WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool to a tool that can be used to design all types of pages – direct sales pages, product showcase pages, business pages, etc.
Whatever you can think of, someone is most likely already building it using WordPress!
This article will help you discover the fastest way to create beautiful layouts in your WordPress web site.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Is The WordPress Content Editor Meeting All Of Your Page Design Needs?
With so many advancements that WordPress has undergone in recent years, many WordPress users and developers feel that using the built-in WordPress WYSIWYG editor to build or edit more complex page layouts can sometimes be challenging.
(The WordPress content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional text and images, but adding more complex layouts can be quite challenging!)
For example, if you look at the image below …
To create the above layout, users would normally have to add short codes to the content for every element they would like to add to their page …
Generally, this is not really an issue … unless you need to change the layout (for example, move some of the content from box 1 into box 2, or replace the button in box 2 from dark green to purple. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with code inside the content editor.
The WordPress content editor is supposed to provide non-technical users with an easy-to-use WYSIWYG content editor, but as you can see, if you are working with complex page elements, often what you see in the WordPress visual editor may not be the same as what you are going to get when your page goes live …
(“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 create fancy page elements …
Even though WordPress is the most user-friendly CMS platform available, this makes it hard for non-technical users to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental problem about using shortcodes and HTML to create content in the default WordPress visual editor can be summarized by asking 2 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, what you see when working in the back end does not look even remotely similar to what you see in the front end. This means that you have to mentally translate what the content will look like when working with sophisticated layouts. Other solutions require several steps before you can begin configuring your page layout, or endlessly switching tabs and performing tweaks and updates to see how your content is progressing, which then affects how quickly you can create your content, as you wait for the new content to reload.
Many WordPress web developers have come up with different solutions with the goal of making content editing easier. Some of these solutions range from plugins you can install on your site that add new functionality to the editor, to themes that come with built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make content creation easier!)
Some solutions include 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 solutions work, but they don’t address the fundamental challenge of using HTML and shortcodes 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 content quickly, this can become really frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your web page editor to behave?
Now that you’ve asked this question, imagine the following scenario …
- You look at your content and if you spot something that needs correction, just click on the content and start editing it. Your content has been instantly fixed.
- You 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 HTML or shortcodes.
- You have an idea for a specific piece of content that you would like to create, so you simply start typing, and your web page gets built on the fly, with no delays, with no switching tabs, and without having to wait for pages to refresh.
Would that not be the perfect way to create 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 – Create Beautiful Web Page Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease In WordPress Websites
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive click-to-edit drag and drop content creator for WordPress.
The Thrive Content Builder plugin is a new and exciting way to speed up the process of adding amazing content to WordPress websites.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder 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 visual content builder to WordPress)
Thrive Landing Pages And Content Builder 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 an in-depth a look at all of the above and how all of this functionality works seamlessly together to help you transform and improve your web site and create awesome marketing pages and content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Click-To-Edit Drag And Drop Content Creation Plugin
You can easily add content to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Every aspect of your web page can be built by dragging and dropping things around the page and then clicking to edit them …
Once elements have been added to a page, you can then customize or edit these without going through additional steps or switching tabs …
The built-in Thrive Landing Pages also lets you create beautiful landing pages that can also be easily customized …
Thrive Content and Landing Page 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, 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.
To learn more about this plugin, go here:
Benefits
Here are just some of the many benefits and advantages of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up content creation:
Installation Is Easy
Thrive Content Builder is very easy to install. Simply upload the plugin file to your Plugins folder via your WordPress dashboard and activate.
Real-Time Content Content Creation
Thrive Content Builder is really simple to use and lets you create and edit content in real-time.
A Truly Visual Content Editor
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see on the “back-end” as you work within the editor – typefaces, elements, page layouts, etc. is exactly what your visitors will see in the front end of your site.
Additional benefits and advantages include the following:
- Beautiful Layouts With Drag And Drop Ease: Create any layout you can imagine with intuitive drag-and-drop functionality.
- Add Customizable Elements With No Short Codes Required: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get an amazing click-to-edit content editor, but the plugin also includes a jaw-dropping collection of functional and eye-catching web design elements that you can add to your layouts without using shortcodes, such as columns, content reveal feature, testimonials, responsive Google maps, etc.
- More Enjoyable Content Creation: Not having to constantly switch tabs as you tweak content and then wait for the content to load frees up your attention and allows you to be more focused while you build or edit your content or click through multiple steps to get what you want done.
(Create, edit and customize web page elements like testimonial boxes, tabbed content, styled lists, section dividers, countdown timers, etc.)
Thrive Content Builder Features
Thrive Content Builder provides web site owners many features. Here are just some of those:
- All Editor Functionality Is Still Available: You have all of the regular content editing options that you are used to (e.g. bold formatting, left-aligned text, font sizes, etc.),
- Drag And Drop 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 a range of attention-grabbing and customizable elements that will help you 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.
- Mobile-Friendly Design: Add responsive elements like columns, boxes, dividers, e.g. which will resize and display great on different device screens.
- Add Animation To Your Pages: The Event Manager feature lets you add animation in buttons, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Web Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – 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 signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages plugin lets you add conversion-optimized pages to your website)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time and money building and customizing landing pages for your WordPress web site
- 100% conversion-optimized landing page templates
- No web coding skills needed
- Works with any WordPress theme
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages 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, conversion optimized landing page templates and fully customizable …
(Landing page template sets that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language)
There are currently over thirty templates available, with more templates planned for future release. In addition to the templates that are currently available, the developers plan to release new page templates for email lead generation, sales pages, lesson 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 site 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 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 creating conversion-optimized web pages.”
Thrive Landing Pages gives you attractive pre-designed web page templates that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that lets you change or customize any element of your page …
With the landing page template sets included with this plugin, you can do the following:
- Edit text in any headline, button, bullet point, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other part of your landing page
- Change the background image or background colors
- Change the color of text, links, buttons, etc.
- Choose your own fonts
- Use your own images
- Edit content area size
- Change the order of elements on the page
- Translate everything on the page into different languages
- Add any type of custom content inside the pages
- Start with a blank web page and create your own templates, or even build your own library of custom landing page templates.
(Change and customize anything on the page template)
Transform Your WordPress Website Into A Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox Plugin
The Thrive package includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully configurable two-step opt-in forms and animated objects to your web site …
(Add opt-in forms and events to your web pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Thrive Lighbox Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process can improve your conversion rates. Visitors click on an image or button, and then they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Capture more leads and subscribers with a two-step opt-in process)
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 their mouse over a button or an image, 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. fade in, slide in from right to left, rotate, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your web pages with Thrive Lightbox)
A lightbox and event is created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over your events, triggers and design.
User Feedback
Here are a few of the testimonials and feedback plugin customers have published about 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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”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 – Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any WordPress theme, not just with Thrive Landing Pages. Note, however, that you cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content that was not created using the plugin.
You can add short codes inside the Content Builder or Landing Pages plugin and they will be displayed correctly on on your web site.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build using Thrive Content Builder.
Thrive Content Builder Plugin Support
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages provides free updates, new landing pages and upcoming features. The Thrive team is constantly working on adding new features and improving existing ones.
Thrive products are well-supported, and users get lifetime updates, and 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, thirty day, complete refund guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users that will just keep getting better.
Software Price
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 license allows you to install the plugin on a single site. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Price = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Licensing – This lets you install the plugin on all of your personal websites. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency License – Use on your websites and on client sites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Price = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: Current pricing for the Thrive Content Builder software depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. The price shown above was current at the time this content was written. This may not be the actual price set by the software seller when you visit the product site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Info
The developers of the Thrive Content Builder 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 the time-saving benefits of ready-made page elements and conversion-optimized templates that help to make designing your content faster, and on the other hand, you also have complete control over your design process and the freedom to edit everything on your web page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, which lets you see how the content you are working on will display to visitors when published.
For a demo video of the plugin, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive Content Builder website.
Get The 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 can see the change happen instantly. If you want to move something, all you need to do is drag it and drop it into its new location. There are no unnecessary steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your business online and create awesome marketing pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content, Thrive Content and Landing Page Builder delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For full details, check out the plugin here:
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