WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging application into a tool that can be used to create all kinds of websites.
Whatever you can imagine, someone is probably already building it with WordPress!
In this article you will discover the fastest and most easy-to-use WYSIWYG content builder for your WordPress site.
Drag & Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The Default WordPress Content Editor Meet All Of Your Page Design Needs?
With all the many developments that WordPress has gone through in recent years, many WordPress developers feel that using the built-in WordPress WYSIWYG editor to build or edit complex layouts can be quite challenging.
(The WordPress WYSIWYG content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing “linear” content, but adding more complex content elements can be quite challenging!)
For example, if you look at the screenshot below …
To create the above layout, you would normally need to add shortcodes to the content for every single page element you want to create …
Normally, this is not really an issue … unless you decide to edit an integral aspect of your layout (for example, move part of the content from box 3 into box 2, or replace the background color inside a box from dark green to gray. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with page code or html.
The WordPress visual editor is supposed to provide non-technical users with an easy-to-use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) content editor, but as you can see, if you are creating with complex page elements, what you see on your screen is not really 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 instances, users could even be better off working inside the html (text) editor tab instead of the WordPress visual editor when trying to create fancy page elements …
Even though WordPress is the most user-friendly CMS platform available, this makes it difficult for WordPress users without coding skills to fully manage their own content.
The fundamental problem about using shortcodes and HTML to create content in WordPress can be summarized as follows:
1) Speed – How long does it take to create a web page using this editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the ”back end” resemble the “front end” content when you are creating or editing a page?
As you can see from the above screenshot, what you see when working in the editor looks nothing like what you see in the front end. This means that you have to abstract what your 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 tweaks and updates to see how your content is progressing, which then impacts how fast you can create your content, as you wait for your page to load.
Many WordPress developers have tried to come up with various solutions with the objective of making the visual editor easier. These range from plugins you can install on your site that add new functionality to the editor, to WordPress themes that provide built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make creating complex layouts easier!)
Some solutions include so many page design features, that users need to learn how to work with complicated-looking front end editors …
Many of these alternative solutions work fine, but they don’t really seem to address the fundamental issue of using HTML and shortcodes as described earlier. Adding and editing sophisticated content elements 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 ”perfect” quickly, this can start to become quite frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like to build and edit your web content?
Now, imagine the following …
- You look at your content and if you see something that needs correction, just click on the content and start writing. Your content is then instantly edited.
- You can just 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 any code.
- You have an idea for some content that you’d like to create, so you immediately start typing, and your web page gets built on the fly, without delays, no tab switching, and without waiting for new pages to reload.
Would that not be the perfect way to create content for your WordPress website? A true visual editor where all you have to do is click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around your posts and pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex web pages quickly for your web content with no 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
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a revolutionary WordPress plugin that gives you total control over every aspect of your web page with a powerful click-to-edit and drag and drop content editor.
Thrive Content Builder is a new and exciting way to set up conversion-focused pages on any WordPress website.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor and an item menu that lets you select, then drag and drop elements to your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new content editor to WordPress)
Thrive Content Builder And Landing Pages 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 will take an in-depth look at each of the above and how these powerful features work together to help you transform and improve your web presence and create amazing marketing pages and content.
Thrive Content Builder For WordPress
You can easily add complex design layouts to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Every aspect of your page can be built by dragging and dropping things around the page and then clicking to edit them …
Once you have placed elements on your page, you can then further customize or edit these without going through additional steps or complicated option windows …
The built-in Thrive Landing Pages also lets you work inside highly attractive landing pages that can just as easily be edited or customized …
Thrive Content and Page Builder is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, designing pages with Thrive Content Builder installed is so effortlessly easy, that the developers guarantee that once you start using it, you’ll never look back!
More info: Thrive Content Builder
The integrated Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages plugin was created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another great plugin that we have previously reviewed on this site.
To read about the plugin, see this article:
Benefits Of Using Thrive Landing Pages And Content Builder
Here are just some of the many benefits and advantages of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up the process of designing pages and creating content for your website:
Be Up And Running In Minutes
Thrive Content Builder is very easy to install. Just upload the plugin file to your Plugin folder via your WordPress administrator login and activate.
Add & Edit Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is very simple to use and lets you add content right inside your web pages in real-time.
A Truly Visual Content Editor
With Thrive Content Builder installed, what you see as you work within the content editor – fonts, elements, page layouts, etc. is exactly what your visitors will see on the front end of your site.
Some additional plugin benefits include:
- Add Eye-Catching Web Page Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease: Create any layout you can imagine with drag-and-drop ease.
- Add Design Elements Without Using Short Codes: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get a visually exciting drag and drop WordPress content editor, but the plugin also includes a very decent collection of functional and attractive design elements that you can insert into your pages without using shortcodes, such as columns, borderless content, dividers, responsive video embeds, etc.
- Ideal For Non-Technical Users: Not having to wait for for your updated content to reload frees up your attention and allows you to be more focused while you work or click through multiple steps to get what you need done.
(Easily add, edit and customize web page elements like testimonial boxes, pricing tables, borderless content, page section dividers, credit card icons, etc.)
Thrive Content Builder Features
Thrive Content Builder offers a number of great features to web site owners. Here are just a few:
- All WordPress Content Functionality Is Preserved: You have all of the regular content editing options that you are used to (e.g. underlines, centering text, font styles, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Multi-Style Elements: The plugin adds a “drag and drop” table of multi-style elements to your post or page screen when creating and editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin provides you with a range of attention-grabbing and customizable elements that will help increase the effectiveness of your sales pages, including buttons and call-to-action elements, testimonial boxes, and guarantees. In addition to customization options, various elements also offer multiple design options.
- Responsive Page Design: Add responsive columns, boxes, dividers, e.g. which will display great on different-sized screens.
- Add Animation Events To Pages: The plugin’s Event Manager feature lets you insert animated page content, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Web 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 initial signup to purchase, product download and more.
(Thrive Landing Pages plugin gives you conversion-optimized web page templates)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – Benefits
- Everything is hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time creating web pages
- 100% conversion-optimized pages
- No tech skills required
- Works with any theme
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder not only lets you create beautiful-looking content in your WordPress posts and pages, but you can also choose from dozens of beautifully 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 thirty templates available, with more templates scheduled for future 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.
Customize Your Landing Page Template
Normally, in order to fully customize a landing page template, you would need to either hire a web site 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 beautiful pre-designed page templates that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that lets you change and customize anything on the page …
The landing page templates included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Edit text in all headlines, bullet points, buttons, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other component of the landing page
- Replace all background images and edit color
- Change the color of text, buttons, links, etc.
- Choose your own fonts
- Select your own images
- Edit the size of the content area
- Rearrange the order of page elements
- Translate everything on the page into different languages
- Add custom content anywhere in the pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own pages from scratch and save them as new page templates.
(Change and customize any element of the page)
Thrive Lightbox Plugin – Transform Your WordPress Site Into A Powerful Marketing Machine
The Thrive plugin combo includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully customizable 2-step opt-in forms and events to your pages …
(Add opt-in forms and animated objects to your sales pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
2-Step Opt-in Forms
A 2-step opt-in process helps to improve your conversion rates. Visitors click on a button or image, and then 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 pages, using a range of effects (e.g. zoom in from the page center, slide in from top to bottom, roll out, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your web 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.
Feedback From Customers
Below are just a few of the testimonials and comments customers have provided for Thrive Content Builder:
“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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“I’m blown away by the plugin. Keep up the incredible, WordPress changing work, guys! Dean Phillips”
Useful Tips
Thrive Content Builder works with any WordPress theme, not just with the Thrive Landing Pages plugin. Note, however, that you cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content on existing pages or posts that were not created with the plugin installed.
You can add WordPress shortcodes inside Thrive Content Builder or Thrive Landing Pages and they will display correctly when published.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build using Thrive Content Builder.
Support
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder 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 software is very well-supported, and users get unlimited upgrades, plus 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, 30 day, 100% money-back guarantee.
This is an exciting product that just keeps getting better.
Plugin 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 – This license option lets you use the plugin on a single website. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Licensing – This lets you activate the plugin on all of your personal websites. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $87.00.
- Agency Licensing – Use on all your sites & on all your client domains. Cost includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $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 when this article was written. This may not be the actual price charged by the software developer when you visit the product site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing information:
Additional Info
The developers of the Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages plugin repeatedly 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 the time-saving benefits of ready-made web page elements and beautiful, conversion-optimized templates that help to speed up page design and content creation, and on the other hand, you also have 100% control over your design process and the ability to edit everything on your web page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, which allows you to work unhindered by overly complicated options.
For demo videos showing plugin usage, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the plugin website.
Download This Plugin …
If you want to edit something, simply click on the element and start editing. If you want to change something, do it, and you’ll see the change happen immediately. If you want to move something, just drag it and drop it into its new location. There are no additional steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your web site and create amazing sales pages and content, this plugin delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
To learn more, check out the plugin here:
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