WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging application into a tool being used to design all types of pages – landing pages, portfolio pages, local business pages, etc.
Whatever you can think of, someone is probably already building it with WordPress!
In this article you will discover the simplest, most intuitive WYSIWYG content editor for WordPress.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
The WordPress Visual Editor – Is There A Better Way To Design Stunning-Looking Web Site Pages In WordPress?
With all the rapid improvements that the WordPress platform has undergone in recent years, many WordPress users feel that using the WordPress content editor to build or edit complex web pages can sometimes be quite difficult.
(The WordPress visual content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional text and images, but adding complex content elements can be challenging!)
For example, if you look at the illustration below …
To create the above layout, you would normally need to insert short codes into the content for each page element you want to add to your page …
Normally, this is not an issue … until you decide to change your layout (for example, move some of the content from box 1 into box 2, or replace the background colour in a box from red to gold. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with code inside the content editor.
The WordPress content editor is supposed to provide users with an easy-to-use WYSIWYG content editor, but as you can see, when working with complex page elements, what you see may not be what you get …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some situations, some people argue that you could even be better off working with the source html itself instead of the WordPress WYSIWYG editor when trying to create something other than simple page elements …
Even though WordPress is extremely easy to use, this makes it difficult for non-technical website owners to have full control of their own content.
The fundamental challenge of having to use shortcodes and HTML to create content in the default WordPress WYSIWYG editor can be summarized as follows:
1) Speed – How long will it take to create a page using this editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the ”back end” match 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 back end does not look at all like what you see in the front end. This means that you need to translate mentally what your content will look like when working with complex layouts. Other solutions require multiple steps before you can begin configuring your page layout, or endlessly switching tabs and performing updates to see how your content is coming along, which can interrupt the creative process, as you wait for your updated content to reload.
A number of WordPress developers have come up with various solutions with the objective of addressing this issue. Some of these alternative solutions range from standalone WP plugins you can add to your site that add new functionality to the editor, to WP 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 combining so many page-building features, that users need to learn how to work with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these editors work, but they don’t address the fundamental challenge 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 your page content to look ”perfect” quickly, this can become quite frustrating.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your web page builder to behave?
Now, visualize this …
- You spot something in your content that needs fixing so you, just click on the content and start writing. Your content has been instantly edited.
- You can just drag and drop elements around the page, and see them exactly as they will display on the front end without having to mentally translate code.
- You have an idea for some content you’d like to create, so you just begin typing, and you build your page as you go, without delays, no tab switching, and no waiting for edits to republish and reload.
Would that not be the ideal way to create content for your site? Just click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around your page?
(Imagine being able to create complex web page layouts in real-time 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 Landing Pages And Content Builder
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a ground-breaking plugin for WordPress that gives you total control over every aspect of your content 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 amazing content to WordPress sites.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder adds a visual content editor and a sidebar menu that lets you drag and drop elements on your page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new visual editor 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.
Let’s examine all of the above and how these exciting features work together to help you easily transform and improve your business online and create amazing sales pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Plugin
This plugin lets you easily add content to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Everything on your web page can be configured, edited and rearranged by ”clicking-to-edit” and “dragging and dropping” things around the page …
Once elements have been positioned on a page, you can continue to further edit or customize them without having to go through multiple steps or switching screens …
The built-in Thrive Landing Pages also lets you create 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 amazingly easy, that the developers warn that once you start using it, it’ll ruin the experience of using all other content editors forever, and you’ll never look back!
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 for WordPress that we have previously written about on this site.
To read more about this plugin, go here:
Benefits
Below we have listed just a few of the benefits and advantages of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up your page design and content creation process:
Easy & Fast To Install
Thrive Content Builder is really easy to install. Simply upload a zip folder containing the plugin to your Plugin folder via your admin area and activate.
Real-Time Content Content Editing
Thrive Content Builder is very simple to use and lets you create and edit content in real-time.
What You See Is Truly What You Get
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see on the “back-end” as you work within the editor – fonts, visual elements, layouts, etc. is exactly what you get on the front end of your site.
Additional plugin benefits include the following:
- Add Beautiful Web Page Layouts With Drag And Drop Ease: Create any layout you can imagine with intuitive drag and drop functionality.
- Add Customizable Elements With No Short Codes Required: With Thrive Content Builder you not only get a click-to-edit WordPress content builder, but the plugin also includes a jaw-dropping collection of professional design elements that you can use on your pages without using shortcodes, such as content toggle, styled lists, dividers, responsive Google maps, etc.
- Ideal For Non-Technical Users: Not having to deal with technical stuff, or wait for your 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 layers of menus to get what you need done.
(Thrive Content Builder lets you easily add, edit and customize page elements like testimonial boxes, flat design elements, content boxes, buttons, HTML code insert boxes, etc.)
Thrive Content Builder Features
Thrive Content Builder offers WP users many powerful features. Below we have listed just some:
- Built-In WordPress Content Functionality Is Still Available: You have all of the built-in WordPress editing options that you are used to (e.g. underline, centering text, font styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” list of elements to your post or page screen when creating and editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin provides you with various attention-grabbing and customizable elements that will help increase your sales conversions, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonial boxes, and guarantee forms. In addition to being customizable, multiple design options are also available for various elements.
- Mobile-Friendly Design: Add mobile-friendly elements like column layouts, guarantee boxes, section dividers, e.g. which will display correctly on different-sized screens.
- Add Animation To Your Web Pages: Thrive Content Builder’s Event Manager feature lets you add animated page content, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – 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 lets you add conversion-optimized pages to your web site)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time creating pages
- 100% conversion-optimized web pages
- No coding skills needed
- Works with any theme
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder not only can be used to create beautiful content in your WordPress posts and pages, but you can also choose from dozens of professionally 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 planned for future 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.
Customizable Landing Page Template Sets
Typically, in order to fully customize a landing page template, you would need to either pay a web site designer 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 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-designed page templates that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that lets you change or customize any aspect of the page template …
The landing page templates included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Change text in all buttons, headlines, bullet points, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other element of your landing page
- Replace all background images and edit colour
- Edit the color of text, buttons, links, etc.
- Use your own fonts
- Use your own images
- Edit content area size
- Rearrange the order of elements on your page
- Translate pages into a different language
- Add custom content inside the pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own pages from scratch and save them as new page templates.
(Change and customize any element of the page)
Thrive Lightbox Plugin – Transform Your Site Into A Marketing Machine
The Thrive plugin package also includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully customizable two-step opt-in forms and events to your web site …
(Add lead capture forms and animation to your WordPress website with Thrive Lightbox)
Thrive Lighbox Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-step opt-in process helps to increase your conversion rates. Visitors click on an image or button, and then they are presented with your opt-in form …
(When visitors click on the button, they are presented with an opt-in form)
Thrive Lightbox Event Manager
An “event” consists of a trigger and an action. You can make an opt-in form appear when when visitors click or hover their mouse over a button or graphic elements, or when someone scrolls down to 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 out, slide in from left to right, roll out, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your WordPress website with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Lightboxes and events are created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over all events, triggers and design.
User Feedback
Below are a couple of the testimonials that users have submitted regarding 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 WordPress theme, not just with the Thrive Landing Pages plugin. Note, however, that 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 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 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 products are well-supported, and users get unlimited upgrades, and one year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, thirty day, complete refund guarantee.
This is an exciting product that will just keep getting better.
Plugin 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 lets you set up the plugin on a single domain. Pricing includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Price = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Licensing – This lets you activate the plugin on unlimited sites that you own. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency License – This lets you set up the plugin on all of your own domains and your client web sites. It includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: Price details for the product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The above reflects the pricing at the time this review was written. This may not be the actual pricing set by the software seller when you visit the website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest pricing information here:
Additional Plugin Information
The developers of the Thrive Content and Landing Page 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 page elements and beautiful, conversion-optimized templates that help to make designing your content faster, and on the other hand, you also have complete control over the design process and the ability to change anything and everything on your web page, using the plugin’s click-to-edit and drag and drop features, that allows you to see how the content you are working on will look when published.
For a demo video showing how the plugin works, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive plugins 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’ll see the change happen immediately. 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 unnecessary steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your website and create awesome marketing pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
To learn more, check out the plugin here:
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