Thrive Architect Review 2021: Features, Updates, and How It Works

Creating a customizable WordPress website is almost always like pulling teeth. Most of the time, you have to get down and dirty with coding and web development.

It’s extremely frustrating, especially for your average Bob, who doesn’t know much about computers. To make things easy, you need an effective page building plugin. That’s where plugins like Thrive Architect come into play.

So today, we’re coming at you with a new and complete Thrive Architect review. We will also discuss the steps on how to use Thrive Architect to build conversion-focused landing pages on WordPress.

Now we understand that you might not even know what Thrive Architect is.

So here’s a quick rundown:

Thrive Architect is a visual page builder plug-in for WordPress. In simpler terms, this software is designed to help you build cool, responsive, and intuitive landing pages, blog posts, and websites on WordPress without having to look at strings of code.

Sounds pretty good, yes?

However, we know that you need to know how this software looks and works before putting your money on it. So, here’s a Thrive Architect review to get you started.

We’ll be looking at everything there is to look at and make sure that you know all you need to know about this plug-in before discussing its costs.

But if you don’t have the time for all that, here’s a quick overview of all the important factors necessary for a page builder plug-in.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through my link. Thank you.

Thrive Architect Review Overview

Ease of Use/Interface (8.8/10): Thrive Architect has evolved its interface and is now more user-friendly than ever. However, it is a plug-in with many features and will take a little time for most people to adapt.

Features (9/10): This software has some features that you don’t see every day.

Pricing (9.4/10): Awesome value for the price. For a one-time payment, you get access to all features, support, and updates.

Support (8.6/10): Thrive Architect has also spruced up their support team with more responsive staff and useful answers.

A Brief History of Thrive Architect

You may start to think that Thrive Architect is some new kid on the block, wanting to go head to head with more established page builders like Beaver Builder and Elementor.

But, Thrive Architect has been around for a couple of years. In the past, it was called Thrive Content Builder and was also a webpage builder.

So Thrive Architect isn’t operating with a bunch of new tools that haven’t been checked out. Many of this software’s features have been lifted and improved from Thrive Content Builder, so users get to use it the best.

What Can You Do with Thrive Architect

Before we get into the Thrive Architect review, let’s take a look at some uses of this software.

Thrive Architect can be used to:

• Create landing pages
• Create webpages in general.
• Format blog posts
• Build websites.

Thrive Architect is one of many products from Thrive Themes and can be integrated with other Thrive themes products in order to give users an even wider feature list.

Another great thing about this plug-in is that the Thrive Architect page builder is highly conversion-focused with page templates, themes, and elements all suited to drive leads and increase conversions.

We’ll give you more on this later but for now, let’s officially start our Thrive Architect review.

User Interface and Navigation

The first thing you’ll notice about Thrive’s user interface is that it’s really pretty.

The second thing is that there’s a lot of stuff. However, this is one of the major changes in Thrive Architect as compared to Thrive Content Builder. There are a lot more features, but all in all, it’s much easier to navigate.

There’s a dashboard where you can access elements. There’s also a side panel where you can edit the elements you select. Like many other plugins, Thrive for WP features a drag-and-drop website builder.

When you drag-and-drop an element, the sidebar panel automatically changes to element properties so you can edit as you like.

If you’d like to resize any element, you can do it by simply clicking, holding, and dragging the element’s borders as necessary.

And there’s another feature that’s rarely seen in WordPress plugins. It’s called inline text editing. It allows you to type text in any text area.

That is, if you want to add text to a heading or maybe create a new subheading, all you need to do is click on the available text area and type. It beats typing into sidebars and allows you to preview your work faster and make changes easily.

There are more changes, and they’re bigger than inline text. While finding out information for this Thrive Architect review, we realized a feature called Page Events Manager.

This feature allows you to manage events single-page events more easily than ever.

It provides a drop-down of changes you can make on a one-page basis, including text. Changes include normal settings like custom fonts and advanced changes, like accessing a page’s source code.

Since a huge percentage of traffic comes from mobiles, a mobile-responsive website is essential for every business owner.

Thrive, Architect, helps you create one by allowing you to preview your designs and themes through mobile and tablet-sized views. It’s not really a big change, but it is important, especially for marketers and other people whose traffic may come mostly from mobiles.

A save function that reminds users periodically also makes creating a website a little less frustrating. But the revision manager features even more useful.

It gives users the ability to take back any changes they’ve made using the redo and undo buttons. You can also use the keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl+Z for Undo and Ctrl+Y for Redo.

Imagine being able to effortlessly go back to a time before you screwed up. Yeah, that’s what it feels like.

Settings

In this Thrive Architect review, we genuinely tried to get a feel for each feature. However, there are dozens of them, and with updates coming out steadily, who knows what next the Thrive team is going to add?

But, we have to discuss the settings and options available. While we discussed user interface and navigation, we mentioned a side panel that appears whenever you select an element.

This side panel shows the settings and changes that you can apply to that particular element.

And there are a lot.

There are basic settings like typography, width, and size. There are also more advanced changes, like adding icons or even animations.

You’ll also be able to see how your website looks from the perspective of a user with a small phone or tablet.

This way, you’ll be able to check if your website works for mobile users, and if it doesn’t, choose a design that will.

WordPress has templates optimized for mobile devices, but they can be considered few compared to Thrive Themes’ catalog.

If you know that your target audience is more likely to access your website with a phone, it’s best that you use this feature as much as possible.

Elements

The text under the above heading should take up 60% of this article, but we’re going to cut that into a twelfth of its original size. We still have a lot to tell you in this Thrive Architect review.

Elements are the heart of any WordPress page builder plug-in. They add all the features needed to make your website shine. They’re basically the building blocks of any WordPress site.

Thrive Architect has several elements. And, since this plug-in is heavily focused on marketing and lead generation, these elements are strongly focused on conversion.

Elements like Content reviews and testimonials are all there to help marketers increase their sales.

There are hundreds of icons and Thrive Architect landing page templates for you to choose from. You can also create great CTA ending links by making a button with the properties panel.

They can be any size (change sizes by using the size presets), and you can style them according to your preferences.

You can also add video pop-ups, tables, gradient backgrounds, rounded corners, click to tweet, countdown timers, Facebook comments, and more.

Please note that there will be more elements added as Thrive Architect continues to be updated.

Note that you can add elements and widgets from other plug-ins that you make active on your site. They’ll appear on your Thrive Architect design.

Page Structures and Layouts

Just like the layout of a store determines your customers’ first impression of you, your website’s layout is also important for impressing visitors. But arranging a page with any software can be tedious and confusing.

Thrive Architect makes things much more flexible by allowing elements to be dragged anywhere. That is, they don’t have to have a fixed spot.

If there’s enough space to drop them, then there they can be. Any space is fair game, so you can move elements until you find your ideal page structure.

And while you can create page layouts by adding elements like columns and rows, by simply dragging an element into position, Thrive can automatically create a column for you.

The fact that you can create layouts without leveraging sections doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t create them.

Sections can be useful, and you can create them easily by simply adding the “background section” element to your page. Some other useful layout elements are content boxes and columns.

All of these can be easily manipulated to fit your specifications.

Content and Page Templates

This is the subheading you’ve all been waiting for: templates! Templates are arguably the best thing about page builder plug-ins.

After all, who doesn’t want a mostly ready website that you can start using with just a little personalization? Templates save so much time and effort that it’s ridiculous.

Thrive Architect has a library that has over 200 templates. There are templates for all sorts of websites, from yoga to corporate to portfolios; there are so many to choose from.

Many templates fit into the traditional sense of a business website or blog, but more are fully conversion-based.

These templates can be used for building landing pages and formatting blog posts.

You can also create cool Thrive Architect home pages and sales pages using them. These sorts all aim to drive conversions by asking the visitor to click a link, fill in their emails, or take some other action.

All of Thrive Architect’s templates can be customized down to the littlest detail.

A disliked feature is the inability to preview or delete within the builder templates before importing them onto your page.

We hope that this will get resolved within the next few updates, but for now, you can preview all the designs you want from Thrive Architect’s template gallery.

Thrive Architect is also well-known for its speedy pages.

Because most of their templates and pre-built landing pages are made to help marketers and drive conversions, they know that page speed is a top priority if visitors are to be made into customers.

All in all, Thrive Architect has great, functional templates that work especially well for marketers and blog owners. However, this isn’t all that Architect has to offer.

There are a few extra features available.

Extras

This is a Thrive Architect review. But, you really can’t mention Thrive Architect without also commenting on the other tools in its suite.

Thrive Themes has created a bunch of plug-ins that can also help grow your site. Some work especially well with Thrive Architect’s conversion-focused templates like Thrive Comments and Thrive Leads.

When you buy the whole suite of tools, Thrive Architect builder gets an API integration feature that integrates all Thrive Themes’ tools. It can also be used with software that was not made by Thrive Themes.

Okay, so now that you know what features Thrive Architect has, it’s time for you to learn how they’re used.

Thrive Architect is a page builder, and we’re going to teach you how to make use of its many features to get your ideal landing page or website.

To follow these steps, you will first need to purchase and upload a Thrive Architect license on your WordPress account or become a Thrive Theme member.

How to Build Pages with Thrive Architect

You can start building a page in two ways. Either select one of the pre-designed Thrive Architect landing page templates to start with or start from zero by using a blank template.

If you already have a concrete idea of what you want your landing page to look like then, we recommend the blank page. If you’re a little unsure, you can scroll through the template options to check if any catch your eye.

There are many landing page templates on Thrive Architect that are perfect for building home pages, landing pages for online courses, affiliate marketing landing pages, eCommerce sales funnels e.t.c.

And by following the steps below, you can build one very quickly.

Building a Landing Page with a Template

Step #1

Choose the Launch Thrive Architect button to create a new page. The page below will appear, please choose the Pre-built Landing Page option.

This is only a step on the way to viewing the templates.

Step #2

After doing that a page showing all the available landing page templates will appear. You can scroll to find the template that matches your need or use the search box to find it.

Thrive Architect has its landing pages grouped into Template Sets. There are over 40 template sets as of today. Within these sets is one Online Course Smart Landing Page Set. It comes with:

• Online Course Sales page template
• Thank You page template
• Lead Generation page template
• Confirmation page template
• Image-driven Sales page template
• Course Launch page template
• Webinar Sign Up page template
• Webinar Thank You page template
• Application page template
• Event page template
• Upsell page template
• Blank Page (for building from scratch)

This set contains a lot more than what we’ve managed to get on here, and if you create online courses, it seems it’ll be worth the time it takes to set up.

You can find out more about the smart landing page set within the update post right here (it’s the fifth item).

To pick the template you like, click on it to select it and hit the Apply Template button.

Step #3: Customization

When you’ve picked out a template that’s right for you, it’s time to start customizing it.

There’s a plus [+] icon on the right side of the page. Click it, and the Thrive Architect menu will show up.

All templates have different elements, but they all share some common ones like Headings, font, color, etc.

However, some special templates like the Online Course Smart Landing Page Set have special features and can create special pages tailored to their purpose.

All of your customizations will be immediately visible as you edit. There is the option of switching to preview mode, but Thrive Architect is a real What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get landing page builder.

Building a Landing Page with a Blank Page

Like we said, if you’ve already gotten your inspiration from elsewhere and have a clear idea of what you want your page to look like, then a clean canvas might be the best starting point for you.

Step #1

The first step to creating your own page is setting a background image or layer. Then you can apply a solid color over it to create contrast and better aesthetics. However, this is just a guideline.

Feel free to play with the elements and add as many layers to create whatever effect you want. You can use patterns, gradient colors, or even a video background.

Step #2

Once your background is set, click on that plus [+] sign on the screen’s right side. When the menu appears, select Background Section. Another screen will pop up on your left. Within it, toggle the setting that says Content covers the entire screen width.

This setting allows for a full-width background at all times. That is, no matter what WordPress theme you’re using, your background will always cover the screen.

Step #3: Add Content

The Content Box can also be found under the plus [+] symbol. Content boxes can hold multiple elements, including text, headings, and images.

You just have to click on the content box first, then on the other elements of your choice. Fill in the text you want, drag your box to your ideal position, and voilà, a new good-looking box of Content.

If you think your new box will be useful in future pages, you can save it as a Content Template.

And, you’re done. You’ve created a basic web page. We can’t guide you on the rest because how the rest of the page turns out depends on personal taste and purpose. However, we can tell you of three features you can add.

• The Vertical Split Screen

A recent feature that you can use to create a vertical split-screen layout with different elements on either side of the screen. It’s a great tool when you want to create contrast.

• Testimonials

Testimonials are genuine proof that your product or service works. Its effect cannot be overemphasized. Good news for you: Thrive Architect has over 30 testimonial templates that you can customize and add to your page.

• Email Integration

Thrive Architect is a conversion-focused plug-in. And when you generate leads, you need some way to market products to them. Thrive Architect helps with this by letting you connect to your email service through an API or HTML code.

Here’s the list of services Thrive Themes currently supports through their API module.

Thrive Architect Pricing

Thrive Architect has a straightforward price list. You get a lifetime license for Thrive Architect for a one-time fee of $67, five lifetime keys for $97, and 15 for $147.

These options, including unlimited updates and a year’s access to the Thrive support team. You also get a 30-day money-back guarantee.

OR

You can become a Thrive Member for $19/month and get access to all Thrive Team plug-ins + 25 licenses for Thrive Architect, including Thrive Optimize to A/B test your landing pages.

Neither is a bad deal; it all depends on your current needs and budget.

We’re wrapping up this Thrive Architect review, so here are our pros and cons.

Pros of Thrive Architect

• Your Content is saved to WordPress, not Thrive Architect.
• Using the available templates saves you time.
• Regular updates and new features.
• Has in-built lead generation features.
• One-time lifetime fee.
• Modification and editing are easy.
• Strong, reliable support.
• Focused on responsive designs for every device.
• Reasonable pricing

Cons

• The mobile landing page sometimes differs from mobile design.
• Lots of elements make navigation get cluttered.
• The lack of problem-specific tutorials gets annoying fast.

Is Thrive Architect the Right Plug-in For You? (Conclusion)

Honestly, this is a question meant for you. Thrive Architect doesn’t have a free plan, so if you’re on a tight budget, you can’t access it.

However, as you’ve seen in this Thrive Architect review, it does offer clear value for its price with awesome features and continuous updates for a one-time fee.

If your question is, “Do you recommend it?” then we’d have to say, yeah, we do.