Drag & Drop WordPress Themes

Sallie Goetsch

September 7, 2013

FREE OPTIONS

MiniMax Page Layout Builder

http://wordpress.org/plugins/page-layout-builder/

Page Layout Builder Settings

MiniMax Layout Tab: Columns

MiniMax Add Modules

MiniMax Page with Modules

MiniMax Page: Front End

MiniMax Layout Builder: Conclusion

• Reasonably intuitive

• Limited selection of modules in free version

• Some conflicts with normal WordPress functions, e.g. media library

• Could still be useful, but I wasn’t that impressed.

iFeature (CyberChimps)

iFeature Options

iFeature Header Layout

iFeature Blog Layout

iFeature +Portfolio -Slider

iFeature: Conclusion

• Partly drag-and-drop

• Easy to use

• Can create a home page without posts

• Minimal control over styling

• Limited layout options

• Suitable for beginners

PageLines Lite

PageLines Site Options

PageLines Layout Editor

PageLines Layout Editor 2

PageLines Drag and Drop

Applying a PageLines Template

PageLines: Conclusion

• Fairly flexible even in free version

• Not immediately intuitive—lots of different settings pages

• Combination of drag-and-drop and other selectors

• Modify templates on a per-page basis

• Can be used by beginners, but there’s a learning curve

Snapshot (SiteOrigin)

SiteOrigin Page Builder

SiteOrigin Page Builder Settings

Site Origin Widgets

SiteOrigin Home Page Builder

PageBuilder Tab

SiteOrigin: Conclusion

• Widget-based

• More click-and-add than drag-and-drop

• Allows page-based and post-based layouts

• Assumes you already have site content (post categories, etc.)

• Designed to work within the styling of the SiteOrigin themes

PREMIUM OPTIONS

iThemes Builder

Builder Layouts and Views

Add New Builder Layout

New Layout Applied

Error message due to lack of posts to feature

Custom Builder Layout Metabox

Select a Builder Layout instead of a page template when creating a new page.

Builder Style Manager

iThemes Builder: Conclusion

• Not really drag-and-drop

• Very well-documented

• Page-by-page layout options

• Modules for restaurants, churches, events, audio

• Style manager plugin

• Many child themes available

Themify Builder

Themify Themes

Themify Default Layouts

Themify Page Builder Settings

Themify Styling

Themify Skins

Themify Widgets

Themify Custom Panel: Page Options

Themify Custom Panel: Post Query

Themify Custom Panel: Builder

Themify Page Modules

Themify Module Options

Themify: Slider, Highlights, Box

Themify: Portfolio, Posts

Themify Footer

Note to self: make 1-level menu for footer

Themify Front-end Editing

Drag to move

Drag to adjust width

Click to collapse

Hover to edit

Themify Post Meta

Themify Options

Themify Builder: Conclusion

• Good number of modules

• Most modules are custom post types

• Fairly intuitive to use

• Front-end editing is cool

• Themes are resource-intensive

• Can add custom CSS classes

• Builder info stored in _postmeta and _options tables