WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool into a tool that can be used to create all kinds of sites.
Whatever you can think of, somewhere around the world someone is probably already building it using WordPress!
This article will help you discover the simplest way to build stunning content in WordPress.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
The WordPress Visual Editor – Is There A Simpler Option For Creating Stunning-Looking Content In WordPress?
With so many improvements that the WordPress platform has gone through in recent years, many WordPress developers and users feel that using the built-in WordPress WYSIWYG content editor to build or edit more complex web pages can sometimes be difficult.
(The default WordPress editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional content, but adding more complex page elements can be quite challenging!)
For example, if you look at the screenshot below …
To create the above in your content would require inserting something that looks like this into the default WordPress editor …
Normally, this is not really an issue … until you decide to edit something in your layout (for example, move some of the content from box 1 into box 2, or change the button inside a box from red to maroon. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code.
The WordPress visual editor is supposed to be an easy-to-use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) content editor, but as you can see, if you are working with complex page elements, often what you see in the visual editor may not be what you get …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some cases, users would probably be better off working directly with the html source itself instead of the WordPress WYSIWYG editor when trying to add 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 of having to use HTML and shortcodes to create content in the default WordPress WYSIWYG editor can be summarized as follows:
1) Speed – How long will it take to build a web page using this editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the ”back end” 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 content editor does not look even remotely similar to what you see in the front end. This means that you have to translate mentally what the content will look like when working with sophisticated layouts. Other solutions require multiple steps before you can begin configuring your page layout, or endlessly going back and forth between browser tabs and performing tweaks and updates to see how your content is coming along, which interrupts the creative process, as you wait for the updates to load.
A number of WordPress web developers have come up with different solutions to try and address this issue. These 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 creating complex layouts easier!)
Some solutions end up combining so many page design features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these alternative solutions work, but they still fail to address the fundamental issue of 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 content to look ”perfect” quickly, this can start to become quite frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your content editor to function?
Now, visualize this …
- You see something in the content that needs to be changed so you, just click on the content and start typing. Your content is instantly edited.
- You can drag and drop items around the page, and see them exactly as they will display on the front end without having to mentally abstract from shortcodes or HTML.
- You have an idea for an item of content that you’d like to create, so you simply start typing, and you build your web page as you go, with no delays, with no tab switching, and without waiting for new content to refresh.
Would that not be the ideal way to build content for your WordPress site? Just click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the posts and pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex page layouts ”on the fly” for your web content without technical constraints!)
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 Simplest, Most Intuitive WYSIWYG Content Builder For WordPress
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive click-to-edit drag-and-drop content and page creator for WordPress.
The Thrive Content Builder plugin provides you with a new and exciting way to set up conversion-focused pages on your WordPress website.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder adds a visual content editor and an item menu that lets you drag and drop design 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 address each of the above plugins and how all of this powerful functionality works together to help you easily transform and improve your site and create amazing marketing pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Plugin
This plugin lets you easily build complex web page design layouts using drag and drop elements …
Every aspect of your page can be created by ”clicking-to-edit” and “dragging and dropping” things around the page …
Once you have positioned elements on a page, you can then further edit or customize them without having to go through additional steps or opening new settings windows …
You can also work inside highly attractive landing pages and easily customize these …
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 installed is so amazingly easy, that the developers warn that you will never look at creating content the same way once you start using it
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 amazing plugin for WordPress we’ve recommended on this site.
To learn more about using this plugin, see this post:
Plugin Benefits
Here are just a few of the benefits of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up the process of designing pages and creating content for your WordPress website:
Be Up And Running In No Time
Thrive Content Builder is very easy to install. Simply upload a zip file containing the plugin to your Plugin folder via your WordPress dashboard and activate.
Edit & Build Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is is not only really simple to use, it also lets you create and add content right inside your web pages in real-time.
A Truly Visual Editor
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see as you work within the editor – typefaces, visual elements, page layouts, etc. is exactly what your visitors will see on the front end of your site.
Some additional benefits include the following:
- Beautiful Page Layouts With Drag-And-Drop Ease: Create any kind of layout you can imagine with drag-and-drop ease.
- Add Design Elements Without Using Shortcodes: With Thrive Content Builder you not only get an exciting and easy-to-use click-to-edit WordPress content editor, but the plugin also includes a very decent collection of customizable web design elements that you can use on your pages without using short codes, like pricing tables, styled lists, call to action buttons, credit card icons, etc.
- Ideal For Non-Technical Users: Not having to deal with technical stuff for the content to reload frees up your attention and allows you to build the pages your business needs, quickly and without having to edit code or click through multiple steps to get what you want done.
(Insert, edit and customize web page elements like testimonials, content toggle, star ratings for review pages, section dividers, countdown timers, etc.)
Features
Thrive Content Builder provides a number of features to site owners. Here are just a few of these:
- Regular Content Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have access to all of the regular WordPress text editing options that you are used to (e.g. underlines, centering text, heading styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Multi-Style Elements Menu: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” table of multi-style elements to your post or page screen for creating and editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin includes 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, testimonial boxes, 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, guarantee boxes, dividers, e.g. which will display great on all different kinds of devices.
- Add Animation To Web Pages: Thrive Content Builder’s Event Manager feature lets you insert animation in images, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Web Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Landing Page Template Sets
Landing page sets are web page 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 provides you with conversion-optimized page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Everything is hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time and money building beautiful landing pages for your WordPress web site
- 100% conversion-optimized landing pages
- No tech skills needed
- Works with any theme
Thrive Content Builder 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, web page templates that are conversion-optimized and fully customizable …
(Landing page template sets that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language)
There are currently over 30 templates available, with more templates planned for release. In addition to the existing templates, expect to see new templates in the future for email lead generation, sales pages, course pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Completely Customizable And Flexible Landing Page Template Sets
Typically, to be able to have a fully customizable landing page template, you would need to either hire a web site developer 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 page templates that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change or edit anything on your page templates …
With the landing page templates included with this plugin, you can:
- Change text in all bullet points, headlines, buttons, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other component of the landing page
- Change all background images or colors
- Edit the color of text, links, buttons, etc.
- Use your own fonts
- Use your own images
- Edit the size of the content area
- Rearrange the order of elements on your pages
- Translate pages into a different language
- Add any kind of custom content inside any of the pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own from scratch and save them as new page templates.
(Change and customize anything on the page)
Transform Your Site Into A Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox Plugin
The Thrive plugin combo includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully editable 2-step opt-in forms and animated objects to your web pages …
(Add lead capture forms and animated elements to your pages with Thrive Lightbox)
2-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-step opt-in process helps to improve your conversion rates. When visitors click on an image or button they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Opt-in forms can help increase your conversion rates.)
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 graphic elements, or when someone reaches a certain point on the page. You can also use the Event Manager to animate attention-getting elements on your web pages, using various effects (e.g. fade in, slide in from top to bottom, roll out, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your WordPress pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
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
Below are some of the testimonials and comments customers have written about Thrive Content Builder:
”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”
***
”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 Plugin – 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 on pages or posts that were not created with the plugin.
You can add WordPress shortcodes 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 built using Thrive Content Builder.
Support
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder Plugin comes with free updates, new landing templates and upcoming features. The plugin developers are constantly working on adding new features and improving existing ones.
Thrive software is really well-supported, and users get lifetime software upgrades, plus 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, 30 day, full refund guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users that will just keep 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 Edition – This license enables you to install the plugin on 1 domain only. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites License – This edition lets you use the plugin on all web sites that you own. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency License – Use on all your websites & on client websites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: Price details for Thrive Content Builder depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. The above reflects the pricing when this content was written. This may or may not be the actual price charged by the plugin seller when you visit the plugin website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing details:
Additional Plugin Information
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 web page elements and template sets that help to speed up content design, and on the other hand, you have 100% control over your design process and the freedom to change anything and everything on your page, using the plugin’s click-to-edit and drag and drop features, which allows you to work unhindered by overly complicated steps.
For ”how to” videos showing how the plugin works, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive plugins website.
In Conclusion …
If you want to edit something, you 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, you drag it and drop it into its new position. There are no complicated steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your website and create amazing sales pages and content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
To learn more, visit the plugin website here:
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