WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging application to a tool being used to design all types of web pages – direct sales pages, product showcase pages, local business pages, etc.
Whatever you can think of, somewhere around the world someone is probably already building it with WordPress!
In this article you will discover the simplest way to create stunning content and beautiful page layouts in WordPress sites.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
The WordPress Content Editor – Is There A Smarter Option For Creating Beautiful-Looking Content Layouts In WordPress?
Using the WordPress WYSIWYG content editor to create or edit sophisticated content elements can sometimes be quite difficult for non-technical website owners.
(The WordPress WYSIWYG content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” text and media, but adding more complex content elements 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 have to add short codes to the content for each of the page elements they would like to create …
Generally, this is not really an issue … until you want to change some part of the layout (for example, move some of the content from box 1 into box 2, or replace the button in a box from red to purple. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code or html.
The WordPress editor is supposed to give non-technical users an easy-to-use WYSIWYG content editor, but as you can see, if you are working with more complex page elements, what you see may not be the same as what you are getting when the page is published …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some cases, you may even be better off working inside the WordPress html (text) editor tab instead of the WordPress visual editor when trying to create fancy page elements …
Even though WordPress is the most user-friendly CMS platform available, this makes it difficult for non-technical website owners to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental problem about using shortcodes and HTML to create content in the default WordPress WYSIWYG editor can be summarized by asking the following questions:
1) Speed – How long does it take to create a web page using the 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 looks nothing like what you see in the front end. This means that you have to translate mentally what your content will look like when working with complex layouts. Other solutions require multiple steps before you can start configuring your page layout, or endlessly switching browser tabs and performing tweaks and updates to see how your content is coming along, which then affects how fast you can create your content, as you wait for the updated content to reload.
Many WordPress web developers have tried to come up with a range of solutions aiming to make the visual editor more intuitive. Some of these alternative solutions range from standalone plugins you can add to 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 content creation easier!)
Some solutions end up combining so many page-building 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 issue of using HTML and shortcodes 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 to create or edit complex layouts quickly, this can start to become very frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your page editor to function?
Now that you’ve asked this question, visualize this …
- You see something in your content that needs to be corrected so you, simply click on the content and start changing it. Your content has been instantly fixed.
- You can drag and drop items on the page, and see them exactly as they will display on the front end without having to mentally translate shortcodes or HTML.
- You have an idea for a specific item of content you would like to create, so you just begin typing, and your page gets built on the fly, with no delays, no tab switching, and no waiting for new web pages to republish and reload.
Would that not be the ideal way to build content for your WordPress web site? Just click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around your page?
(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 – The Fastest And Most Intuitive Visual Content Builder For Your WordPress Web Site
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive click-to-edit drag-and-drop content and landing page editor for WordPress.
Thrive Content Builder is a new and exciting way to set up conversion-focused pages on any WordPress website.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor with an item menu that lets you click, then drag and drop elements to your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new content builder to WordPress)
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.
We will take a look at all of the above plugins and how all of this powerful functionality works seamlessly together to help you transform and improve your site and create amazing marketing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Plugin
With the Thrive Content Builder plugin, you can 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 with ”click-to-edit” and “drag and drop” ease …
Once you have positioned elements on your page, you can then further customize these without going through additional steps or complicated settings windows …
You can also create highly attractive landing pages that can also be easily edited …
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, designing pages and working on content with the Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder plugin installed is so amazingly easy, that the developers guarantee that once you start using it, you’ll never look back!
Go here to learn more about this plugin: Thrive Content Builder
Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages were created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another fantastic plugin we’ve previously written about on this site.
Go here to read about this plugin:
Plugin Benefits
Below we have listed just a few of the benefits of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up the process of creating content for your WordPress site:
Fast And Simple To Install And Set Up. Be Up And Running In Minutes.
Thrive Content Builder installs like any WP plugin. Simply upload a zip file that contains the plugin files to your Plugins folder via your dashboard and activate.
Edit And Create Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is is not only very simple to use, it also lets you build content in real-time.
A Truly Visual Editor
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see on the “back-end” as you work within the content editor – typefaces, visual elements, layouts, etc. is exactly what you get in the front end of your site.
Additional benefits include:
- Stunning Page Layouts With Drag And Drop Ease: Create any kind of layout you can imagine with drag and drop ease.
- Add Design Elements With No Shortcodes Required: With Thrive Content Builder you not only get an amazing drag and drop WordPress content builder, but the plugin also includes a collection of customizable web design elements that you can customizable and add to your layouts without using short codes, like content toggle, content reveal feature, call to action buttons, custom HTML and CSS, etc.
- More Enjoyable Content Creation: Not having to deal with technical stuff for your updated content to load frees up your attention and allows you to build the content your business needs, quickly and without having to edit code or click through multiple steps to get what you need done.
(Thrive Content Builder lets you easily add, edit and customize page elements like testimonial boxes, content toggle, feature grids, page section dividers, responsive maps, etc.)
Thrive Content Builder Features
Thrive Content Builder provides many powerful features to WordPress users. Below we have listed just some:
- Regular Content Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have all of the regular WordPress text editing options that you are used to (e.g. bold, paragraph centering, heading styles, 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 eye-catching and customizable elements that will help increase your sales conversions, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonial boxes, and guarantees. In addition to customization options, multiple design options are also available for various elements.
- Responsive Element Design: Add mobile-friendly columns, guarantee boxes, section dividers, e.g. which will resize and display correctly on different device screens.
- Add Animation To Pages: Thrive Content Builder’s Event Manager feature lets you create animated page content, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Landing Page Sets
Thrive Landing Pages provides sets of 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 – Benefits
- Everything is hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time designing web pages for your site
- 100% conversion-optimized landing pages
- No technical skills required
- Works with all themes
Thrive Content and Page Builder not only can be used to create beautiful content in your WordPress posts and pages, but you can also choose from dozens of beautifully designed, conversion optimized web page templates and fully customizable …
(Landing page sets that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language)
There are over 30 templates available, with more templates being worked on. In addition to the templates shown above, expect to see new templates in the future for email lead generation, sales pages, lesson pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Customize Your Landing Page Template
Typically, to be able to have fully customizable landing page templates, you would need to either pay a web designer to do the work, or learn web coding languages like HTML and CSS 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 great-looking pre-built web pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that lets you change or edit any aspect of the page templates …
With the landing page template sets included with this plugin, you can:
- Modify text in all bullet points, headlines, buttons, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other element of your landing page
- Replace the background image and background colours
- Edit the color of links, text, buttons, etc.
- Choose your own fonts
- Use your own images
- Modify the size of the content area
- Change the order of web page elements
- Translate everything on the page into different languages
- Add any type of custom content in your pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own web pages from scratch and save them as new web page templates.
(Change and customize any element of your page template)
Thrive Lightbox – Transform Your Web Site Into A Powerful Marketing Machine
The Thrive plugin combo also 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 animation to your WordPress web site with Thrive Lightbox)
2-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-step opt-in process helps to increase your conversion rates. When visitors click on an image or button 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 opt-in forms 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 attention-getting elements on your page, using various animation effects (e.g. zoom in from the page center, slide in from top to bottom, roll in, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your web 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
Below are a couple of the testimonials plugin users have submitted for 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”
Plugin Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any WordPress theme, 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 WordPress short codes inside the Content Builder or Landing Pages plugin and they will display correctly on on your site.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content built with Thrive Content Builder.
Product Support
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder 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 software is well-supported, and users get lifetime updates, and 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, thirty day, full money-back guarantee.
This is an exciting product that will just keep getting better.
Plugin 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 lets you activate the plugin on 1 site only. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Price = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Edition – This license allows you to activate the plugin on all of your personal domains. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency License Edition – Use on all your web sites & on client web sites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Note: The cost of purchasing this product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Currently, the plugin is selling for the prices shown above. This may not be the actual pricing set by the product developer when you visit the website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Plugin Information
The developers of the Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages plugin 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 make designing your content faster, and on the other hand, you have 100% control over your design process and the ability to change anything and everything on your page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, which lets you see how the content you are working on will display after publishing.
For demo videos of the plugin in action, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive plugins website.
Get This Plugin …
If you want to edit something, you 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, all you have 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 sales pages and content, Thrive Content Builder delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For complete details, check out the plugin here:
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