WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool to a tool that is now being used to create all types of sites.
Whatever you can imagine, somewhere around the world someone is probably already building it with WordPress!
This article will help you discover the fastest way to create stunning content and beautiful web page layouts in WordPress web sites.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Is The Default WordPress Visual Content Editor Meeting All Of Your Page Design Needs?
With all the many improvements that the WordPress platform has gone through in recent years, many WordPress developers and users feel that using the default WordPress WYSIWYG editor to build or edit more complex web site pages can be quite difficult.
(The WordPress WYSIWYG editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” content, but adding complex page elements 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 typing something like this inside your default WordPress visual editor …
Normally, this is not really an issue … until you have to reconfigure the layout (for example, move some of the content from box 1 into box 2, or replace the background color inside box 3 from 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 content editor, but as you can see, if you are working with more complex page elements, what you see is not exactly what you get …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some instances, some people argue that you could even be better off working directly inside the WordPress text editor tab instead of the WordPress WYSIWYG editor when trying to add complex layouts …
Even though WordPress is extremely easy to use, this makes it hard for non-technical website owners to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental problem about having to use shortcodes and HTML to create content with WordPress can be summarized by asking 2 questions:
1) Speed – How long will it take to create a page using this editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the editor resemble the content in the “front end” when you are creating or editing a page?
As you can see from the above image, what you see in the editor doesn’t look even remotely similar to what you see in the front end. This means that you need to mentally translate what the content will look like when working with complex layouts. Other solutions require several steps before you can begin configuring your page layout, or endlessly switching browser tabs and performing tweaks and updates to see how your content is progressing, which can affect how fast you can create your content, as you wait for for your updated content to reload.
Many WordPress web developers have tried to come up with a range of solutions to make the visual editor more intuitive. These range from stand alone plugins you can install on your site that add new functionality to the editor, to themes that come with built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make content creation easier!)
Some solutions end up including so many complex page-building features, that users need to learn how to work with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these alternative editors work fine, but they fail to address the fundamental problem with using shortcodes and HTML as described earlier. Adding and editing sophisticated content elements 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 web pages to look “just right” 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 editor to work?
Now, imagine this …
- You look at your content and if you spot something that needs fixing, just click on the content and start editing it. Your content is then instantly edited.
- You can just drag and drop items around the page, and the page looks exactly as it will display on the front end without having to mentally visualize any HTML or shortcodes.
- You have an idea for an item of content you would like to create, so you immediately begin typing, and your web page gets built on the fly, with no delays, with no switching of tab browsers, and without waiting for new web content to reload.
Would that not be the ideal way to create content for your WordPress site? Just click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the page?
(Imagine being able to create complex web 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 Plugin – The Simplest Way To Create Stunning Content And Beautiful Page Layouts In WordPress Sites
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a unique WordPress plugin that allows site owners to quickly build and edit content on their posts and pages using a click-to-edit and drag and drop content editor.
Thrive Content Builder provides WordPress users with a new and exciting way to set up conversion-focused pages on any WordPress site.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor and a menu that lets you click, then drag and drop elements to your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new visual content editor to your WordPress site)
Thrive Landing Pages And Content Builder 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.
Let’s review all of the above and how these exciting features work together to help you easily transform and improve your website and create awesome marketing pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder Plugin
Thrive Content Builder lets you easily build complex web page design layouts using drag and drop elements …
Every element of your web page can be designed by ”clicking-to-edit” and “dragging and dropping” things around the page …
Once you have positioned your elements on the page, you can then easily edit or customize these without going through additional steps or switching tabs …
You can also work inside stunning 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 with Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages installed is so amazingly easy, that the developers warn that once you start using it, it’ll ruin the experience of using any other content editor forever, and you’ll 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 terrific plugin for WordPress that we have written about on this site.
Go here for more information about using the plugin:
Plugin Benefits
Here are just a few of the benefits of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up the process of designing pages and creating content for your WordPress web site:
Quick And Easy To Install And Set Up. Be Up And Running In No Time.
Thrive Content Builder is very easy to install. Simply upload the plugin file to your Plugin folder via your WordPress admin section and activate.
Create And Edit Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is simple to use and lets you create, edit and add content to your pages in real-time.
A Truly Visual Content Builder
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see on the “back-end” as you work within the content editor – fonts, elements, page layouts, etc. is exactly what you get in the front end of your site.
Some additional benefits include:
- Stunning Page Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease: Create any kind of layout you can imagine with intuitive drag-and-drop functionality.
- Add Design Elements Without Short Codes: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get an amazing drag and drop content editor, but the plugin also includes a collection of professional design elements that you can customizable and add to your content layouts without using short codes, like tabbed content, content reveal feature, dividers, responsive maps, etc.
- Distraction-Free Content Creation: Not having to deal with technical stuff for your updated content to load frees up your attention and allows you to be more focused while you build content or click through multiple layers of menus to get what you want done.
(Add, edit and customize web page elements like testimonials, pricing tables, star ratings for review pages, section dividers, countdown timers, etc.)
Plugin Features
Thrive Content Builder offers website owners a number of great features. Below we have listed just a few:
- All Content Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have access to all of the regular WordPress editing options that you are used to (e.g. bold, paragraph centering, font sizes, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Multi-Style Elements Menu: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” list of elements to your post or page screen for editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin provides you with various attention-grabbing and customizable elements that will help you increase your sales conversions, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonials, and guarantees. In addition to being customizable, multiple design options are also available for various elements.
- Responsive Design: Add mobile-friendly columns, boxes, content section dividers, e.g. which will display great on all different kinds of devices.
- Add Animation Events To Web Pages: The Event Manager feature lets you add animations, 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 initial signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages gives you access to conversion-optimized page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time and money creating pages for your WordPress website
- 100% conversion-optimized page templates
- No technical skills required
- Works with any theme
Thrive 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, 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 30+ templates available, with more templates being worked on. In addition to the templates shown above, expect to see new templates in the future for email lead generation, sales pages, training pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Fully Customizable Landing Page Template
Typically, to be able to have a completely customizable landing page template, you would need to either pay 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 stunning pre-designed web pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that lets you change and customize anything on your page …
With the landing page template sets included with this plugin, you are able to:
- Edit text in all bullet points, headlines, buttons, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other element of the landing page
- Change any background images and background colors
- Change the color of text, buttons, links, etc.
- Choose your own fonts
- Select your own images and graphics
- Modify content area size
- Change the order of web page elements
- Translate everything on the page into different languages
- Add any kind of custom content inside the pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own from scratch and save them as new web page templates.
(Change or edit any element of your page)
Thrive Lightbox – Transform Your Web Site Into A Marketing Machine
The Thrive package includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully editable 2-step opt-in forms and events to your web pages …
(Add opt-in forms and events to your marketing pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Two-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 …
(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 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. fade in, slide in from top to bottom, roll in, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your WordPress 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 From Customers
Below are some of the testimonials plugin customers have written 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”
Useful Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any theme in WordPress, not just with Thrive Landing Pages. You cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content that was not created with the plugin installed.
You can add WordPress shortcodes inside Thrive Content Builder or Thrive Landing Pages and they will display correctly on your website.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build with Thrive Content Builder.
Thrive Content Builder Support
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder Plugin comes with free updates, new landing templates and upcoming features. The Thrive team is constantly working on adding new features and improving existing ones.
Thrive software is very well-supported, and users get lifetime updates, plus one year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, thirty day, full refund guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users that just keeps 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 Licensing – This allows you to install the plugin on one site only. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Edition – This allows you to activate the plugin on all of your personal domains. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency Edition – Use on your websites and on client sites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: Pricing for this product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The above reflects the current price at the time this article was published. This may not be the actual pricing set by the product developer when you visit the product website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest pricing:
Additional Plugin Info
The Thrive Content and Landing 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 time-saving features like ready-made web page elements and beautiful, pre-designed templates that help speed up your content creation, and on the other hand, you also have complete control over the design process and the freedom to edit anything and everything on your web page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, that lets you work unhindered by overly complicated 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 plugin website.
Install The Plugin …
If you want to edit something, you click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, do it, and you’ll see the change happen instantly. If you want to move something, you drag it and drop it into its new location. There are no unnecessary steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your web presence and create awesome marketing pages and content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For full details, visit the plugin website:
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