WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool to a tool being used to create all types of sites.
Whatever you can think of, somewhere around the world someone is bound to be already building it with WordPress!
This article will help you discover the simplest, most intuitive WYSIWYG editor for WordPress.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Is The WordPress WYSIWYG Editor Still Meeting All Of Your Content Creation And Editing Needs?
Using the built-in WordPress WYSIWYG content editor to create or edit complex page layouts can be challenging, especially for non-technical website owners.
(The WordPress visual content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional text and media, but adding more complex page elements can be quite challenging!)
For example, let’s say you want to create something like the layout shown below …
To create the above boxes with text and buttons, you would normally need to add short codes to the content for each element you want to display on your page …
Typically, this is not really an issue … until you want to edit an element of your layout (for example, move part of the content from box 1 into box 2, or change the button in box 2 from green to gold. 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 editor, but as you can see, if you are creating with complex layouts, often what you see on your screen is not exactly what you are getting when the content is published …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some situations, users would probably be better off working directly with the source html itself instead of the WordPress visual editor when trying to add fancy layouts …
Even though WordPress is the most user-friendly CMS platform available, this makes it difficult for non-technical website owners to have full control of their own content.
The fundamental challenge of using HTML and shortcodes to create content with WordPress can be summarized by asking the following questions:
1) Speed – How long does it take to create a web page using this editor?
2) Abstraction – How closely does the content in the editor match 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 editor doesn’t look anything like what you see in the front end. This means that users need to abstract what the content will look like when working with complex layouts. Other solutions require multiple 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 impact how quickly you can create your content, as you wait for your updated content to reload.
A number of WordPress developers have come up with a range of solutions to try and address this issue. These range from stand alone WordPress plugins you can install on your site that add new functionality to the editor, to WP themes that come with built-in features like drag and drop editing …
(WordPress “drag and drop” editors aim to make creating complex page layouts easier!)
Some solutions end up combining so many page design features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these alternative editors work, but they don’t really address the fundamental problem with using shortcodes and HTML 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 page content quickly, this can become quite frustrating.
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 spot something in your content that needs to be changed so you, simply click on the content and start editing it. Your content has been instantly changed.
- You can just drag and drop items around the page, and the page looks exactly as it will appear on the front end without having to mentally abstract from shortcodes or HTML.
- You have an idea for a specific item of content you would like to add, so you immediately begin typing, and you build your page on the fly, with no delays, with no switching of tab browsers, and no waiting for new web pages to refresh and reload.
Would that not be the ideal way to build content for your site? A true visual content editor where all you have to do is click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the pages and posts?
(Imagine being able to create complex page layouts ”on the fly” 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 Landing Pages And Content Builder – Click-To-Edit Drag & Drop Content Building Plugin For WordPress
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a revolutionary WordPress plugin that allows anyone to quickly create stunning content pages with a true WYSIWYG click-to-edit and drag and drop content editor.
The Thrive Content Builder plugin provides WordPress users with a new and incredibly easy way to speed up the process of adding amazing content to WordPress websites.
Once installed, Thrive Content Builder adds a visual content editor and a sidebar menu that lets you select, then drag and drop design elements to your web page …
(Thrive Content Builder adds a new content editor to WordPress)
The Thrive Landing Pages And Content Builder plugin 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’ll take a look at each of the above plugins and how all of this exciting functionality works seamlessly together to help you easily transform and improve your business online and create amazing sales pages and content.
Thrive Content Builder – WordPress Click-To-Edit Drag & Drop Content Editor
Thrive Content Builder lets you easily add content to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Every element on your web page can be configured with ”click-to-edit” and “drag and drop” ease …
Once you have placed elements on the page, you can then continue to edit or customize them without going through multiple steps or opening more configuration screens …
You can also create beautiful landing pages and easily customize these …
Thrive Content and Landing Page Builder is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, designing web pages and working on content with Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages installed is so amazingly simple, that the developers warn that you will never look back once you start using it
To learn more about this plugin go here: Thrive Content Builder
Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages were created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another amazing plugin for WordPress that we have previously recommended on this site.
To learn more about using this plugin, go here:
Benefits Of Using Thrive Landing Pages And Content Builder
Here we have listed just some of the many benefits of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up content creation:
Very Easy To Install
Thrive Content Builder is really easy to install. Just upload the plugin file to your Plugins folder via your administrator login and activate.
Edit Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is simple and intuitive to use and lets you create, edit and add content right inside your pages in real-time.
What You See Is Exactly What You Get
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 in the front end of your site.
Some additional benefits include the following:
- Attractive Page Layouts With Drag & Drop Ease: Create any layout you can imagine with intuitive drag-and-drop functionality.
- Add Customizable Elements With No Short Codes Involved: With the Thrive Content Builder plugin you not only get an amazing drag and drop WordPress content editor, but the plugin also includes a collection of customizable web design elements that you can insert into your content layouts without using short codes, for e.g.: flat design elements, feature grids, dividers, Google Map embeds, etc.
- Ideal For Non-Technical Users: Not having to deal with technical stuff, or having to wait for the updates to refresh frees up your attention and allows you to build the content your business needs, quickly and without having to mess with code or click through multiple layers of menus to get what you want done.
(Create, edit and customize web page elements like testimonial boxes, flat design elements, feature grids, buttons, responsive maps, etc.)
Plugin Features
Thrive Content Builder offers website owners a number of unique features. Here are just some:
- Regular WordPress Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have all of the regular WordPress content editing options that you are used to (e.g. underlines, centering text, font sizes, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements Menu: The plugin makes a “drag and drop” list of multi-style elements available on your post or page screen for creating or editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin provides you with a range of 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 Page Design: Add responsive elements like column layouts, guarantee boxes, dividers, e.g. which will display correctly on different-sized screens.
- Add Animation Events To Pages: The Event Manager feature lets you add animations, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages Plugin – 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 plugin lets you easily add conversion-optimized web pages to your site)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Everything is hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time and money creating beautiful-looking pages
- 100% conversion-optimized landing page templates
- No web coding skills required
- Works with all WordPress themes
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages 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 page templates and fully customizable …
(Thrive Landing Pages provides sets of templates that work together logically and use the same conversion-optimized design language)
There are over thirty templates available, with more templates being worked on. In addition to the existing templates, expect to see new templates in the future 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 have a fully customizable landing page template, you would need to either pay a web site designer 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 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 great-looking pre-built web page templates that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that lets you change or customize any element of your page template …
The landing page templates included with this plugin let you do the following:
- Edit text in all bullet points, buttons, headlines, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other component of the landing page
- Change all background images and edit colors
- Edit the color of links, text, buttons, etc.
- Select your own fonts
- Use your own images
- Edit the size of the content area
- Change the order of page elements
- Translate everything on the page into different languages
- Add any kind of custom content anywhere inside your pages
- Use pre-designed, customized pages, or create your own landing pages from scratch and save them as new page templates.
(Change and edit any aspect of your page templates)
Transform Your Web Site Into A Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox Plugin
The Thrive plugin combo includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully editable two-step opt-in forms and animated objects to your web site …
(Add lead capture forms and animation to your WordPress site with Thrive Lightbox)
Thrive Lighbox Two-Step Opt-in Forms
A two-step opt-in process helps to increase your conversion rates. When visitors click on a button or image they are presented with your opt-in form …
(Capture more leads and subscribers with a two-step opt-in process)
Thrive Lightbox Event Manager
An “event” consists of a trigger and an action. You can make an opt-in form appear when when visitors click or hover their mouse 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 various effects (e.g. zoom in, slide in from left to right, rotate, etc.
(Set up and manage events on your pages with the Thrive Lightbox plugin)
A lightbox and event is created automatically for your landing pages, but you also have complete control over all events, triggers and design.
User Feedback
Here are a couple of the testimonials that customers have published about 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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”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. Note, however, that you cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content on pages or posts that were not created with the plugin.
You can add WordPress 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 Builder and Landing Pages Plugin provides 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 really well-supported, and users get lifetime software updates, plus 1 year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, thirty day, complete money-back guarantee.
This is an exciting product that will just keep getting better.
Software Cost
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 edition enables you to install the plugin on a single domain. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Cost = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites License – This enables you to use the plugin on all of your personal sites. Includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency License Edition – This license allows you to use the plugin on all of your own websites and all client domains. Includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Price = $247.00 per year.
Note: Pricing for the Thrive Content Builder plugin depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. When we last checked, the product retails for the amounts shown above. This may not be the actual price set by the plugin seller when you visit the plugin website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Plugin Information
The Thrive Content and Page 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 the time-saving benefits of ready-made page elements and template sets that help to make designing your content faster, and on the other hand, you also have complete control over your design process and the freedom to edit everything on your web page, using the plugin’s click-to-edit and drag and drop features, which lets you see exactly how the content you are working on will display after publishing.
For ”how-to” videos of the plugin, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the plugin website.
Get 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 complicated steps involved.
If you want to transform and improve your site and create amazing marketing 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 more information, visit the plugin website here:
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