WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging application to a tool being used to design all types of pages – marketing pages, portfolio pages, business pages, etc.
Whatever you can imagine, someone is most likely already building it using WordPress!
In this article you will learn how to create stunning content faster with drag & drop ease in WordPress.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
The WordPress Editor – Is There An Easier Option For Creating Content Layouts In WordPress?
With so many advancements that the WordPress platform has undergone in recent years, many WordPress developers and users believe that the WordPress editor is lagging behind all other improvements made to the software.
(The WordPress visual content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” text and images, but adding more complex page elements can be challenging!)
For example, if you look at the screenshot below …
To add the above to your content would require entering something that looks like this into the default WordPress visual content editor …
Typically, this is not an issue … until you choose to change some part of your layout (for example, move part of the content from box 3 into box 2, or replace the button inside box 3 from dark green to maroon. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code or html.
The WordPress content editor is supposed to be an easy-to-use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, but as you can see, if you are trying to create more complex page elements, often what you see in the WordPress visual editor screen may not be what you get …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some instances, users could even be better off working directly inside the WordPress html editor tab instead of the WYSIWYG editor when trying to build fancy 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 issue of using shortcodes and HTML to create content in the default WordPress visual editor can be summarized as follows:
1) Speed – How long will it take to build a web page using the 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 in the content editor doesn’t look anything 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 sophisticated layouts. Other solutions require taking multiple 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 can affect how quickly you can create your content, as you wait for the page to load.
Many WordPress web developers have tried to come up with different solutions with the aim of addressing this issue. Some of these solutions range from standalone WordPress plugins you can add to your site that add new functionality to the editor, to WordPress themes that include built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make creating complex page layouts easier!)
Some solutions require so many complex page design features, that users need to learn how to work with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these solutions work, but they don’t really seem to address the fundamental challenge of using shortcodes and HTML as described earlier. Adding and editing 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 page content to look ”perfect” quickly, this can start to become very frustrating.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like to build and edit your web pages?
Now, imagine this …
- You look at your content and if you spot something that needs to be corrected, just click on the content and start writing. Your content has been instantly edited.
- You can just drag and drop items around the page, and the page looks exactly as it will appear on the front end without having to mentally translate shortcodes or HTML.
- You have an idea for a specific piece of content you would like to add, so you simply start typing, and you build your web page as you go, without delays, with no switching of tab browsers, and no waiting for edits to refresh and reload.
Would this not be the ideal way to create content for your WordPress web site? Just click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around your posts and pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex web pages in real-time for your web content with no 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 Plugin – The Ultimate Drag And Drop Front End Editor For WordPress Web Sites
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a ground-breaking WordPress plugin that gives you total control over every aspect of your content layout using true click-to-edit and drag and drop simplicity.
The Thrive Content Builder plugin provides WordPress users with a new and incredibly easy way to speed up the process of creating content on.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder adds a visual content editor and a sidebar menu that lets you select, then drag and drop design elements on your page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new visual content builder to your WordPress site)
Thrive Content Builder And Landing Pages is actually a combination of the Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages plugins merged into one, plus an additional plugin feature called Thrive Lightbox.
We’ll examine each of the above plugins and how these powerful features work together to help you easily transform and improve your business online and create amazing sales pages and content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Click-To-Edit Drag And Drop Content Editor
With the Thrive Content Builder plugin, you can easily build complex web page design layouts using drag and drop elements …
Everything on your web page can be designed and edited with ”click-to-edit” and “drag and drop” ease …
Once elements have been positioned on a page, you can then continue to customize or edit them without having to go through multiple steps or switching tabs …
The built-in Thrive Landing Pages also lets you work inside beautiful 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, designing web pages and working on content with Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder installed is so effortlessly 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 will never look back!
Go here to learn more: Thrive Content Builder
Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages were created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another terrific plugin we’ve previously reviewed on this site.
To read about the plugin, see this page:
Benefits
Here are just some of the many benefits of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up content creation:
Quick And Simple To Install And Set Up. Ready To Start Using In Minutes.
Thrive Content Builder installs just like every WP plugin. Simply upload a zip file that contains the plugin to your Plugin folder via your WordPress admin login and activate.
Real-Time Content Content Editing
Thrive Content Builder is very simple and intuitive to use and lets you build content in real-time.
What You See Is Really What You Get
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see as you work within the content editor – fonts, visual elements, layouts, etc. is exactly what your visitors will see in the front end of your site.
Some additional plugin benefits include:
- Design Beautiful Page Layouts With Drag-And-Drop Ease: Create any kind of layout you can imagine with drag-and-drop ease.
- Design Elements Included: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get a drag and drop content editor, but the plugin also includes a collection of functional and eye-catching web design elements that you can customizable and use on your content layouts without using shortcodes, like columns, feature grids, call to action buttons, Google Map embeds, etc.
- Distraction-Free Content Creation: Not having to constantly switch tabs as you tweak content and then wait for for your updated content to reload frees up your attention and allows you to build the web pages your business needs, quickly and without having to edit code or click through multiple layers of menus to get what you want done.
(Create, edit and customize page elements like testimonial boxes, columns, borderless content, dividers, Google Map embeds, etc.)
Thrive Content Builder Features
Thrive Content Builder provides website owners many unique features. Below we have listed just a few:
- All Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have all of the regular WordPress content editing options that you are used to (e.g. underline, centering text, headings, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements Menu: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” list of multi-style 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, various elements also offer multiple design options.
- Responsive Element Design: Add responsive columns, boxes, dividers, e.g. which will resize and display correctly on different device screens.
- Add Animation To Your Pages: The plugin’s Event Manager feature lets you insert animated page elements, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Web Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages – 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 initial signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages plugin gives you conversion-optimized page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Everything is hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time creating and customizing pages for your website
- 100% conversion-optimized landing pages
- No tech skills needed
- Works with all themes
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages not only lets you create beautiful 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 30+ templates available, with more templates planned for future 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
Normally, in order to have completely customizable landing page templates, 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 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 great-looking 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 the page …
With the landing page templates included with this plugin, you can do the following:
- Modify text in any button, bullet point, headline, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other part of your landing page
- Replace the background image or background color
- Change the color of buttons, links, text, etc.
- Choose your own fonts
- Select your own images
- Change the size of the content area
- Change the order of page elements
- Translate pages into different languages
- 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 or edit any aspect of the page template)
Transform Your WordPress Site Into A Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox
The Thrive plugin package includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully editable 2-step opt-in forms and events to your pages …
(Add lead capture forms and animation to your marketing pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Thrive Lighbox Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process helps to improve your conversion rates. When visitors click on a button or image they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Visitors click on a button and are presented with an opt-in form)
Thrive Lightbox 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 an image, or when someone scrolls down to a certain point on the page. You can also use the Event Manager to animate images on your web pages, using various animation effects (e.g. zoom in from the page center, slide in from right to left, rotate, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your web pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
A lightbox and event is created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over events, triggers and design.
Testimonials
Below are a few of the testimonials and comments that plugin users have published 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”
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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”
Thrive Content Builder – Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any WordPress theme, not just with the Thrive Landing Pages plugin. You cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content on existing pages or posts that were not created with the plugin installed.
You can add WordPress short codes inside Thrive Content Builder or Thrive Landing Pages and they will be displayed correctly on your website.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build with Thrive Content Builder.
Support
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder Plugin comes with 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 upgrades, plus 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, 30 day, complete refund guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users that just keeps getting better.
Product 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 Edition – This allows you to activate the plugin on 1 site only. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Price = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Licensing – This license enables you to use the plugin on all of your personal web sites. Price includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency License – Use on your sites & on all your client web sites. Cost includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Note: Current pricing for this product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The price shown above was correct when this content was published. This may or may not be the actual pricing set by the software seller when you visit the website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for the current price:
Additional Info
The developers of the Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages 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 time-saving features like ready-made page elements and conversion-optimized template sets that help speed up content design, and on the other hand, you have 100% control over the design process and the ability to change and customize anything and everything on your web page, using the plugin’s click-to-edit and drag and drop features, which allows you to get things done without having to go through multiple steps.
For a demo video showing how the software works, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the plugin website.
Get This Plugin …
If you want to edit something, simply click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, do it, and you can see the change happen instantly. If you want to move something, just drag it and drop it into its new position. There are no extra steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your web site and create awesome sales pages and engaging content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For more information, visit the plugin website:
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