WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool into a tool that is now being used to create all kinds of sites.
Whatever you can imagine, someone is most likely already building it with WordPress!
In this article you will discover how to create stunning content and design beautiful layouts with drag & drop ease in WordPress websites.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
The WordPress Visual Editor – Is There A Better Option To Create And Edit Content In WordPress?
With all the rapid advancements that WordPress has gone through in recent years, many WordPress developers and users feel that the WordPress content editor is now lagging behind all other developments being made to the software.
(The WordPress WYSIWYG content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional text and media, but adding more complex content elements can be challenging!)
For example, if you look at the image below …
Creating the above in a page would require inserting something like this into your WordPress editor …
Normally, this is not an issue … unless you have to change the layout (for example, move part of the content from box 1 into box 2, or change the button in box 3 from dark green to light blue. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with code inside the content editor.
The WordPress content editor is supposed to be an easy-to-use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) content editor, but as you can see, when working with more complex layouts, what you see on your screen may not be the same as what you get …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some cases, users could be better off working inside the text editor tab instead of the WYSIWYG editor when trying to build non-linear page elements …
Even though WordPress is very user-friendly, this makes it difficult for non-technical website owners to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental problem about having to use HTML and shortcodes to create content in WordPress can be summarized by asking two questions:
1) Speed – How long does it take to build a web page using this editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the ”back end” resemble the “front end” content when you are creating or editing a page?
As you can see from the above image, what you see in the content editor looks nothing like what you see in the front end. This means that users 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 going back and forth between tabs and performing updates to see how your content is coming along, which interrupts the creative process, as you wait for your updated content to refresh.
A number of WordPress web developers have come up with various solutions to try and address this issue. Some of these range from standalone plugins you can install on your site that add new functionality to the editor, to themes that offer 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 need to learn how to work with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these alternative editors work fine, but they fail to address the fundamental issue of using HTML and shortcodes as described earlier. Creating, adding and editing 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 to create or edit complex layouts 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 web page builder to work?
Now that you’ve asked this question, imagine this …
- You look at your content and if you see something that needs to be corrected, just click on the content and start editing it. Your content is instantly fixed.
- You can drag and drop items on the page, and the page looks exactly as it will display on the front end without having to mentally translate any code.
- You have an idea for a specific item of content that you’d like to create, so you simply start typing, and your page gets built on the fly, with no delays, with no switching tabs, and without waiting for pages to reload.
Would that not be the perfect way to create content for your web site? A true WYSIWYG content editor where all you have to do is click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around your posts and pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex pages ”on the fly” 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 Landing Pages And Content Builder – WordPress Click-To-Edit Drag And Drop Content And Page Building Plugin
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive click-to-edit drag-and-drop content and page builder for WordPress.
Thrive Content Builder is a new and exciting way to speed up the process of adding content to WordPress websites.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor with a sidebar menu that lets you click, then drag and drop design elements to your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new visual content editing option to your WordPress site)
Thrive Content Builder And Landing Pages 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.
Let’s review each of the above plugins and how all of this functionality works together to help you easily transform and improve your business online and create awesome marketing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder
With the Thrive Content Builder plugin, you can easily add content to your web pages and build complex page layouts using drag and drop elements …
Every element of your page can be configured by ”clicking-to-edit” and “dragging and dropping” things around the page …
Once you have positioned your elements on the page, you can then customize them without having to go through multiple steps or switching screens …
You can also create beautiful 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 pages with Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder installed is so amazingly easy, that the developers guarantee that you’ll never look at the process of 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 terrific plugin that we have recommended on this site.
Go here to read about the 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:
Be Up And Running In Minutes
Thrive Content Builder installs just like every other WP plugin. Just upload the plugin file to your Plugins folder via your WP admin user login and activate.
Edit Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is is not only really simple to use, it also lets you build content in real-time.
A Truly Visual Content Builder
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see as you work within the editor – typefaces, elements, layouts, etc. is exactly what you get on the front end of your site.
Some additional plugin benefits include:
- Attractive Layouts With Drag And Drop Ease: Create any type of layout you can imagine with drag and drop ease.
- Add Design Elements With No Shortcodes Involved: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get an amazing click-to-edit WordPress content builder, but the plugin also includes a collection of customizable web design elements that you can insert into your pages without using shortcodes, such as columns, table of contents builder, buttons, responsive videos, etc.
- More Enjoyable Content Creation: Not having to wait for your new 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 need done.
(Insert, edit and customize page elements like testimonial boxes, pricing tables, feature grids, section dividers, responsive maps, etc.)
Thrive Content Builder Features
Thrive Content Builder provides website owners many unique features. Below we have listed just a few:
- 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. underline, left-aligned text, heading styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Multi-Style Elements: The plugin makes a “drag and drop” table of multi-style elements available on your post or page screen when creating and editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin provides you with various eye-catching and customizable elements that will help you increase your sales conversions, 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 responsive elements like columns, boxes, content section dividers, e.g. which will display correctly on devices with differently sized screens.
- Add Animation Events To Pages: The Event Manager feature lets you insert animation in buttons, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Web Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Landing Page Template 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 initial signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages lets you easily add conversion-optimized web pages to your site)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time creating and customizing web pages
- 100% conversion-optimized page templates
- No tech skills required
- Works with any WordPress theme
Thrive Content and Landing Page Builder 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 currently over thirty templates available, with more templates scheduled for release. In addition to the templates shown above, expect to see new templates in the future for email lead generation, sales pages, lesson pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Fully Customizable Landing Page Template Sets
Typically, in order to have a fully customizable landing page template, you would need to either hire a web 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 mess around with code or use 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 beautiful pre-built web pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change and edit any element of your page template …
The landing page template sets included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Edit text in any headline, bullet point, button, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other part of the landing page
- Change all background images and background colours
- Change the color of links, buttons, text, etc.
- Choose your own fonts
- Select your own images
- Modify content area size
- Change the order of elements on your page
- Translate pages into different languages
- Add custom content anywhere in your pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own from scratch and save them as new page templates.
(Change and edit any aspect of the page template)
Transform Your WordPress Website Into A Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox Plugin
The Thrive plugin combo includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully configurable two-step opt-in forms and events to your website …
(Add lead capture forms and animation to your WordPress site with Thrive Lightbox)
2-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-step opt-in process helps improve your conversion rates. When visitors click on a button or image they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Opt-in forms help to increase your conversion rates.)
Thrive Lightbox 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 graphic elements, 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 from the page center, slide in from bottom to top, rotate, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your WordPress web site 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.
User Feedback
Here are just some testimonials and comments that plugin users have written about Thrive Content Builder:
”You guys are simply awesome I am loving everything you are doing at the moment. Keep up the great work you really are making such a big difference in this field. Jule Fuller”
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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 WordPress theme, not just with the Thrive Landing Pages plugin. Note, however, that you cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content that was not created using the plugin.
You can add WordPress short codes inside the Content Builder or Landing Pages plugin and they will display correctly on on your web site.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build using Thrive Content Builder.
Support
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages 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 well-supported, and users get unlimited software updates, and 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, thirty day, full money-back guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users that just keeps getting better.
Product License 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 Edition – This enables you to use the plugin on a single site. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Price = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Licensing – This enables you to configure the plugin on unlimited websites that you personally own. It includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency License – This lets you set up the plugin on all of your own sites and all client web sites. Cost includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Price = $247.00 per year.
Note: The cost to purchase the Thrive Content Builder software depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Currently, the software retails for the prices shown above. This may not be the actual pricing set by the plugin seller when you visit the site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Plugin Information
The Thrive Content and Landing Page Builder plugin developers 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 time-saving features like ready-made web page elements and beautiful, conversion-optimized template sets that help to speed up content design, and on the other hand, you have complete control over your design process and the ability to change anything and everything on your page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, that lets you get things done without having to keep switching tabs or going through multiple steps.
For ”how-to” videos of the plugin in action, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive plugins website.
Install The 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, all you need 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 website and create awesome sales pages and engaging content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For complete details, visit the plugin website:
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