WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging application into a tool being used to create all types of web sites.
Whatever you can think of, someone is bound to be already building it with WordPress!
This article will help you discover the simplest visual content builder for WordPress.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The Default WordPress Editor Still Meet All Of Your Content Creation And Editing Needs?
Using the default WordPress editor to build or edit complex page layouts can be quite difficult.
(The default WordPress content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” text and media, but adding complex layouts can be quite challenging!)
For example, if you look at the illustration below …
To create the above layout, users would normally have to add shortcodes to the content for every element they would like to display …
Normally, this is not an issue … unless you decide to change something in the layout (for example, move part of the content from box 3 into box 2, or change the button inside box 3 from bright red to gray. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code or html.
The WordPress editor is supposed to be an easy-to-use WYSIWYG editor, but as you can see, if you are trying to edit complex page elements, often what you see is not really what you get …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some cases, you could be better off working with the html source itself instead of the WordPress visual editor when trying to add something other than simple layouts …
Even though WordPress is the most user-friendly CMS platform available, this makes it difficult for non-technical website owners to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental problem about having to use shortcodes and HTML to create content in the default WordPress 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 “front end” content when you are creating or editing a page?
As you can see from the above, what you see when working in the back end 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 a number of steps before you can start configuring your page layout, or endlessly going back and forth between browser tabs and performing updates to see how your content is coming along, which can interrupt the creative process, as you wait for for your updated content to refresh.
Many WordPress developers have tried to come up with a range of solutions to address this issue. Some of these solutions range from WP plugins you can install on your site that add new functionality to the editor, to WordPress themes that come with built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make creating complex layouts easier!)
Some solutions end up including so many page-building features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these solutions work, but they don’t address the fundamental problem with 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 your web pages to look “just right” quickly, this can become quite frustrating.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like to build and edit your content?
Now, imagine this …
- You spot something in your content that needs correction so you, just click on the content and start typing. Your content is then instantly changed.
- You can just drag and drop elements around the page, and the page looks exactly as it will appear on the front end without having to mentally visualize any code.
- You have an idea for an item of content you would like to create, so you simply begin typing, and your page gets built on the fly, without delays, without tab switching, and without waiting for edits to refresh and reload.
Would this not be the ideal way to build content for your website? Just click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex web 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 And Beautiful Page Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease In WordPress Sites
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive click-to-edit drag and drop content builder for WordPress.
The Thrive Content Builder plugin is a new and incredibly easy way to speed up the process of creating great content on your WordPress website.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder adds a visual content editor and an item menu that lets you click, then drag and drop design elements on your page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new editor to your WordPress site)
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 address all of the above plugins and how all of this functionality works seamlessly together to help you transform and improve your site and create awesome marketing pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Plugin
You can easily add complex design layouts to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Every aspect of your page can be built and edited using simple ”click-to-edit” and “drag and drop” …
Once you have placed elements on a page, you can then customize or edit these without going through multiple steps or switching screens …
The built-in Landing Pages editor also lets you build highly attractive 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 web pages and working on content with the Thrive Content Builder plugin installed is so amazingly easy, that the developers warn that once you start using it, it will ruin the experience of using any other content editor forever, and you will never look back!
More info: Thrive Content Builder
Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages were created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another excellent plugin for WordPress that we have recommended on this site.
To read about the plugin, see this article:
Plugin Benefits
Below are just some of the many benefits and advantages of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up content creation:
Fast And Easy To Install And Use. Ready To Use In Minutes.
Thrive Content Builder installs just like every other plugin. Simply upload a zip folder containing the plugin files to your Plugin folder via your dashboard and activate.
Edit And Add Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is very simple and intuitive to use and lets you edit content in real-time.
What You See Is Truly What You Get
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see as you work within the content editor – typefaces, elements, layouts, etc. is exactly what you get in the front end of your site.
Some additional benefits and advantages include:
- Design Beautiful Page Layouts With Drag And Drop Ease: Create any kind of layout you can imagine with intuitive drag-and-drop functionality.
- Design Elements Included: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get a drag and drop content builder, but the plugin also includes an impressive collection of professional design elements that you can customizable and insert into your content layouts without using short codes, like columns, feature grids, call to action buttons, HTML code insert boxes, etc.
- More Enjoyable Content Creation: Not having to deal with technical stuff for for your updated content to reload frees up your attention and allows you to be more focused while you work or click through multiple layers of menus to get what you need done.
(Add, edit and customize web page elements like testimonials, flat design elements, borderless content, page section dividers, credit card icons, etc.)
Features
Thrive Content Builder provides site owners many powerful features. Here are just some:
- Regular Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have all of the built-in WordPress text editing options that you are used to (e.g. underlines, paragraph formatting, headings and font sizes, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Multi-Style Elements Menu: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” table of elements to your post or page screen for creating and editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin comes 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 guarantee forms. In addition to customization options, multiple design options are also available for various elements.
- Mobile-Friendly Design: Add mobile-friendly columns, guarantee boxes, content section dividers, e.g. which will adjust to display great on different device screens.
- Add Animation Events To Web Pages: Thrive Content Builder’s Event Manager feature lets you insert animations, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Landing Page Sets
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 signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages lets you easily add conversion-optimized web pages to your web site)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Benefits
- Everything is hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time building and customizing landing pages
- 100% conversion-optimized web page templates
- No technical skills needed
- Works with all WordPress themes
Thrive Content and Page 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, page templates that are conversion-optimized and fully customizable …
(Landing page sets that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language)
There are 30+ templates available, with more templates being worked on. In addition to the templates shown above, the developers plan to release new web page templates for email lead generation, sales pages, course pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Fully Customizable Landing Page Template Sets
Typically, in order to fully customize a 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 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 stunning pre-designed web pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change or edit anything on the page …
The landing page templates included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Modify text in all buttons, headlines, bullet points, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other element of the landing page
- Replace the background image and background colours
- Edit the color of links, text, buttons, etc.
- Select your own fonts
- Use your own images
- Edit the size of the content area
- Change the order of elements on your page
- Translate everything on the page into different languages
- Add any type of custom content anywhere inside any of the pages
- Start with a blank page and create your own page templates, or even build your own custom landing pages library.
(Change or customize any element of your page template)
Thrive Lightbox Plugin – Transform Your Web Site Into A Marketing Machine
The Thrive plugin combo also includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully configurable two-step opt-in forms and events to your website …
(Add opt-in forms and animation to your pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Thrive Lighbox Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-step opt-in process helps increase your conversion rates. Visitors click on a button or image, and then they are presented with your opt-in form …
(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 your visitor clicks or hovers their mouse over a button or an image, 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. zoom in from the page center, slide in from top to bottom, roll out, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your web pages with Thrive Lightbox)
A lightbox and event is 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 plugin users have submitted regarding Thrive Content Builder:
“I have had nothing but the best experience imaginable with this tool since I purchased it. This is by far one of, if not the best plug-in I have purchase to date and it has definitely made working with WordPress a whole new experience. Jim Bond”
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“I’m blown away by the plugin. Keep up the incredible, WordPress changing work, guys! Dean Phillips”
Thrive Content Builder – Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any theme in WordPress, not just with Thrive Landing Pages. Note, however, that you cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content that was not created with the plugin.
You can add WordPress shortcodes 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 Landing Pages and Content Builder provides free updates, new landing pages and upcoming features. The plugin developers are constantly working on adding new features and improving existing ones.
Thrive plugins are well-supported, and users get lifetime upgrades, and one year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, 30 day, complete money-back 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 Edition – This lets you activate the plugin on a single web site. Price includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Licensing – This license option allows you to run the plugin on all of your personal websites. Cost includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency Edition – Use on all your domains & on client domains. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Price = $247.00 per year.
Note: Pricing for the product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. When we last checked, the plugin sells for the prices shown above. This may or may not be the actual price set by the plugin developer when you visit the plugin site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Information
The developers of the Thrive Content and Page Builder 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 time-saving features like ready-made page elements and template sets that help to make designing your content faster, and on the other hand, you also have complete control over your design process and the ability to change and customize everything on your web page, using the plugin’s click-to-edit and drag and drop features, that lets you work unhindered by overly complicated options.
For ”how to” videos of the plugin in action, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive plugins website.
We Recommend …
If you want to edit something, you just click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, do it, and you will see the change happen immediately. If you want to move something, simply drag it and drop it into its new location. There are no additional steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your web site and create amazing marketing pages and content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For more information, check out the plugin here:
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