WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool into a tool that can be used to design all types of web pages – direct sales pages, product showcase pages, local business pages, etc.
Whatever you can imagine, somewhere around the world someone is most likely already building it using WordPress!
This article will help you discover the fastest way to build stunning content in WordPress.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The WordPress WYSIWYG Editor Still Meet All Of Your Web Design Needs?
With so many advancements that the WordPress platform has gone through in recent years, many WordPress developers feel that the WordPress editor is not really suitable for creating and customizing complex layouts.
(The WordPress editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional text and images, but adding more complex page elements can be challenging!)
For example, let’s say you want to create something like the content shown below …
To add the above boxes with text and buttons to a page would require inserting something that looks like this into the default WordPress editor …
Generally, this is not really an issue … unless you have to change an integral aspect of the layout (for example, move some of the content from box 3 into box 2, or change the button in box 1 from green to another colour. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code or html.
The WordPress visual 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 edit more complex layouts, what you see on your screen may not be the same as what you are going to get when the content gets published …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some cases, some people argue that users may even be better off working directly with the source html itself instead of the WordPress visual editor when trying to add complex page elements …
Even though WordPress is the most user-friendly CMS platform available, this makes it hard for non-technical users to have full control of their own content.
The fundamental problem with using shortcodes and HTML to create content with WordPress can be summarized as follows:
1) Speed – How long will it take to build 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 image, what you see in the back end does not look anything like what you see in the front end. This means that you have to translate mentally what the content will look like when working with complex layouts. Other solutions require taking several steps before you can start configuring your page layout, or endlessly going back and forth between browser tabs and performing tweaks and updates to see how your content is coming along, which then affects how fast you can create your content, as you wait for for your updated content to refresh.
Many WordPress web developers have come up with various solutions to address this issue. These solutions range from WP plugins you can add to your site that add new functionality to the editor, to themes that offer built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make content creation easier!)
Some solutions include so many page-building features, that users need to learn how to work with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these solutions work fine, but they don’t address the fundamental issue of using shortcodes and HTML as described earlier. Creating, adding and editing non-linear content 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 ”perfect” quickly, this can become really frustrating.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like to build and edit your web content?
Now that you’ve asked this question, visualize this …
- You look at your content and if you spot something that needs to be corrected, just click on the content and start changing it. Your content has been instantly changed.
- You just drag and drop elements around the page, and the page looks exactly as it will appear on the front end without having to mentally visualize any code.
- You have an idea for a specific item of content that you’d like to create, so you just start typing, and you build your web page as you go, without delays, with no switching tabs, and without waiting for new web pages to resave and reload.
Would that not be the ideal way to create content for your WordPress website? Just click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the pages and posts?
(Imagine being able to create complex web page layouts in real-time for your web content without technical skills required!)
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 Landing Pages And Content Builder – Click-To-Edit Drag And Drop Content Creator For WordPress
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive click-to-edit drag-and-drop content and landing page editing plugin for WordPress.
The Thrive Content Builder plugin is a new and exciting way to speed up the process of creating great content on your 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 page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new visual 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’ll address all of the above and how these features work together to help you easily transform and improve your web presence and create amazing marketing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Plugin
Thrive Content Builder 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 using simple “drag and drop” and “click-to-edit” …
Once elements have been added to a page, you can then customize or edit them without going through multiple steps or complicated option windows …
You can also create highly attractive landing pages and easily customize these …
Thrive Content and Page Builder is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, designing pages and working on content with the Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder plugin installed is so amazingly easy, that the developers guarantee that once you start using it, you’ll never look back!
Learn more here: Thrive Content Builder
Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages were created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another fantastic plugin we’ve written about on this site.
To read about this plugin, see this post:
Benefits Of Using Thrive Content Builder And Landing Pages Plugin
Below we have listed just a few of the benefits of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up the process of creating content for your WordPress site:
Easy Installation
Thrive Content Builder is very easy to install. Simply upload a zip file that contains the plugin to your Plugins folder via your WordPress dashboard and activate.
Real-Time Content Building And Editing
Thrive Content Builder is is not only really simple to use, it also lets you edit content in real-time.
A Truly Visual Content Editor
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see as you work within the content editor – fonts, visual elements, page layouts, etc. is exactly what your visitors will see on the front end of your site.
Some additional benefits include:
- Stunning Web Page Layouts With Drag And Drop Ease: Create any layout you can imagine with drag and drop ease.
- Add Design Elements Without Short Codes: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get an exciting and an easy-to-use drag and drop WordPress content builder, but the plugin also includes a very decent collection of functional and attractive web design elements that you can customizable and add to your pages without using short codes, like content toggle, borderless content, page section dividers, HTML code insert boxes, etc.
- More Enjoyable Content Creation: Not having to constantly switch tabs as you edit your content and then wait for your new content to load 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 steps to get what you need done.
(Add, edit and customize page elements like testimonial boxes, flat design elements, styled lists, page section dividers, custom HTML and CSS, etc.)
Thrive Content Builder Features
Thrive Content Builder offers WP users many features. Below we have listed just a few:
- Built-In WordPress Content Functionality Is Preserved: You have access to all of the regular WordPress content editing options that you are used to (e.g. bold, paragraph formatting, font styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Multi-Style Elements Menu: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” list of multi-style elements to your post or page screen for creating or editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin includes various eye-catching and customizable elements that will help increase the effectiveness of your sales pages, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonial boxes, and guarantee forms. In addition to customization options, various elements also offer multiple design options.
- Responsive Design: Add responsive elements like column layouts, boxes, content dividers, e.g. which will display correctly on different screens.
- Add Animation Events To Your Pages: Thrive Content Builder’s Event Manager feature lets you create animated page content, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Web Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Landing Page Templates
Landing page template sets are web templates that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language to take your visitors from initial signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages lets you add conversion-optimized web pages to your site)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Benefits
- Hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time designing web pages
- 100% conversion-optimized web page templates
- No tech skills needed
- Works with any WordPress 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, conversion optimized landing page templates and fully customizable …
(Landing page template sets that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language)
There are currently over 30 templates available, with more templates being worked on. In addition to the available templates, the developers plan to release new web page templates for email lead generation, sales pages, lesson pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Fully Customizable And Flexible Landing Page Template Sets
Typically, to be able to fully customize a landing page template, you would need to either hire a web site 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 overly 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-built web pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that allows you to change and customize any aspect of your page template …
With the landing page template sets included with this plugin, you can:
- Change text in any bullet point, headline, button, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other part of the landing page
- Replace any background images and background colors
- Change the color of buttons, links, text, etc.
- Choose your own fonts
- Use your own images
- Edit content area size
- Rearrange the order of elements on your pages
- Translate everything on the page into a different language
- Add custom content inside your pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own landing pages from scratch and save them as new page templates.
(Change or edit any aspect of your page)
Transform Your Site Into A Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox Plugin
The Thrive plugin package also includes the Thrive Lightbox plugin, which lets you add fully editable two-step opt-in forms and events to your web site …
(Add opt-in forms and animated elements to your pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-step opt-in process can help increase your conversion rates. When visitors click on a button or image they are presented with your opt-in form …
(When visitors click on the button, they 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 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 animation effects (e.g. fade out, slide in from right to left, roll out, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your pages with Thrive Lightbox)
A lightbox and event is created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over your events, triggers and design.
Feedback From Customers
Here are a few of the testimonials customers have provided for Thrive Content Builder:
”You guys are simply awesome I am loving everything you are doing at the moment. Keep up the great work you really are making such a big difference in this field. Jule Fuller”
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”Great stuff! I am really impressed by all the new additions. You guys have shown a true commitment to making these themes and the Content Builder awesome. Michael Johnson”
Thrive Content Builder 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 on pages or posts that were 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 the front end.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content built using Thrive Content Builder.
Thrive Content Builder Support
Thrive Content and Page Builder provides 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 very well-supported, and users get lifetime software upgrades, plus 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, 30 day, 100% money-back guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users that will just keep getting better.
Software 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 license lets you run the plugin on one site only. It includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Edition – This option allows you to install the plugin on all websites that you personally own. Pricing includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency License – This edition lets you use the plugin on all of your own websites and any client web sites. Pricing includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Price = $247.00 per year.
Please Note: The price of Thrive Content Builder can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The above reflects the price at the time this review was published. This may or may not be the actual price charged by the product author when you visit the plugin website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the current price here:
Additional Information
The developers of the Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder plugin 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 templates that help to speed up content design, and on the other hand, you have 100% control over the design process and the freedom to edit everything on your web page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, that lets you see how the content you are working on will look on the “front end” when published.
For a demo video of the plugin in action, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the plugin website.
We Highly Recommend This …
If you want to edit something, you just click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, you will see the change happen immediately. If you want to move something, just drag it and drop it into its new position. There are no complicated steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your business online and create amazing marketing pages, streamlined landing 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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