effortlessly simple, that the developers warn that you’ll never look at the process of creating content the same way once you start using it
Learn more about this plugin 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 previously written about on this site.
See this post for more information about this plugin:
Benefits
Here are just some of the many benefits and advantages of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up the process of creating content for your website:
Quick And Easy To Install And Implement. Ready To Start Using In No Time.
Thrive Content Builder installs just like every WP plugin. Just upload a zip file that contains the plugin files to your Plugin folder via your admin user account and activate.
Edit Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is is not only very simple and intuitive to use, it also lets you edit content in real-time.
A Truly Visual Content Editor
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 benefits include:
- Add Attractive Web Page Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease: Create any kind of layout you can imagine with intuitive drag and drop functionality.
- Add Design Elements Without Shortcodes: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get a drag and drop content editor, but the plugin also includes a jaw-dropping collection of functional and attractive web design elements that you can insert into your pages without using short codes, like tabbed content, gradient boxes, testimonials, credit card icons, etc.
- Distraction-Free Content Creation: Not having to constantly switch tabs as you tweak content and then wait for your new content to load frees up your attention and allows you to build the content your business needs, quickly and without having to mess with code or click through multiple layers of menus to get what you want done.
(Thrive Content Builder lets you easily insert, edit and customize web page elements like testimonial boxes, content toggle, feature grids, page section dividers, Google Map embeds, etc.)
Features
Thrive Content Builder offers many unique features to WordPress users. Below we have listed just some of these features:
- Regular Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have all of the regular content editing options that you are used to (e.g. bold formatting, centering text, headings, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements: The plugin makes a “drag and drop” list of elements available on your post or page screen when creating or editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin includes various eye-catching and customizable elements that will help increase your sales conversions, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonials, and guarantees. In addition to customization options, multiple design options are also available for various elements.
- Responsive Web Element Design: Add mobile-friendly columns, text boxes, content section dividers, e.g. which will display correctly on different-sized screens.
- Add Animation To Your Pages: Thrive Content Builder’s Event Manager feature lets you insert animated content elements, 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 lets you easily add conversion-optimized pages to your site)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Everything is hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time and money designing and customizing pages for your WordPress website
- 100% conversion-optimized web pages
- No coding skills needed
- Works with any WordPress 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 beautifully designed, 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 over 30 templates available, with more templates scheduled for future release. In addition to the available templates, the developers plan to release new web page templates for email lead generation, sales pages, training pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Fully Customizable And Flexible Landing Page Template
Normally, to be able to fully customize a landing page template, you would need to either hire 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 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 beautiful pre-designed web pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change and edit any aspect of the page template …
With the landing page templates included with this plugin, you can do the following:
- Modify text in any headline, bullet point, button, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other part of the landing page
- Change all background images or color
- Change the color of text, links, buttons, etc.
- Use your own fonts
- Use your own images and graphics
- Edit content area size
- Rearrange the order of page elements
- Translate pages into a different language
- Add custom content anywhere inside any of the pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own from scratch and save them as new web page templates.
(Change and customize any aspect of your page)
Thrive Lightbox Plugin – Transform Your WordPress Site Into A Powerful Marketing Machine
The Thrive plugin package also includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully configurable two-step opt-in forms and animated objects to your website …
(Add lead capture forms and animation to your pages with Thrive Lightbox)
Thrive Lighbox Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process can help increase your conversion rates. Visitors click on a button or image, and then they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Opt-in forms can help improve your conversion rates.)
Event Manager
An “event” consists of a trigger and an action. You can make opt-in forms appear when when visitors click or hover 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. fade out, slide in from bottom to top, roll in, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your WordPress website with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Lightboxes and events are created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over your events, triggers and design.
User Feedback
Below are some of the testimonials that users have written about 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”
Plugin 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 installed.
You can add short codes inside the Content Builder or Landing Pages plugin and they will display correctly on your website.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build using 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 Thrive team is constantly working on adding new features and improving existing ones.
Thrive plugins are well-supported, and users get unlimited software updates, and one year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, 30 day, full refund guarantee.
This is an exciting product that will just keep getting better.
Product 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 – This enables you to run the plugin on a single site. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Licensing – This lets you set up the plugin on all of your personal domains. Price includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency License Edition – Use on all your web sites & on all your client websites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Price = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: The cost to purchase Thrive Content Builder depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Currently, the software retails for the pricing shown above. This may or may not be the actual price charged by the product developer when you visit the plugin site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest price here:
Additional Info
The developers of the Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages plugin repeatedly 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 page elements and templates that help speed up content design, and on the other hand, you also have complete control over the design process and the freedom to edit everything on your page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, which lets you work unhindered by overly complicated options.
For demo videos showing how the software works, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive Content Builder website.
In Conclusion …
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 immediately. If you want to move something, you drag it and drop it into its new location. There are no additional steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your web presence and create awesome sales pages and engaging 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 here:
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