WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool to a tool that is now used to design all types of web pages – landing pages, product showcase pages, business pages, etc.
Whatever you can think of, someone is probably already building it using WordPress!
This article will help you discover how to create stunning content with drag & drop ease in WordPress sites.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Is The Default WordPress Visual Editor Still Meeting All Of Your Web Design Needs?
Using the built-in WordPress editor to create or edit complex web site pages can be difficult for non-technical website owners.
(The WordPress content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional text and images, but adding complex content elements can be quite challenging!)
For example, let’s say you want to create something like the content shown below …
To create the above boxes with text and buttons, users would need to insert shortcodes into the content for each page element they want to add to their page …
Normally, this is not really an issue … unless you want to change your layout (for example, move part of the content from box 1 into box 2, or change the background colour in box 2 from green to another color. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with code.
The WordPress visual editor is supposed to provide non-technical users with an easy-to-use WYSIWYG editor, but as you can see, if you are creating with complex page elements, what you see in the visual editor may not be what you get …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some cases, some people argue that users could even be better off working directly inside the text editor tab instead of the WordPress visual editor when trying to create something other than simple layouts …
Even though WordPress is extremely easy to use, this makes it hard for WordPress site owners without knowledge of HTML or CSS to have full control of their own content.
The fundamental problem of having to use HTML and shortcodes to create content with WordPress can be summarized by asking two questions:
1) Speed – How long will it take to create a page using the 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 in the editor does not look at all like what you see in the front end. This means that you have to abstract what your content will look like when working with complex layouts. Other solutions require a number of steps before you can start configuring your page layout, or endlessly switching browser tabs and performing updates to see how your content is progressing, which then affects how fast you can create your content, as you wait for the content to load.
A number of WordPress web developers have tried to come up with various solutions to try and address this issue. These solutions range from standalone 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 requiring so many complex page design features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these solutions work, but they still don’t address the fundamental issue of using HTML and shortcodes 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 to create or edit complex layouts quickly, this can become very frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your web page builder to behave?
Now that you’ve asked this question, imagine the following scenario …
- You look at your content and if you spot something that needs to be changed, simply click on the content and start typing. Your content has been instantly fixed.
- You can just drag and drop items on the page, and see them exactly as they will appear on the front end without having to mentally visualize code.
- You have an idea for a specific item of content that you would like to add, so you just start typing, and your web page gets built on the fly, with no delays, no tab switching, and without having to wait for new pages to refresh.
Would this not be the perfect way to create content for your WordPress web site? A true WYSIWYG editor where all you have to do is 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 – Create Stunning Content Faster And Beautiful Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease In WordPress Web Sites
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive click-to-edit drag-and-drop content and landing page builder for WordPress.
Thrive Content Builder provides you with a new and incredibly easy way to speed up the process of adding content to your WordPress website.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder adds a visual content editor with an item menu that lets you drag and drop design elements on your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new content editing option to WordPress)
The plugin 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 each of the above and how these exciting features work together to help you transform and improve your website and create amazing marketing pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Plugin
This plugin lets you easily add content to your web pages and build complex page layouts using drag and drop elements …
Everything on your page can be built by dragging and dropping things around the page and then clicking to edit them …
Once elements have been added to your page, you can then easily edit them without having to go through additional steps or switching screens …
You can also build beautiful landing pages and easily customize these …
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, designing pages and working on content with the plugin installed is so effortlessly simple, that the developers guarantee that once you start using it, it’ll ruin the experience of using any other content editor forever, and you will never look back!
More info: Thrive Content Builder
The integrated Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder plugin was created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another fantastic plugin for WordPress that we have previously written about on this site.
To read about this plugin, see this page:
Benefits
Here we have listed just a few of the benefits and advantages of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up content creation:
Fast And Simple To Install And Set Up. Ready To Go To Work In No Time.
Thrive Content Builder is really easy to install. Simply upload a zip folder that contains the plugin files to your Plugins folder via your administrator account and activate.
Create & Edit Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is simple and intuitive to use and lets you edit and build content in real-time.
What You See Is Truly What You Get
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see on the “backend” as you work within the editor – typefaces, elements, page layouts, etc. is exactly what your visitors will see in the front end of your site.
Some additional benefits include:
- Attractive Page Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease: Create any type of layout you can imagine with intuitive drag-and-drop functionality.
- Add Design Elements Without Shortcodes: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get a drag and drop content builder, but the plugin also includes a very decent collection of customizable design elements that you can use on your pages without using shortcodes, such as pricing tables, text boxes, call to action buttons, responsive video embeds, etc.
- More Enjoyable Content Creation: Not having to wait for your updated content to refresh 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 need done.
(Thrive Content Builder lets you easily add, edit and customize web page elements like testimonials, columns, star ratings for review pages, dividers, HTML code insert boxes, etc.)
Thrive Content Builder Features
Thrive Content Builder offers a number of unique features to site owners. Here are just a few:
- Regular Content Editor Functionality Is Still Available: You have access to all of the regular WordPress editing options that you are used to (e.g. bold, paragraph formatting, headings and font sizes, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” table of elements to your post or page screen when creating and editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin provides you with a range of eye-catching and customizable elements that will help you increase the effectiveness of your sales pages, 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.
- Responsive Design: Add mobile-friendly columns, text boxes, content 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 create animations, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages – Landing Page Template Sets
Landing page sets are web 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 add conversion-optimized pages to your site)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time designing professional web pages
- 100% conversion-optimized page templates
- No technical skills needed
- Works with any WordPress theme
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder not only lets you create beautiful content in your WordPress posts and pages, but you can also choose from dozens of beautifully designed, landing 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 over thirty templates available, with more templates planned for release. In addition to the templates that are currently available, expect to see new templates in the future for email lead generation, sales pages, lesson pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Completely Customizable And Flexible Landing Page Template
Typically, in order to have a fully customizable landing page template, you would need to either hire a web site developer 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 mess around with 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 web pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that lets you change or customize any aspect of the page …
With the landing page templates included with this plugin, you can do the following:
- Modify text in any headline, button, bullet point, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other element of the landing page
- Replace the background image and background colour
- Edit the color of links, text, buttons, etc.
- Use your own fonts
- Select your own images and graphics
- Edit content area size
- Rearrange the order of elements on your page
- Translate pages into different languages
- Add any kind of custom content anywhere inside the pages
- Start with a blank web page and create your own page templates, or even build a library of custom landing pages.
(Change or edit any aspect of your page templates)
Transform Your Web Site Into A Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox Plugin
The Thrive plugin combo also includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully customizable 2-step opt-in forms and events to your WordPress site …
(Add lead capture forms and events to your WordPress web site with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Thrive Lighbox Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-step opt-in process helps improve your conversion rates. When visitors click on an image or button they are presented with your opt-in form …
(two-step opt-in forms can increase your conversion rates.)
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 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 a range of effects (e.g. fade out, slide in from bottom to top, roll in, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your pages with Thrive Lightbox)
Lightboxes and events are created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over all events, triggers and design.
User Testimonials
Here are a few of the testimonials that plugin customers 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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“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 WordPress theme, not just with Thrive Landing Pages. You cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content on pages or posts that were not created with the plugin installed.
You can add shortcodes inside the Content Builder or Landing Pages plugin and they will be displayed correctly when published.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build using Thrive Content Builder.
Thrive Content Builder Plugin Support
Thrive Content and Landing Page Builder 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 lifetime upgrades, and 1 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 1 site only. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites License – This edition enables you to install the plugin on all of your personal domains. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency Edition – This allows you to install the plugin on all of your own websites and all client websites. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Price = $247.00 per year.
Note: The cost of purchasing Thrive Content Builder depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. The price above was current at the time this article was written. This may or may not be the actual price set by the plugin seller when you visit the website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
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 web page elements and conversion-optimized template sets that help make designing your pages faster, and on the other hand, you have complete control over the design process and the freedom to change everything on your page, using the plugin’s click-to-edit and drag and drop features, which lets you see how the content you are working on will appear after publishing.
For ”how-to” videos showing plugin usage, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, 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 instantly. If you want to move something, just 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 sales pages and engaging content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For more details, visit the plugin website here:
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