WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging application into a tool that can be used to design all types of web pages – landing pages, product showcase pages, business pages, etc.
Whatever you can think of, somewhere around the world someone is most likely already building it with WordPress!
In this article you will discover the simplest way to build stunning content in WordPress.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
The WordPress Content Editor – Is There A Smarter Option For Creating Great-Looking Content In WordPress?
Using the default WordPress visual content editor to build or edit sophisticated page layouts can be challenging for non-technical website owners.
(The WordPress editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” text and media, but adding complex content elements can be 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, you would have to insert short codes into your content for every element you want to create …
Normally, this is not an issue … unless you decide to reconfigure your layout (for example, move some of the content from box 3 into box 2, or change the button in a box from dark green to maroon. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with code.
The WordPress visual content editor is supposed to give users an easy-to-use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) content editor, but as you can see, if you are trying to edit complex content elements, what you see on your screen may not be what you get …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some cases, you would probably be better off working with the source html itself instead of the WYSIWYG editor when trying to add complex page elements …
Even though WordPress is extremely easy to use, this makes it difficult for WordPress users without coding skills to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental problem of having to use HTML and shortcodes to create content in WordPress can be summarized as follows:
1) Speed – How long does it take to create a page using this editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the editor match the “front end” content when you are creating or editing a page?
As you can see from the above, what you see in the back end doesn’t look anything like what you see in the front end. This means that users have to mentally translate what the content will look like when working with complex 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 updates to see how your content is progressing, which interrupts the creative process, as you wait for for your updated content to reload.
A number of WordPress developers have tried to come up with various solutions with the aim of making the visual editor easier. These range from WP plugins you can install on your site that add new functionality to the editor, to 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 page design features, that users need to learn how to work with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these alternative editors work fine, but they don’t really seem to address the fundamental issue of using shortcodes and HTML as described earlier. Creating, 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 page content to look “just right” quickly, this can become quite frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your content builder to function?
Now, visualize this …
- You look at your content and if you spot something that needs to be changed, 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 would like to add, so you just begin typing, and you build your web page as you go, without delays, no switching of tab browsers, and without having to wait for new web content to reload.
Would that not be the ideal way to build content for your WordPress website? A true WYSIWYG content editor where all you have to do is click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex web pages in real-time 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 Plugin – The Ultimate Click-To-Edit Front End Visual Editor For WordPress Sites
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a unique WordPress plugin that allows site owners to quickly add content to WordPress posts and pages with a truly visual click-to-edit and drag and drop content editor.
Thrive Content Builder is a new and exciting way to speed up the process of adding great content to your WordPress website.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor with a menu that lets you select, then drag and drop design elements to your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new visual content editor to WordPress)
The Thrive Landing Pages And Content Builder plugin is actually a combination of the Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages plugins rolled into one, plus an additional plugin feature called Thrive Lightbox.
In this article we’ll take an in-depth look at each of the above plugins and how these features work together to help you easily transform and improve your website and create awesome marketing pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder
Thrive Content Builder lets you easily add content to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Every aspect of your page can be designed and changed with “drag and drop” and “click-to-edit” ease …
Once you have placed elements on the page, you can then easily customize them without going through multiple steps or switching screens …
You can also build highly attractive landing pages that can just as easily be edited or customized …
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, working on content with the plugin installed is so effortlessly simple, that the developers warn that you will never look at the process of creating content the same way once you start using it
Go here to learn more about the plugin: Thrive Content Builder
Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages were created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another amazing plugin that we have previously reviewed on this site.
To read more about this plugin, go here:
Plugin Benefits
Below we have listed just some of the benefits and advantages of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up content creation:
Installation Is Easy, Simple & Quick
Thrive Content Builder is very easy to install. Just upload a zip folder containing the plugin to your Plugins folder via your WP administrator area and activate.
Edit And Create Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is is not only very simple to use, it also lets you add content right inside your web pages 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, page layouts, etc. is exactly what you get in the front end of your site.
Some additional plugin benefits include the following:
- Stunning Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease: Create any type of layout you can imagine with intuitive drag-and-drop functionality.
- Customizable Elements Included: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get an exciting and easy-to-use drag and drop content builder, but the plugin also includes a very decent collection of customizable web design elements that you can customizable and use on your layouts without using short codes, such as columns, star ratings for review pages, section dividers, responsive Google maps, etc.
- Distraction-Free Content Creation: Not having to deal with technical stuff, or wait for your updates to reload frees up your attention and allows you to be more focused while you build or edit your content or click through multiple layers of menus to get what you need done.
(Thrive Content Builder lets you easily create, edit and customize web page elements like testimonial boxes, columns, borderless content, page section dividers, responsive Google map embeds, etc.)
Plugin Features
Thrive Content Builder offers many features to WP users. Here are just some of those:
- Built-In Content Editor 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 formatting, headings and font sizes, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements Menu: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” table of multi-style elements to your post or page screen for editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin comes with a range of eye-catching and customizable elements that will help you 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 Web Element Design: Add mobile-friendly columns, text boxes, content dividers, e.g. which will display great on all different kinds of devices.
- Add Animation To Web Pages: The 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
Landing page sets are 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 add conversion-optimized pages to your site)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Everything is hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time creating and customizing web pages for your WordPress web site
- 100% conversion-optimized pages
- No technical skills required
- Works with all themes
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 over thirty templates available, with more templates being worked on. 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.
Completely Customizable And Flexible Landing Page Template
Typically, to be able to have a completely customizable landing page template, you would need to either hire a web 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 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 building conversion-optimized web pages.”
Thrive Landing Pages gives you attractive pre-designed 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 …
The landing page templates included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Change text in any button, headline, bullet point, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other element of the landing page
- Replace the background image and edit colours
- Change the color of buttons, links, text, etc.
- Use your own fonts
- Use your own images
- Modify content area size
- Change the order of elements on your page
- Translate pages into different languages
- Add any kind of custom content anywhere inside the pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own pages from scratch and save them as new page templates.
(Change or customize any aspect of the page template)
Thrive Lightbox Plugin – Transform Your WordPress Website Into A Powerful Marketing Machine
The Thrive package includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully configurable two-step opt-in forms and events to your content pages …
(Add opt-in forms and events to your pages with Thrive Lightbox)
Thrive Lighbox Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process helps improve your conversion rates. When visitors click on an image or button they are presented with your opt-in form …
(2-step opt-in forms help increase your conversion rates.)
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 graphic elements, 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, slide in from top to bottom, roll out, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your WordPress site with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Lightboxes and events are created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over your events, triggers and design.
User Testimonials
Here are some of the testimonials users 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”
Plugin 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 installed.
You can add shortcodes inside the Content Builder or Landing Pages plugin and they will be displayed correctly on on your site.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build with Thrive Content Builder.
Thrive Content Builder Support
Thrive Content and Page Builder Plugin comes with free updates, new landing templates and upcoming features. The Thrive team is constantly working on adding new features and improving existing ones.
Thrive plugins are really well-supported, and users get unlimited upgrades, and 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, 30 day, complete money-back guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users that just keeps getting better.
Product Licensing 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 license lets you use the plugin on a single website. It includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Edition – This license allows you to use the plugin on all of your personal sites. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency Edition – Use on all your domains and on all your client websites. Pricing includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: Pricing for Thrive Content Builder depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. When we last checked, the product is being retailed for the pricing shown above. This may or may not be the actual pricing charged by the software developer when you visit the plugin site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing:
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 the time-saving benefits of ready-made page elements and conversion-optimized template sets that help speed up content creation, and on the other hand, you have 100% control over the design process and the freedom to change anything and everything on your page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, that allows you to work unhindered by overly complicated options.
For demo videos of the plugin in action, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive Content Builder website.
The Bottom Line …
If you want to edit something, simply 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 simply drag it and drop it into its new position. There are no additional steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your web site and create awesome sales pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For more details, check out the plugin here:
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