WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool into a tool that can be used to design all types of web pages – marketing pages, portfolio pages, business pages, etc.
Whatever you can think of, someone is most likely already building it using WordPress!
In this article you will discover the simplest visual editor for WordPress.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
The WordPress Editor – Is There An Easier Way To Create Content Layouts In WordPress?
With all the rapid advancements that WordPress has gone through in recent years, many WordPress users believe that the WordPress content editor is more suitable for performing simple content editing than creating and editing page content with more complex layouts.
(The WordPress WYSIWYG content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional text and media, but adding complex layouts can be quite challenging!)
For example, let’s say you want to create something like the content shown below …
To create the above in your content would require entering something that looks like this in the WordPress content editor …
Generally, this is not really an issue … unless you choose to change the layout (for example, move part of the content from box 3 into box 2, or change the background colour inside box 1 from red to orange. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code.
The WordPress editor is supposed to be an easy-to-use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, but as you can see, when working with more complex page elements, often what you see on your screen may not be what you are getting when your content is published …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some situations, users could even be better off working directly inside the html editor tab instead of the visual editor when trying to add non-linear page elements …
Even though WordPress is very user-friendly, this makes it difficult for users with no knowledge of HTML or CSS to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental issue about having to use HTML and shortcodes to create content in WordPress can be summarized as follows:
1) Speed – How long will it take to create a web page using this editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the ”back end” resemble the content in the “front end” when you are creating or editing a page?
As you can see from the above, what you see in the back end does not look at all like what you see in the front end. This means that users have to translate mentally what the content will look like when working with sophisticated layouts. Other solutions require several steps before you can begin configuring your page layout, or endlessly going back and forth between tabs and performing updates to see how your content is progressing, which can impact how quickly you can create your content, as you wait for your updated content to refresh.
A number of WordPress web developers have tried to come up with various solutions with the objective of addressing this issue. These range from standalone WP plugins you can install on your site that add new functionality to the editor, to themes that provide built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make creating complex content easier!)
Some solutions include so many page design features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these solutions work, but they don’t address the fundamental issue of 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 really frustrating.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like to build and edit your pages?
Now that you’ve asked this question, visualize the following …
- You spot something in the content that needs to be changed so you, just click on the content and start writing. Your content has been instantly changed.
- You can drag and drop elements on the page, and the page looks exactly as it will appear on the front end without having to mentally visualize HTML or shortcodes.
- You have an idea for a specific piece of content you would like to add, so you immediately start typing, and you build your page as you go, without delays, without switching tabs, and without waiting for new web pages to resave and reload.
Would this not be the ideal way to build content for your WordPress web site? A true WYSIWYG content builder where all you have to do is click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the posts and pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex pages 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 Content Builder And Landing Pages
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive WordPress click-to-edit drag-and-drop content creation tool.
Thrive Content Builder is a new and exciting way to set up conversion-focused pages on any WordPress website.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder adds a visual content editor and an item menu that lets you click, then drag and drop elements to your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new visual content builder 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 cover each of the above and how all of this functionality works seamlessly together to help you transform and improve your website and create amazing sales pages and content.
Thrive Content Builder Plugin
You can easily build complex web page design layouts using drag and drop elements …
Every aspect of your web page can be designed by dragging and dropping things around the page and then clicking to edit them …
Once you have positioned your elements on your page, you can continue to further edit or customize them without going through multiple steps or opening new option screens …
You can also work inside stunning landing pages that can also be easily edited …
Thrive 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 the Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder plugin installed is so effortlessly simple, that the developers guarantee that you will never look at the process of creating and adding content the same way once you start using it
To learn more about the plugin go here: Thrive Content Builder
The integrated Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages plugin was created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another amazing plugin that we have recommended on this site.
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Benefits Of Using Thrive Content Builder And Landing Pages Plugin
Below are just a few of the benefits of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up the process of creating content for your WordPress website:
Quick And Simple To Install And Implement. Ready To Go To Work In Minutes.
Thrive Content Builder installs just like every other WP plugin. Simply upload it to your Plugins folder via your WP admin user area and activate.
Real-Time Content Content Creation
Thrive Content Builder is very simple and intuitive to use and lets you edit content in real-time.
A Truly Visual Editor
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see as you work within the editor – fonts, elements, page layouts, etc. is exactly what you get in the front end of your site.
Additional benefits include the following:
- Eye-Catching Web Page Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease: Create any kind of layout you can imagine with drag-and-drop ease.
- Add Design Elements With No Shortcodes Required: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get an exciting and easy-to-use drag and drop content editor, but the plugin also includes an impressive collection of functional and eye-catching design elements that you can add to your web pages without using shortcodes, for e.g.: columns, styled lists, testimonials, credit card icons, etc.
- Ideal For Non-Technical Users: Not having to deal with technical stuff for your content to refresh frees up your attention and allows you to be more focused while you build content or click through multiple steps to get what you want done.
(Easily create, edit and customize web page elements like testimonial boxes, pricing tables, table of contents builder, dividers, responsive video embeds, etc.)
Thrive Content Builder Features
Thrive Content Builder provides many great features to website owners. Here are just a few of these:
- Regular WordPress Editor Functionality Is Still Available: You have access to all of the regular content editing options that you are used to (e.g. underlines, paragraph formatting, heading styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements Menu: The plugin makes a “drag and drop” list of multi-style elements available on your post or page screen for creating or editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin includes various attention-grabbing and customizable elements that will help increase your sales conversions, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonials, and guarantee forms. In addition to being customizable, various elements also offer multiple design options.
- Responsive Design: Add mobile-friendly elements like column layouts, boxes, section dividers, e.g. which will resize and display great on different device screens.
- Add Animation To Your Web Pages: Thrive Content Builder’s Event Manager feature lets you add animated content elements, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your 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 signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages plugin provides you with conversion-optimized web page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Benefits
- Everything is hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time and money building landing pages for your web site
- 100% conversion-optimized web pages
- No web coding skills required
- Works with any theme
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, 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 30 templates available, with more templates planned for release. In addition to the templates that are currently available, the developers plan to release new page templates for email lead generation, sales pages, training pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Customizable Landing Page Template Sets
Typically, in order to have a completely customizable 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 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 building conversion-optimized web pages.”
Thrive Landing Pages gives you stunning pre-built web 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 templates …
With the landing page templates included with this plugin, you are able to:
- Edit text in all headlines, bullet points, buttons, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other component of the landing page
- Replace the background image and edit color
- Edit the color of links, text, buttons, etc.
- Select your own fonts
- Select your own images
- Modify the size of the content area
- Change the order of elements on the pages
- Translate pages into different languages
- Add any type of custom content inside the pages
- Start with a blank web page and create your own page templates, or even build a custom landing pages library.
(Change or edit any aspect of your page templates)
Thrive Lightbox Plugin – Transform Your WordPress Website Into A Powerful Marketing Machine
The Thrive package also includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully editable two-step opt-in forms and animated objects to your web pages …
(Add opt-in forms and events to your pages with Thrive Lightbox)
2-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process can help improve your conversion rates. Visitors click on a button or image, and then they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Opt-in forms can 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 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 attention-getting elements on your pages, using a range of effects (e.g. fade out, slide in from left to right, roll in, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your sales pages 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.
Testimonials
Here are just a few of the testimonials users have provided for the Thrive Content Builder plugin:
“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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”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 – Useful 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 that was not created using the plugin.
You can add WordPress short codes inside Thrive Content Builder or Thrive Landing Pages and they will display correctly on on your web site.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content built with Thrive Content Builder.
Thrive Content Builder Support
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder Plugin comes with 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 really well-supported, and users get lifetime software updates, and one year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, 30 day, full money-back guarantee.
This is an exciting product that just keeps getting better.
Plugin 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 Licensing – This allows you to install the plugin on 1 domain only. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Licensing – This license option enables you to use the plugin on unlimited sites that you own. It includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency Edition – This enables you to set up the plugin on all of your own domains and any client websites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Price = $247.00 per year.
Note: The price of this product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The above reflects the price at the time this article was written. This may or may not be the actual pricing charged by the product seller when you visit the product site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Info
The Thrive Content and Page Builder plugin developers 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 web page elements and beautiful, pre-designed template sets that help make designing your content faster, and on the other hand, you also have complete control over the design process and the ability to change everything on your page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, which allows you to see how the content you are working on will appear when published.
For a demo video of the plugin in action, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Thrive plugins website.
Get The Plugin …
If you want to edit something, just click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, 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 additional steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your business online and create amazing marketing pages and engaging content, Thrive Content and Landing Page Builder delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
To learn more, visit the plugin website here:
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