WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool into a tool being used to create all kinds of sites.
Whatever you can think of, somewhere around the world someone is probably already building it using WordPress!
In this article you will learn how to create beautiful web page layouts with drag & drop ease in WordPress websites.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Is The WordPress Content Editor Still Meeting All Of Your Content Creation And Editing Needs?
With so many developments that the WordPress platform has gone through in recent years, many WordPress users feel that using the WordPress WYSIWYG editor to create or edit more complex web pages can sometimes be challenging.
(The default WordPress editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional text and images, but adding complex page elements can be challenging!)
For example, let’s say you want to create something like the content shown below …
To create the above layout, you would have to insert short codes into your content for every element you want to display …
Normally, this is not really an issue … unless you want to change the layout (for example, move some of the content from box 3 into box 2, or replace the button in a box from red to maroon. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code or html.
The WordPress visual content editor is supposed to give non-technical users an easy-to-use WYSIWYG content editor, but as you can see, if you are trying to edit more complex layouts, often what you see in the WordPress content editor may not be what you are getting when your content goes live …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some instances, some people argue that users could be better off working inside the html editor tab instead of the WordPress visual editor when trying to build non-linear page elements …
Even though WordPress is very user-friendly, this makes it hard for non-technical users to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental problem with using HTML and shortcodes to create content in WordPress can be summarized by asking 2 questions:
1) Speed – How long does it take to create a 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 screenshot, what you see when working in the editor doesn’t look anything like what you see in the front end. This means that you have to abstract what the content will look like when working with sophisticated 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 can impact how fast you can create your content, as you wait for pages to refresh.
A number of WordPress web developers have tried to come up with a range of solutions with the aim of addressing this issue. Some of these range from WordPress plugins you can install on your site that add new functionality to the editor, to WordPress themes that include built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make content creation easier!)
Some solutions require so many complex page-building features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these alternative solutions work fine, but they don’t really address the fundamental problem with using shortcodes and HTML as described earlier. Creating and adding non-linear content 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 web pages to look “just right” quickly, this can start to become really frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your web page editor to function?
Now that you’ve asked this question, imagine the following scenario …
- You spot something in the content that needs correction so you, just click on the content and start writing. Your content is instantly changed.
- You can drag and drop items on the page, and the page looks exactly as it will appear on the front end without having to mentally visualize code.
- You have an idea for an item of content that you would like to add, so you immediately begin typing, and you build your web page as you go, with no delays, no tab switching, and without having to wait for pages to republish and reload.
Would that not be the perfect way to build content for your WordPress 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 Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive click-to-edit drag-and-drop content and page creation tool for WordPress.
Thrive Content Builder is a new and incredibly easy way to speed up the process of creating amazing content on your WordPress website.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor and a menu that lets you click, then drag and drop design elements to your page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new content builder to WordPress)
The Thrive Content Builder And Landing Pages plugin is actually a combination of the Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages plugins merged into one, plus an additional plugin feature called Thrive Lightbox.
We’ll take an in-depth look at all of the above and how these exciting features work together to help you transform and improve your web site and create amazing sales pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder Plugin For WordPress
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 configured, edited and moved around by ”clicking-to-edit” and “dragging and dropping” things around the page …
Once elements have been added to your page, you can then customize them without going through additional 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 Landing Pages and Content Builder installed is so effortlessly easy, that the developers warn that once you start using it, you’ll never look back!
To learn more about the plugin go here: Thrive Content Builder
The integrated Thrive Content and Landing Page Builder plugin was created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another great plugin that we have reviewed on this site.
Go here to read more about this plugin:
Benefits Of Using Thrive Content And Landing Page Builder
Below we have listed just some of the benefits of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up the process of creating content for your WordPress site:
Installation Is Easy, Quick And Simple
Thrive Content Builder is very easy to install. Just upload it to your Plugin folder via your WordPress admin area and activate.
Real-Time Content Content Creation
Thrive Content Builder is simple and intuitive to use and lets you edit content in real-time.
A Truly Visual Editor
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see on the “backend” as you work within the content editor – typefaces, visual elements, page layouts, etc. is exactly what your visitors will see in the front end of your site.
Additional benefits include the following:
- Stunning Layouts With Drag And Drop Ease: Create any kind of layout you can imagine with intuitive drag and drop functionality.
- Customizable Elements Included: With Thrive Content Builder you not only get a visually exciting click-to-edit content builder, but the plugin also includes a very decent collection of web design elements that you can add to your layouts without using short codes, like tabbed content, star ratings for review pages, call to action buttons, responsive videos, etc.
- Ideal For Non-Technical Users: Not having to deal with technical stuff for the updated content to refresh frees up your attention and allows you to be more focused while you build content or click through multiple layers of menus to get what you need done.
(Easily create, edit and customize web page elements like testimonials, pricing tables, table of contents builder, buttons, responsive video embeds, etc.)
Thrive Content Builder Features
Thrive Content Builder offers WP users many great features. Here are just some:
- Built-In Content Editor Functionality Is Still Available: You have access to all of the built-in text editing options that you are used to (e.g. bold formatting, paragraph centering, heading styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Multi-Style Elements Menu: The plugin makes a “drag and drop” table of elements available on your post or page screen for creating or editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin includes a range of attention-grabbing and customizable elements that will help increase the effectiveness of your sales pages, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonial boxes, and guarantee forms. In addition to customization options, various elements also offer multiple design options.
- Responsive Element Design: Add mobile-friendly elements like column layouts, text boxes, content dividers, e.g. which will display correctly on different-sized screens.
- Add Animation To Web Pages: The Event Manager feature lets you insert animations, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your 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 all the way from initial signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages plugin gives you conversion-optimized web page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time and money building landing pages
- 100% conversion-optimized landing pages
- No web coding skills needed
- Works with any theme
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages 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, conversion optimized landing page templates 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 30+ templates available, with more templates scheduled for release. In addition to the templates that are currently available, expect to see new templates in the future for email lead generation, sales pages, course pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Fully Customizable And Flexible Landing Page Template
Typically, to be able to have completely customizable 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 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 mess around with 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 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 lets you change and customize anything on the page template …
With the landing page template sets included with this plugin, you can:
- Edit text in all buttons, headlines, bullet points, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other component of your landing page
- Replace the background image and background color
- Change the color of links, buttons, text, etc.
- Choose your own fonts
- Select your own images and graphics
- Modify content area size
- Rearrange the order of elements on the page
- Translate pages into a different language
- Add any kind of custom content in your pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own from scratch and save them as new page templates.
(Change and customize any aspect of your page)
Transform Your Site Into A Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox Plugin
The Thrive package also includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully editable two-step opt-in forms and animated elements to your web pages …
(Add opt-in forms and events to your web pages with Thrive Lightbox)
2-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process helps increase your conversion rates. When visitors click on a button or image 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 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 page, using a range of 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 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 Feedback
Below are just a few of the testimonials and comments that plugin customers have provided 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”
***
“I’m blown away by the plugin. Keep up the incredible, WordPress changing work, guys! Dean Phillips”
Thrive Content Builder – Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any WordPress theme, not just with Thrive Landing Pages. You cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content that was not created using the plugin.
You can add WordPress shortcodes inside the Content Builder or Landing Pages plugin and they will be displayed correctly when published.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content built with Thrive Content Builder.
Thrive Content Builder Support
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder provides free updates, new landing pages and upcoming features. The Thrive team is constantly working on adding new features and improving existing ones.
Thrive software is very well-supported, and users get unlimited software upgrades, plus 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, thirty day, full refund guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users 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 option enables you to activate the plugin on 1 domain only. 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 unlimited domains that you own. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency License – This license option allows you to configure the plugin on all of your own web sites and any client sites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: Current pricing for Thrive Content Builder depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The price shown above was correct at the time this content was published. This may not be the actual pricing set by the plugin 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 current pricing details here:
Additional Info
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 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 complete control over the design process and the ability to edit and customize everything on your web page, using the plugin’s click-to-edit and drag and drop features, which allows you to get things done without having to keep switching tabs or going through multiple steps.
For ”how to” videos of the plugin, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the plugin website.
The Bottom Line …
If you want to edit something, you just click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, you can 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 extra steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your web presence and create amazing sales pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For complete details, check out the plugin here:
***
