WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging application to a tool that can be used to design all types of web pages – landing pages, product showcase 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 learn how to create stunning content and design beautiful web page layouts with drag & drop ease in WordPress websites.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The WordPress Visual Content Editor Meet All Of Your Content Creation Needs?
Using the default WordPress WYSIWYG content editor to create or edit complex page layouts can be quite difficult.
(The default WordPress WYSIWYG content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” text and media, but adding complex content elements can be quite challenging!)
For example, let’s say you want to create something like the layout shown below …
Creating the above layout in a page would require typing something that looks like this into your default WordPress visual editor …
Typically, this is not an issue … unless you decide to change something in your layout (for example, move part of the content from box 1 into box 2, or replace the button inside a box from red to yellow. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with code.
The WordPress editor is supposed to provide users with an easy-to-use WYSIWYG editor, but as you can see, if you are trying to edit complex page elements, often what you see in the WordPress visual editor screen is not really what you are going to get when the web page goes live …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some instances, users would probably be better off working inside the html (text) editor tab instead of the WYSIWYG editor when trying to create fancy layouts …
Even though WordPress is the most user-friendly CMS platform available, this makes it difficult for WordPress users without knowledge of HTML or CSS to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental issue about using shortcodes and HTML to create content in WordPress can be summarized by asking the following questions:
1) Speed – How long does it take to build a page using this editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the ”back end” match the “front end” content when you are creating or editing a page?
As you can see from the above screenshot, what you see when working in the editor doesn’t look even remotely similar to what you see in the front end. This means that you have to abstract what the content will look like when working with complex layouts. Other solutions require multiple steps before you can start configuring your page layout, or endlessly going back and forth between tabs and performing tweaks and updates to see how your content is coming along, which can impact how fast you can create your content, as you wait for your page to load.
A number of WordPress developers have come up with a range of solutions aiming to address this issue. Some of these range from WP plugins you can install on your site that add new functionality to the editor, to themes that provide 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 combining so many page design features, that users need to learn how to work with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these alternative editors work fine, but they don’t really seem to address the fundamental issue 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 your content to look ”perfect” quickly, this can start to become very frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like to build and edit your web content?
Now, imagine the following scenario …
- You see something in your content that needs changing so you, simply click on the content and start typing. Your content has been instantly changed.
- You simply drag and drop elements on the page, and see them exactly as they will display on the front end without having to mentally translate any code.
- You have an idea for a specific piece of content that you would like to add, so you simply start typing, and you build your web page on the fly, with no delays, with no switching tabs, and without having to wait for pages to resave and reload.
Would that not be the perfect way to create content for your website? A true visual content builder where all you have to do is click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around your pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex page layouts quickly for your web content without 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 Way To Create Beautiful Page Layouts In WordPress
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive click-to-edit drag-and-drop content creation plugin for WordPress.
Thrive Content Builder is a new and exciting way to set up conversion-focused pages on any WordPress website.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder adds a visual content editor with a menu that lets you drag and drop elements on your page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new visual editor to WordPress)
The Thrive Content And Page Builder 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 each of the above plugins and how all of this powerful functionality works together to help you easily transform and improve your website and create awesome marketing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder
With the Thrive Content Builder plugin, you can easily add complex design layouts to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Everything on your page can be designed and changed with “drag and drop” and “click-to-edit” ease …
Once elements have been added to the page, you can then easily edit them without going through additional steps or switching screens …
You can also create highly attractive landing pages that can also be easily customized …
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, designing web pages with Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages installed is so effortlessly easy, that the developers guarantee that once you start using it, you’ll never look back!
For more details about the plugin go here: Thrive Content Builder
Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages were created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another fantastic plugin for WordPress that we have previously reviewed on this site.
See this page to read more about this plugin:
Benefits Of Using Thrive Content Builder And Landing Pages
Here we have listed just a few of the benefits and advantages of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up content creation:
Quick And Simple To Install And Use. Be Up And Running In Very Little Time.
Thrive Content Builder is really easy to install. Simply upload the plugin file to your Plugin folder via your administrator area and activate.
Real-Time Content Content Creation
Thrive Content Builder is is not only very simple to use, it also lets you build and add content right inside your pages in real-time.
What You See Is Truly What You Get
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see as you work within the content editor – fonts, elements, layouts, etc. is exactly what you get in the front end of your site.
Additional benefits and advantages include:
- Add Eye-Catching Page Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease: Create any layout you can imagine with drag-and-drop ease.
- Add Customizable Elements With No Short Codes Required: With Thrive Content Builder you not only get a drag and drop content builder, but the plugin also includes a jaw-dropping collection of functional and eye-catching web design elements that you can customizable and add to your content layouts without using shortcodes, such as pricing tables, star ratings for review pages, buttons, responsive videos, etc.
- More Enjoyable Content Creation: Not having to deal with technical stuff for pages 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 steps to get what you need done.
(Add, edit and customize web page elements like testimonial boxes, tabbed content, table of contents builder, page section dividers, countdown timers, etc.)
Thrive Content Builder Features
Thrive Content Builder provides many features to WP users. Below we have listed just a few of these:
- Regular Content Editor Functionality Is Still Available: You have access to all of the regular WordPress editing options that you are used to (e.g. underlines, left-aligned paragraphs, headings and font sizes, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Multi-Style Elements Menu: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” list of elements to your post or page screen for editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin comes with various attention-grabbing and customizable elements that will help increase the effectiveness of your sales pages, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonials, and guarantee forms. In addition to being customizable, multiple design options are also available for various elements.
- Responsive Element Design: Add responsive elements like columns, text boxes, content dividers, e.g. which will resize and display great on different device screens.
- Add Animation Events To Your Pages: The plugin’s Event Manager feature lets you add animated images, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Web 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 from signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages gives you access to conversion-optimized web page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time designing beautiful web pages
- 100% conversion-optimized web page templates
- No web coding skills required
- Works with any WordPress theme
Thrive 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, web 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 30+ templates available, with more templates planned for release. In addition to the available templates, expect to see new templates in the future for email lead generation, sales pages, course pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Customize Your Landing Page Template
Normally, to be able to have a completely customizable landing page template, you would need to either pay a web site 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 or customize any element of your page templates …
The landing page template sets included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Modify text in all bullet points, headlines, buttons, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other element of your landing page
- Replace the background image or color
- Change the color of text, links, buttons, etc.
- Select your own fonts
- Select your own images
- Modify content area size
- Rearrange the order of elements on your page
- Translate pages into different languages
- Add any kind of custom content in any of the pages
- Start with a blank web page and create your own page templates, or even build your own custom landing page templates library.
(Change or customize anything on the page templates)
Transform Your WordPress Site Into A Powerful Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox Plugin
The Thrive plugin package also includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully configurable two-step opt-in forms and animated elements to your content pages …
(Add opt-in forms and animated objects to your WordPress site with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Thrive Lighbox 2-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process helps to improve your conversion rates. Visitors click on a button or image, and then they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Capture more leads and subscribers with a 2-step opt-in process)
Event Manager
An “event” consists of a trigger and an action. You can make an opt-in form appear when your visitor clicks or hovers 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 various animation effects (e.g. zoom in, slide in from left to right, roll in, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Lightboxes and events are created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over the events, triggers and design.
Feedback From Users
Below are a few of the testimonials and comments customers have written about the Thrive Content Builder plugin:
”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”
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”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”
Useful 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 that was not created with the plugin.
You can add WordPress short codes inside Thrive Content Builder or Thrive Landing Pages and they will display correctly when published.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build using Thrive Content Builder.
Product 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 products are very well-supported, and users get unlimited software upgrades, and one year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, thirty day, full money-back guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users 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 Licensing – This enables you to activate the plugin on one website only. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites License Edition – This license enables you to activate the plugin on unlimited domains that you personally own. Cost includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency Edition – Use on all your web sites & on all your client domains. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Price = $247.00 per year.
Note: Price details for the product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Currently, the software is being retailed for the prices shown above. This may not be the actual price charged by the software developer when you visit the website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest pricing here:
Additional Information
The developers of the Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder plugin repeatedly maintain 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 template sets that help to make designing your pages faster, and on the other hand, you have 100% control over the design process and the ability to change everything on your page, using the plugin’s click-to-edit and drag and drop features, which lets you work unhindered by overly complicated steps.
For a demo video showing how the plugin works, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive website.
Download The Plugin …
If you want to edit something, just 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, simply drag it and drop it into its new location. There are no complicated steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your website and create amazing marketing pages and content, Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For more information, check out the plugin here:
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