WordPress has evolved from being just a simple blogging tool into a tool being used to design all types of web pages – landing pages, product showcase pages, business pages, etc.
Whatever you can think of, somewhere around the world someone is most likely already building it using WordPress!
This article will help you discover the ultimate click-to-edit front end content editor for WordPress web sites.
Drag And Drop Content Editors For WordPress
Does The Default WordPress Content Editor Meet All Of Your Page Design Needs?
Using the built-in WordPress visual content editor to build or edit complex page elements can sometimes be difficult.
(The default WordPress content editor is great for adding, formatting and editing conventional content, but adding complex page elements can be quite challenging!)
For example, let’s say you want to create something like the content shown below …
To add the above to your content would require typing something that looks like this in your default WordPress visual editor …
Generally, this is not an issue … until you decide to edit some part of the layout (for example, move part of the content from box 3 into box 2, or change the background color in a box from green to maroon. Then, you’re stuck having to mess around with code inside the editor.
The WordPress editor is supposed to be an easy-to-use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) content editor, but as you can see, when working with more complex content elements, often what you see in the visual editor may not be the same as what you get …
(“What You See” isn’t always “What You Get” … unless you can visualize code!)
In some situations, some people argue that you would probably be better off working directly inside the WordPress text editor tab instead of the WordPress WYSIWYG editor when trying to build complex layouts …
Even though WordPress is very user-friendly, this makes it hard for non-technical users to have full control of their own content.
The fundamental issue about using shortcodes and HTML to create content in 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 editor resemble the “front end” content when you are creating or editing a page?
As you can see from the above, what you see in the back end looks nothing like what you see in the front end. This means that users have to translate mentally what the content will look like when working with sophisticated layouts. Other solutions require taking 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 coming along, which can interrupt the creative process, as you wait for the page to refresh.
A number of WordPress developers have tried to come up with various solutions to try and make the visual editor easier. These range from standalone WP plugins you can install on 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 combine so many complex page design features, that users end up with complicated-looking front end content editors …
Many of these alternative solutions work fine, but they don’t really seem to address the fundamental issue of 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 layouts quickly, this can become quite frustrating after a while.
Ask yourself this …
If there were no technical constraints, how would you like your web content builder to work?
Now that you’ve asked this question, imagine this …
- You see something in the content that needs correction so you, simply click on the content and start changing it. Your content has been instantly edited.
- You can just drag and drop elements on the page, and see them exactly as they will appear on the front end without having to mentally translate shortcodes or HTML.
- You have an idea for some content that you’d like to create, so you just begin typing, and your page gets built on the fly, with no delays, with no switching of tab browsers, and without waiting for pages to republish and reload.
Would this not be the perfect way to build content for your WordPress site? A true WYSIWYG content builder where all you have to do is click-to-edit and drag and drop elements around the pages?
(Imagine being able to create complex web pages 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 Content Builder And Landing Pages
Plugin Description
Thrive Content Builder is a truly intuitive click-to-edit drag and drop content and page builder plugin for WordPress.
Thrive Content Builder provides WordPress users with a new and incredibly easy way to speed up the process of adding great content to WordPress websites.
Once installed, the plugin adds a visual content editor and an item menu that lets you drag and drop design elements to 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.
We will cover all of the above plugins and how these powerful features work together to help you easily transform and improve your site and create amazing marketing pages and engaging content.
Thrive Content Builder Plugin For WordPress
You can easily add content to your web pages using drag and drop elements …
Every aspect of your page can be configured and changed with ”click-to-edit” and “drag and drop” ease …
Once elements have been positioned on a page, you can then continue to edit or customize these without having to go through additional steps or switching tabs …
You can also build beautiful landing pages that can also be easily customized …
Thrive Landing Pages and Content Builder is simple, easy to use, and ideal for all WordPress users at all levels. In fact, designing pages with the plugin installed is so amazingly easy, that the developers guarantee that you’ll never look back once you start using it
For more details, visit the plugin site here: Thrive Content Builder
Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages were created by the same team that developed Thrive Leads, another terrific plugin we’ve written about on this site.
Go here for more information about using this plugin:
Benefits Of Using Thrive Landing Pages And Content Builder Plugin
Below are just a few of the benefits of using Thrive Content Builder to speed up the process of creating content for your site:
Installation Is Easy, Simple And Fast
Thrive Content Builder installs just like any WordPress plugin. Just upload it to your Plugin folder via your WP admin account and activate.
Create & Edit Content In Real Time
Thrive Content Builder is is not only very simple to use, it also lets you create, edit and add content to your web pages in real-time.
What You See Is Really 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.
Additional benefits and advantages include:
- Stunning Page Layouts With Drag-And-Drop Ease: Create any layout you can imagine with intuitive drag-and-drop functionality.
- Add Customizable Elements Without Using Short Codes: With Thrive Content Builder you not only get an exciting and simple-to-use drag and drop content builder, but the plugin also includes a collection of customizable web design elements that you can insert into your web pages without using shortcodes, like pricing tables, styled lists, section dividers, responsive Google maps, 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 build or edit your content or click through multiple steps to get what you want done.
(Insert, edit and customize page elements like testimonials, content toggle, content reveal feature, dividers, Google Map embeds, etc.)
Plugin Features
Thrive Content Builder offers a number of features to web site owners. Here are just some of these features:
- Built-In WordPress Editor Functionality Is Preserved: You have all of the regular content editing options that you are used to (e.g. underlines, left-aligned paragraphs, headings, etc.),
- Drag And Drop Elements: The plugin makes a “drag and drop” table of multi-style elements available on your post or page screen for editing content.
- Conversion-Boosting Elements: The plugin comes with 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 being customizable, multiple design options are also available for various elements.
- Responsive Design: Add responsive columns, guarantee boxes, content dividers, e.g. which will display correctly on devices with differently sized screens.
- Add Animation Events To Web Pages: The Event Manager feature lets you insert animations, trigger lightboxes and more!
(Add Animated Elements To Your Pages)
Thrive Landing Pages – Landing Page Templates
Landing page sets are 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 lets you add conversion-optimized pages to your site)
Thrive Landing Pages – Benefits
- Everything is hosted on your own WordPress site
- Save time building gorgeous landing pages
- 100% conversion-optimized web pages
- No technical skills needed
- Works with all themes
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, conversion optimized page templates and fully customizable …
(Landing page 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 templates that are currently available, the developers plan to release new templates for email lead generation, sales pages, training pages, personal branding pages, webinar pages and more.
Completely Customizable And Flexible Landing Page Template Sets
Normally, in order to fully customize landing page templates, you would need to either pay 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 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 stunning pre-built pages that are fully optimized and ready to go, and complete design freedom that lets you change or customize any aspect of your page …
With the landing page template sets included with this plugin, you can do the following:
- Edit text in all bullet points, headlines, buttons, etc.
- Remove text, images or any other component of your landing page
- Change the background image or colour
- Change the color of links, text, buttons, etc.
- Select your own fonts
- Use your own images
- Change the size of the content area
- Rearrange the order of web page elements
- Translate everything on the page into different languages
- Add any type of custom content anywhere inside any of the pages
- Start with a blank page and create your own page templates, or even build a custom landing pages library.
(Change and edit anything on your page templates)
Transform Your Site Into A Marketing Machine With Thrive Lightbox
The Thrive package includes Thrive Lightbox, which lets you add fully customizable 2-step opt-in forms and events to your pages …
(Add opt-in forms and events to your sales pages with Thrive Lightbox)
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 …
(Opt-in forms help to improve your conversion rates.)
Thrive Lightbox Event Manager
An “event” consists of a trigger and an action. You can make opt-in forms appear when your visitor clicks or hovers their mouse over a button or graphic elements, or when someone reaches a certain point on the page. You can also use the Event Manager to animate images on your page, using a range of effects (e.g. fade in, slide in from left to right, rotate, 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 all events, triggers and design.
Feedback From Customers
Here are a few of the testimonials and comments 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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“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 theme in WordPress, not just with Thrive Landing Pages. Note, however, that you cannot use Thrive Content Builder to edit content that was not created with the plugin.
You can add short codes inside the Content Builder or Landing Pages plugin and they will be displayed correctly on on your web site.
Thrive Lightbox works with any content you build with Thrive Content Builder.
Support
Thrive Content Builder and Landing Pages Plugin provides 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 software updates, and one year unlimited support with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, 30 day, complete money-back guarantee.
This is an exciting product for WordPress users that will just keep 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 – This lets you set up the plugin on 1 website only. Cost includes full feature set, unlimited updates and 1 year of unlimited support. Price = $59.00.
- Unlimited Sites Edition – This lets you set up the plugin on all websites that you personally own. Cost includes full feature set, unlimited updates and one year of unlimited support. Price = $87.00.
- Agency License – Use on your domains and on all your client sites. It includes access to Thrive Content Builder, plus all Thrive Themes & Thrive Plugins. Cost = $247.00 per year.
Note: Price details for the Thrive Content Builder product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The price shown above was current at the time this content was written. This may not be the actual price charged by the software seller when you visit the plugin website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing here:
Additional Info
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 page elements and conversion-optimized templates that help speed up content creation, and on the other hand, you also have complete control over your design process and the ability to change anything and everything on your web page, using the plugin’s visual content editor, which allows you to work unhindered by overly complicated options.
For a demo video showing how the plugin works, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, 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, do it, and you will see the change happen immediately. If you want to move something, all you have to do is simply 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 sales pages and content, Thrive Content Builder delivers an incredible conversion-boosting package with a single, inexpensive plugin.
To learn more, visit the plugin website:
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