Are you having trouble getting your WordPress site to look exactly how you want it to?
If you’re using a normal WordPress theme or theme framework, it’s very likely that you’ll be tearing your hair out at some point.
Why?
Because most themes include a set of hidden limits that you learn after you’ve purchased them.
So, instead of a regular WordPress theme, why not try a visual theme builder? There is no coding. There are no developers. It’s just a simple drag-and-drop design.
Take a deep dive into the theme’s features, the good, the bad, and if you should use it for your WordPress website in this Thrive Theme Builder review.
Ready? Let’s get started!
What exactly is Thrive Theme Builder?
Thrive Theme Builder is Thrive Themes’ new flagship offering that complements their legacy themes.
In their own words:
Thrive Theme Builder is the first visual drag-and-drop theme designer for WordPress, allowing you to build the structure and layout of your site in under 15 minutes.
So, what’s the bottom line?
- -It’s a theme, not a plugin or a hack.
- -It is simple to set up and utilise.
- -It provides a full visual drag-and-drop user experience.
The visual editor is similar to that of Thrive Architect, however Thrive Theme Builder allows you to modify the entire site rather than just individual pages.
You may, for example, graphically design and change your header, footer, blog post templates, sidebar, page layout, category pages, search pages, 404s, and other elements.
In a nutshell, it’s unlike any other WordPress theme.
Highlights of the Affiliate Booster Theme Review
- -Brilliant-Fast Loading
- -Optimized Schema
- -Compatible with Elementor and Gutenberg
- -Free Affiliate Booster Plugin
- -Completely Responsive
- -Controls for Typography
- -Color Management
- -Score on Google SEO = 99
Features of Thrive Theme Builder
Let’s take a look at some of the key features that set Thrive Theme Builder apart and make it so simple to use.
1. Several companion themes
You won’t be limited to a single theme here.
Thrive Theme Builder comes with a variety of partner themes. They intend to introduce more in the future.
So far, we’ve got:
- -Shapeshift
- -Ommi
- -Kwik
For the sake of this review, we’ll be using Shapeshift. Kwik, on the other hand, is the most recent version and was created with Core Web Vitals in mind — it is extremely quick.
2. A site wizard to help with setup and customization.
Building a WordPress site may be difficult, time-consuming, and overwhelming. When you choose a theme, you will definitely have to work with some components to get your site to look the way you want it to.
However, Thrive Theme Builder includes a site setup wizard that will lead you through a number of steps to get your first site up and running in under 15 minutes:
If you feel the need to restart, there is a “Restart the Wizard” option that erases everything and returns you to the beginning.
Alternatively, if you wish to change any of the elements, you can always return to the wizard at any moment.
For example, you can modify your Header by selecting one of the templates available, such as:
- – Logo – Menu – CTA
- -Logo – Navigation – Search
- -Logo, Phone, and Menu
Burger logo (menu)
-Menu – Logo – Social Media
Header templates come in a variety of shapes, colours, sizes, and structures. The same is true for Footers, which include:
- -Centered Logo
- -More than one column
- -Contact Information Form
- -Contact Information
- -Generation of Leads
Following the headers and footers, you can go to your Homepage, which includes themes for Personal Branding, Service Businesses, and Local Businesses:
There are also a plethora of themes for Single Blog Posts, Blog Post Lists, and Pages.
3. Global options for updating your site across the board
Aside from the site wizard, there are four more menu items where you can make global changes quickly:
1. Establishing a brand
With the branding feature, you may personalise the theme to match your brand’s colours, logo, and favicon.
First, you can select or change the default brand colour used in the setup wizard:
Following that, you may upload a dark and light version of your logo, and Thrive Theme Builder will use the correct one in various places around your site:
Finally, you can include a favicon to help identify your site in browser tabs:
2. Typography
The typography options allow you to adjust all of your theme’s general typography in one place. For example, you can alter all of the headers (H1-H6) as a group or change a single heading, such as changing the H4 heading to orange:
3. Design templates
Thrive Theme Builder includes default templates for Single Content, such as blog posts and landing pages, as well as List templates, such as blog list pages and archive (category) pages. And this is where you may make changes to those templates or create new ones:
4. Site Performance
One of the most recent worldwide enhancements is the Site Speed optimization panel. These three site performance options essentially allow you to preload the same plugins and settings that Thrive recommends for a website running their Theme Builder, resulting in a lightning-fast site.
Minification and caching — Thrive has one-click integrations with popular performance plugins like WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, and WP Fastest Cache, so you don’t have to spend hours configuring the mind-boggling minification and caching settings. Choose your plugin and then click the “Optimal Caching with Thrive” button:
Image Optimization — The second option allows you to select one of two integrated third-party plugins, Optimole or Smush, to compress and serve your photos across a delivery network at the exact dimensions you require:
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) — The third solution enables you to enable AMP without the usual complicated configuration. If you enable AMP optimization, it will assist to serve your webpages faster on mobile devices:
Because the AMP optimization feature is currently in beta testing, it should not be used on live websites.
4. All items can be edited with a point-and-click interface.
Thrive Theme Builder allows you to easily alter any theme elements, including headers and footers, without having to navigate through a plethora of menus.
For example, if you’re modifying the homepage, you may click on the header element and edit it without returning to the wizard.
You can either modify the existing template by clicking on the header and selecting “Edit Section,” or replace it with a different template by clicking “Replace.” You could, for example, add an icon to the dropdown menu items:
Remember that the header is a global setting, so changes made here will effect all pages on your site, saving you time.
5. Lead generation elements that are integrated
Thrive Theme Builder, like all Thrive products, was designed with conversions in mind, which means you can add lead generation components like opt-in forms and contact forms to your pages without using any additional plugins.
For example, by clicking on the built-in “Thrive Architect Light” button, you may alter the lead generating features on this homepage template:
Then, using the usual visual editor choices, modify the lead generation settings as follows:
6. Infinite design possibilities
Omni and Shapeshift are two ready-to-use companion themes that come with Thrive Theme Builder. There are hundreds of templates and design options available for each theme, allowing you to build your website precisely how you want it. There’s also a blank page template if you want to start from scratch.
Shapeshift, for example, has five pre-designed homepage themes from which to choose. Each one is tailored to a certain use case, such as a business, a local business, a service-based firm, a content-focused blog, or personal branding:
However, regardless of which template you use, you may add pre-designed page sections, known as Website Blocks, to easily alter particular areas of your page:
For example, suppose your webpage is good but you want to add a testimonial area. You can easily select a page block from the template library:
Then, simply drag and drop the page block onto the page to see how it instantly matches the overall design and feel of your site. Here’s an example of a testimonial page block that I changed to match my existing orange brand colour scheme:
You have an infinite number of design options thanks to the built-in icon packs, fonts, gradients, fancy dividers, and other design features. And, because you have a built-in visual editor, you can tweak any element (just like in Thrive Architect) and see how it looks before saving your changes:
7. Integrations with third-party services
Thrive Theme Builder connects with a plethora of third-party web tools and apps, in addition to Thrive products.
- -Email marketing services, such as ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit, MailChimp, and Sendinblue.
- -Transactional email services such as AmazonSES, Postmark, Mandrill, and others.
- -Webinar and video conferencing platforms such as Goto Webinar, WebinarJam, Zoom, and others.
- -Other: Zapier, reCaptcha, WordPress, and so on.
8. WooCommerce compatibility
WooCommerce is now supported by a recent Thrive Theme Builder update, with suitable templates added to allow you to construct the following page types:
- -Product
- -Shop
- -Account
- -Cart
- -Checkout
9. How fast is Thrive Theme Builder?
No, it’s not slow.
In fact, in our tests, Thrive Theme Builder outperforms other popular WordPress page builders. Even on the go.
When Adam updated his personal blog, he was able to achieve a blisteringly fast PageSpeed score when combined with Cloudways hosting with WP Rocket:
It was also quite fast on mobile, scoring in the mid 70s.
To put that in context, that is a higher mobile PageSpeed score than Google’s own blog, which is loading with AMP enabled.
Then, Thrive published an update to Project Light Speed. This effectively prevents your site from loading unneeded scripts and is simple to apply. Adam’s blog postings began to score in the 90s on Google’s PageSpeed analyser at that moment.
Adam was using the Ommi companion theme, but you’ll probably get speedier results with the newer, Kwik theme.
Thrive Theme Builder - Pros and Cons
Pros
- -It’s a standalone theme, not a page builder plugin masquerading as a theme.
- -Includes Thrive Architect Light, a drag-and-drop visual editor.
- -It’s simple to set up as you work your way through the site wizard.
- -Includes many templates for each section of your site theme – header, footer, homepages, blog posts, and so on.
- -Includes many templates for various theme components — for example, you may select from a variety of different author bio templates and alter them using the visual editor.
- -It integrates with online important tools and programmes, such as API integrations for the most major email marketing providers.
- -Works with other Thrive Themes plugins, such as opt-in forms built with Thrive Leads and testimonials collected with Thrive Ovation.
- -Three companion themes, each with a vast selection of unique page + block templates.
cons
- -This is not a stand-alone product.
- -There is a steeper learning curve than with a conventional WordPress theme, but the setup wizard will help you get up to speed faster.
What is the price of Thrive Theme Builder?
A single site licence for Thrive Theme Builder is $97 per year.
Alternatively, you can get Thrive Theme Builder as part of the Thrive Suite for $299 per year or $99 each quarter.
Other amazing marketing tools included in the suite include Thrive Leads for email list building, Thrive Ovation for collecting and displaying testimonials, and Thrive Quiz Builder for lead creation and engagement.
Check out our entire Thrive Themes review to discover more about Thrive Suite.
Final comments on Thrive Theme Builder
Thrive Theme Builder is a complete WordPress theme and site builder. It’s difficult to compare it to other goods because nothing else on the market works in this manner.
And, because it is a theme rather than a plugin, it does not function in the same way as page builder plugins do.
It differs greatly from typical WordPress themes and frameworks in the following ways:
- -Your website will be up and operating in no time.
- -A professional design with complete creative freedom
- -Global theme settings and limitless customization options
- You may consider Thrive Theme Builder to be an ecosystem of themes for various purposes.
So, who is it intended for?
In a nutshell, anyone.
It will suit content creators, bloggers, solopreneurs, infopreneurs, local businesses, and personal brands because it is a conversion-focused theme that avoids the need to fiddle with coding or hire a developer for sophisticated modification.
And it’s certainly worth a go, so give it a shot now!
Get Thrive Theme Builder access.
