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, product showcase pages, local business pages, etc.
Whatever you can think of, somewhere around the world someone is bound to be already building it using WordPress!
This article will help you learn how to create stunning content and design beautiful page layouts with drag & drop ease in WordPress sites.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The Default WordPress Visual Editor Meet All Of Your Page Design Needs?
With all the many advancements that the WordPress platform has gone through in recent years, many WordPress users and developers feel that the WordPress editor is not really suitable for building and customizing complex layouts.
(The default WordPress WYSIWYG editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” text and media, but adding complex page elements can be challenging!)
For example, let’s say you want to create something like the layout shown below …
Creating the above content in your content would require typing something that looks like this into the WordPress visual editor …
Generally, this is not really an issue … until you choose to reconfigure the layout (for example, move part of the content from box 1 into box 2, or replace the button in box 2 from red to maroon. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code.
The WordPress visual editor is supposed to give users an easy-to-use WYSIWYG content editor, but as you can see, if you are working with more complex layouts, often what you see in the WordPress content editor screen may not be what you are going to get when your page is published …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some instances, you could be better off working inside the WordPress html (text) editor tab instead of the WYSIWYG editor when trying to create fancy layouts …
Even though WordPress is extremely easy to use, this makes it difficult for WordPress users without knowledge of HTML or CSS to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental issue of having to use shortcodes and HTML to create content with WordPress can be summarized by asking 2 questions:
1) Speed – How long does it take to build a page using the 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 screenshot, what you see when working in the back end doesn’t look at all like what you see in the front end. This means that you have 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 switching tabs and performing tweaks and updates to see how your content is progressing, which then impacts how fast you can create your content, as you wait for the updated content to reload.
A number of WordPress web developers have tried to come up with a range of solutions with the aim of addressing this issue. Some of these alternative solutions range from standalone plugins you can add to your site that add new functionality to the editor, to WP themes that offer built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make creating complex content easier!)
Some solutions require so many complex page-building features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these alternative solutions work fine, but they fail to address the fundamental problem with using shortcodes and HTML as described earlier. Creating and adding 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 to create or edit complex page layouts quickly, this can start to become quite frustrating.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your page builder to behave?
Now, imagine the following …
- You see something in the content that needs to be corrected so you, just click on the content and start editing it. Your content has been instantly fixed.
- You can just drag and drop items around the page, and see them exactly as they will display on the front end without having to mentally translate any shortcodes or HTML.
- You have an idea for a specific item of content that you’d like to add, so you just start typing, and you build your web page on the fly, with no delays, no tab switching, and no waiting for new web pages to republish and reload.
Would this not be the perfect way to create content for your site? Just click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex page layouts ”on the fly” 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 – Create Stunning Content Faster And Beautiful 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 provides WordPress users with a new and exciting way to set up conversion-focused pages on any WordPress web site.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor with a menu that lets you click, then drag and drop design elements on your page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new editor to WordPress)
The plugin is actually a combination of the Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages plugins rolled into one, plus an additional plugin feature called Thrive Lightbox.
We will take an in-depth look at each of the above plugins and how these powerful features work seamlessly together to help you easily transform and improve your business online and create awesome sales pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Plugin
You can easily add content to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Every aspect of your web page can be built with “drag and drop” and “click-to-edit” ease …
Once elements have been added to a page, you can then continue to customize them without having to go through additional steps or complicated configuration windows …
The built-in Landing Pages editor also lets you work inside stunning landing pages and easily customize these …
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 the Thrive Content and Page Builder plugin installed is so effortlessly easy, that the developers guarantee that you’ll never look back once you start using it
For more details about the plugin go here: 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 reviewed on this site.
Go here to learn more about using the plugin:
Benefits
Here are just a few of the benefits and advantages of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up your page design and content creation process:
Fast And Easy To Install And Implement. Ready To Start Using In Minutes.
Thrive Content Builder is quite easy to install. Just upload it to your Plugin folder via your admin user area and activate.
Edit And Create Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is is not only simple to use, it also lets you build and add content right inside your pages in real-time.
A Truly Visual Content Builder
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 on the front end of your site.
Additional plugin benefits include the following:
- Stunning Page Layouts With Drag-And-Drop Ease: Create any type of layout you can imagine with intuitive drag and drop functionality.
- Design Elements Included: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get an exciting and easy-to-use click-to-edit WordPress content builder, but the plugin also includes a very decent collection of functional and eye-catching web design elements that you can customizable and insert into your layouts without using short codes, for e.g.: columns, table of contents builder, dividers, credit card icons, etc.
- Ideal For Non-Technical Users: Not having to deal with technical stuff for your updates to load frees up your attention and allows you to build the content your business needs, quickly and without having to edit code or click through multiple layers of menus to get what you need done.
(Easily add, edit and customize web page elements like testimonials, pricing tables, table of contents builder, call to action buttons, responsive Google map embeds, etc.)
Plugin Features
Thrive Content Builder provides many features to website owners. Below we have listed just a few of these:
- Built-In WordPress Content Functionality Is Preserved: You have all of the built-in content editing options that you are used to (e.g. underline, left-aligned text, headings, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Multi-Style Elements: The plugin makes a “drag and drop” list of elements available on your post or page screen for creating or editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin comes with various eye-catching and customizable elements that will help you increase your sales conversions, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonials, and guarantees. In addition to customization options, various elements also offer multiple design options.
- Responsive Web Page Design: Add mobile-friendly columns, boxes, section dividers, e.g. which will display correctly on devices with differently sized screens.
- Add Animation Events To Pages: The Event Manager feature lets you add animated content elements, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Web Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Landing Page Template Sets
Thrive Landing Pages provides sets of templates that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language to take your visitors from signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages plugin gives you access to conversion-optimized web page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Everything is hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time and money designing beautiful pages for your WordPress site
- 100% conversion-optimized landing pages
- No web coding skills required
- Works with any WordPress theme
Thrive Landing Pages and Content 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 professionally designed, web 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 30 templates available, with more templates being worked on. In addition to the templates that are currently available, 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 And Flexible Landing Page Template
Typically, in order to fully customize a landing page template, you would need to either pay a web developer to do the work, or learn web coding languages like HTML and CSS and figure out what to do 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 attractive pre-designed web pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that lets you change or edit anything on your page templates …
The landing page template sets included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Edit text in all buttons, headlines, bullet points, etc.
- Delete text, images or any other element of the landing page
- Change all background images and background colours
- Change the color of text, buttons, links, etc.
- Choose your own fonts
- Use your own images
- Edit the size of the content area
- Change the order of elements on your pages
- Translate pages into different languages
- Add any kind of custom content anywhere inside any of the pages
- Start with a blank web page and create your own page templates, or even build a custom landing page templates library.
(Change or customize any aspect of the page template)
Thrive Lightbox – Transform Your Site Into A Marketing Machine
The Thrive package includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully editable 2-step opt-in forms and events to your pages …
(Add lead capture forms and animated objects to your pages with Thrive Lightbox)
Thrive Lighbox Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-step opt-in process helps to improve your conversion rates. When visitors click on an image or button they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Visitors click on a button and are presented with an opt-in form)
Event Manager
An “event” consists of a trigger and an action. You can make an opt-in form 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 images on your pages, using various effects (e.g. zoom in from the page center, slide in from right to left, rotate, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your WordPress pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Lightboxes and events are created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over your events, triggers and design.
Testimonials
Here are some of the testimonials and feedback that customers have submitted regarding 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”
Plugin Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any WordPress theme, 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 shortcodes inside Thrive Content Builder or Thrive Landing Pages and they will be displayed correctly when published.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content built with Thrive Content Builder.
Plugin Support
Thrive Content and Page Builder Plugin comes with free updates, new landing templates 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 unlimited upgrades, and one year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, 30 day, full refund guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users that just keeps getting better.
Software Price
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 run the plugin on 1 domain only. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Price = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites License – This lets you install the plugin on all of your personal sites. Cost includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency Edition – Use on your sites and on all your client websites. Pricing includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Note: The cost of purchasing this product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. The above reflects the current price at the time this article was published. This may not be the actual pricing set by the product author when you visit the plugin site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Info
The Thrive Content Builder plugin developers emphatically maintain 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 template sets that help to speed up page design and content creation, and on the other hand, you also have complete control over your design process and the freedom to change everything on your page, using the plugin’s click-to-edit and drag and drop features, that lets you see exactly how the content you are working on will look after being published.
For a demo video of the plugin in action, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the plugin website.
Our Recommendation …
If you want to edit something, you click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, you’ll see the change happen immediately. If you want to move something, you drag it and drop it into its new location. There are no overly complicated steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your website and create awesome sales pages, streamlined landing pages and engaging content, Thrive Content and Landing Page Builder delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
For complete details, visit the plugin website here:
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