WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool into a tool being used to create all kinds of web sites.
Whatever you can think of, someone is probably already building it using WordPress!
In this article you will discover the ultimate drag and drop front end visual content builder for WordPress.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Is The Default WordPress Visual Editor Still Meeting All Of Your Page Design Needs?
With all the rapid advancements that the WordPress platform has gone through in recent years, many WordPress users and developers believe that using the WordPress WYSIWYG content editor to create or edit more complex content elements can sometimes be difficult.
(The built-in WordPress WYSIWYG content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional text and media, but adding more complex layouts can be challenging!)
For example, if you look at the illustration below …
Adding the above to a page would require inserting something like this inside your WordPress visual content editor …
Normally, this is not really an issue … until you decide to edit some part of your layout (for example, move some of the content from box 3 into box 2, or change the background colour inside a box from bright red to light green. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code or html.
The WordPress visual content editor is supposed to provide users with an easy-to-use WYSIWYG editor, but as you can see, when working with more complex content elements, often what you see on your screen may not be the same as what you are getting when the content is published …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some situations, users would probably be better off working directly with the source html itself instead of the visual editor when trying to add something other than simple layouts …
Even though WordPress is very user-friendly, this makes it difficult for non-technical website owners to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental challenge of using HTML and shortcodes to create content in the default WordPress WYSIWYG editor can be summarized by asking two questions:
1) Speed – How long will it take to build a web page using the 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 in the back end looks nothing like what you see in the front end. This means that users need to mentally translate what the content will look like when working with sophisticated layouts. Other solutions require a number of 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 interrupt the creative process, as you wait for the new content to refresh.
Many WordPress developers have come up with different solutions to try to address this issue. These solutions range from WordPress 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 content creation easier!)
Some solutions end up requiring so many page design features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these solutions work fine, but they fail to address the fundamental challenge of using HTML and shortcodes as described earlier. Creating and adding 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 become really frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your page builder to work?
Now that you’ve asked this question, imagine the following scenario …
- You spot something in your content that needs to be changed so you, just click on the content and start editing it. Your content is then instantly fixed.
- You can 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 code.
- You have an idea for a specific piece of content you’d like to create, so you immediately start typing, and you build your web page as you go, without delays, without switching of tab browsers, and without having to wait for pages to refresh.
Would this not be the ideal 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 pages quickly 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 – Create Stunning Content With Drag & Drop Ease In WordPress
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive click-to-edit drag and drop content and page creation tool for WordPress.
The Thrive Content Builder plugin is a new and incredibly easy way to set up conversion-focused pages on any WordPress website.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor and a sidebar menu that lets you click, then drag and drop design elements on your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new content editing option 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’ll take a look at all of the above and how these exciting features work together to help you transform and improve your website and create amazing sales pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder Plugin
Thrive Content Builder lets you easily add content to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Everything on your page can be configured with “drag and drop” and “click-to-edit” ease …
Once elements have been added to the page, you can then further edit these without having to go through additional steps or complicated settings screens …
You can also create stunning landing pages that can just as easily be edited or customized …
Thrive Content and Landing Page Builder is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, designing pages with Thrive Content Builder installed is so effortlessly easy, that the developers warn that once you start using it, it’ll ruin the experience of using any other content editor forever, and you’ll never look back!
To learn more about this 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 excellent plugin that we have previously recommended on this site.
See this article 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 your page design and content creation process:
Fast And Simple To Install And Use. Be Up And Running In No Time.
Thrive Content Builder installs just like any plugin. Simply upload a zip file that contains the plugin files to your Plugins folder via your admin user section and activate.
Edit & Add Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is is not only really simple and intuitive to use, it also lets you edit and build content in real-time.
What You See Is Exactly What You Get
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see on the “back-end” as you work within the content editor – fonts, elements, layouts, etc. is exactly what your visitors will see on the front end of your site.
Some additional benefits include the following:
- Attractive Web Page Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease: Create any layout you can imagine with intuitive drag and drop functionality.
- Add Customizable Elements Without Using Short Codes: With Thrive Content Builder you not only get an exciting and simple-to-use click-to-edit content builder, but the plugin also includes a very decent collection of functional and eye-catching design elements that you can insert into your content layouts without using short codes, for e.g.: content toggle, table of contents builder, buttons, credit card icons, etc.
- Distraction-Free Content Creation: Not having to deal with technical stuff for pages 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.
(Insert, edit and customize web page elements like testimonials, content toggle, borderless content, dividers, responsive videos, etc.)
Plugin Features
Thrive Content Builder offers WordPress users many great features. Below we have listed just some:
- Regular WordPress Content Functionality Is Still Available: You have access to all of the built-in WordPress text editing options that you are used to (e.g. underline, paragraph centering, font styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements Menu: 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 provides you with a range of eye-catching and customizable elements that will help increase the effectiveness of your sales pages, 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 Design: Add mobile-friendly elements like column layouts, text boxes, content dividers, e.g. which will resize and display correctly on different device screens.
- Add Animation To Pages: The plugin’s Event Manager feature lets you insert animations, 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 signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages plugin gives you access to conversion-optimized web page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time building gorgeous-looking pages
- 100% conversion-optimized web page templates
- No tech skills required
- Works with any theme
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages not only lets you create beautiful content in your WordPress posts and pages, but you can also choose from dozens of beautifully designed, landing 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 scheduled for future 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.
Customizable Landing Page Template Sets
Typically, to be able to fully customize a landing page template, you would need to either pay a web 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 attractive pre-built web pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change or edit any aspect of the page …
With the landing page templates included with this plugin, you can do the following:
- Modify text in all headlines, buttons, bullet points, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other element of your landing page
- Change the background image or color
- Edit the color of buttons, links, text, etc.
- Select your own fonts
- Use your own images and graphics
- Change the size of the content area
- Change the order of page elements
- Translate pages into different languages
- Add custom content inside any of the pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own web pages from scratch and save them as new page templates.
(Change or customize any aspect of the page template)
Thrive Lightbox – Transform Your Website Into A Powerful Marketing Machine
The Thrive package also includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully editable two-step opt-in forms and animated elements to your pages …
(Add lead capture forms and animated elements to your web pages with Thrive Lightbox)
Thrive Lighbox Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process can improve your conversion rates. Visitors click on a button or image, and then they are presented with your opt-in form …
(When visitors click on the button, they are presented with an opt-in form)
Event Manager
An “event” consists of a trigger and an action. You can make opt-in forms appear when your visitor clicks or hovers their mouse over a button or an image, or when someone scrolls down to a certain point on the page. You can also use the Event Manager to animate images on your pages, using a range of animation effects (e.g. zoom in, slide in from top to bottom, roll out, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your pages with Thrive Lightbox)
A lightbox and event is created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over the events, triggers and design.
User Testimonials
Here are some of the testimonials that plugin users have published 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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“I’m blown away by the plugin. Keep up the incredible, WordPress changing work, guys! Dean Phillips”
Useful 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 existing pages or posts that were not created with the plugin installed.
You can add shortcodes inside Thrive Content Builder or Thrive Landing Pages and they will be displayed correctly on your website.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content built using Thrive Content Builder.
Plugin Support
Thrive Content and Page Builder provides free updates, new landing templates 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 unlimited software upgrades, and 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, 30 day, complete refund guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users that just keeps getting better.
Software 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 License – This lets you install the plugin on one site only. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites License Edition – This allows you to set up the plugin on all sites that you own. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency Licensing – Use on your domains & on client web sites. Cost includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Price = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: The cost to purchase the Thrive Content Builder product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Currently, the plugin sells for the pricing shown above. This may or may not be the actual pricing set by the product seller when you visit the site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest price:
Additional Information
The developers of the Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder plugin emphatically 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 the time-saving benefits of ready-made web page elements and conversion-optimized template sets that help to speed up content design, and on the other hand, you have 100% control over the design process and the ability to edit everything on your page, using the plugin’s click-to-edit and drag and drop features, which allows you to see how the content you are working on will display on the “front end” when published.
For ”how to” videos showing how the plugin works, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive Content Builder website.
Install This Plugin …
If you want to edit something, simply click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, you’ll see the change happen instantly. If you want to move something, just drag it and drop it into its new position. There are no overly complicated steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your site and create awesome sales pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content, Thrive Content Builder delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
To learn more, visit the plugin website here:
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