Suggestions for Drag and Drop Plug-ins. Yes or No?

[purplemagpie]

Hi Everyone,

I've been researching Drag and Drop plug-ins to see if they work with Studio Press websites.

1) I have some clients that are getting into making simple changes but don't need or want to deal with coding and short codes and snippets. I'm thinking of things like inserting a two-column section on a page, a blue box here, a different something there on a page.

2) I'm wondering if I could make the "content" portion of the pages I make nicer looking in an easier way with a Drag and Drop plug-in. Quick and easy.

I've already done some research but the Big Questions are:

1) Do these Drag and Drop plug-ins work with Genesis Themes? I see Dynamik when I Google for Genesis Drag and Drop plugins. But one review says it doesn't work with child themes. Any comments?
2) Will they do weird things to the code that will make the site "freak out" when things are updated?
3) Is there a way to, say, use one of these WP Drag and Drop plug-ins to design a page and then copy/paste the code into Genesis/Child Theme?

Are there plans to offer Drag and Drop design system for Genesis? Am I missing something if there is a similar system I could be using, please, do tell. (If they decide to make one, I prefer the ones where you can see your changes in real time on the Edit Page / Edit Post pages.)

Also, if Drag and Drop plug-ins isn't the answer, got any suggestions on best way to make these simple changes? A recommended plug-in or technique?

Finally, is there a better system for WYSIWYG than what is now available for Genesis. Being able to actually see what something actually looks, and how the different fonts and headline sizes compare to each other would go a loooonnngg way in making changes easier for non-geeky people. Right now, the poor folks (and me) can't see what inserting a short code will do until they View Changes and that's a lot of time and frustration.

Thanks for ideas and comments.

Maggie

[nutsandbolts]

Dynamik is a child theme itself, so that's why you're finding that it won't work with other Genesis child themes. However, there is a plugin called Genesis Extender that is made by the same company and does the same thing on existing themes. Not exactly drag and drop but it's worth watching the videos to see if it might work for you.

To make easy design changes (colors, fonts, etc.) look at the Genesis Design Palette Pro plugin - it's amazing, and you can see your changes live in the dashboard before you save.

To my knowledge, the other drag and drop plugins (MotoPress, VelocityPage, etc.) should work with Genesis, but I would email the plugin developer before purchasing to be 100% sure.

Hope that helps!

---

Andrea Whitmer, Owner/Developer, Nuts and Bolts Media
I provide development and training services for designers • Find me on Twitter and Google+

[purplemagpie]

Andrea,

Thanks for the info. I will check these out and see how they work.

Maggie

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