Customized fields are the usual technique for assigning customized metadata to posts and pages in WordPress, and for greater than 10 years, Superior Customized Fields has been the undisputed main answer for builders and content material creators who need simplicity and adaptability. Options like subject teams, conditional logic, the Repeater subject, Relationship fields, and extra lately customized ACF Blocks, have made the plugin a useful instrument for a lot of freelancers and companies. Greater than 4.5 million web sites now use ACF to increase WordPress. 

At the moment, the subsequent technology of ACF rolls out. With model 6.1, you cannot solely use the plugin so as to add customized fields, but in addition add and configure customized publish varieties and customized taxonomies.

What This Means

When extending WordPress, there’s a frequent construction for the way knowledge is modeled for an internet site or utility. It typically has three items and appears one thing just like the desk under, displaying how issues are in WordPress core and the way issues look when people prolong WordPress:

The publish varieties, metadata, and taxonomies for examples 1 and a couple of are included out-of-the-box in WordPress. When you’ve ever written a weblog publish in WordPress, these will probably be acquainted to you. Examples 3 and 4 present customized implementations the place a developer extends WordPress to facilitate these for the web site or utility they’re constructing. Examples being for “guide evaluate” and “automotive itemizing” web sites.

Up till at this time, Superior Customized Fields dealt with (fairly brilliantly, would possibly I add) solely metadata. With model 6.1, it now handles the total three layers. These three layers of configuration are sometimes referred to as content material modeling and are one thing so broadly applied throughout websites constructed with ACF that it made sense to convey these options into the core plugin.

Bringing these options collectively signifies that web site builders can now reduce the variety of plugins they should depend on when scaffolding out their content material mannequin. 

A Boon to Headless WordPress Builders

One other very thrilling issue of those new options is the behind-the-scenes API enhancements. Builders love ACF for its stunning stability between flexibility and construction and sometimes use it for headless WordPress purposes. 

We incessantly see websites hosted with Atlas utilizing ACF as their content material modeling instrument of selection. With these updates, headless WordPress builders can take ACF even additional because the standardized basis for his or her headless initiatives.

Higher In-App Characteristic Discovery

Too typically in software program, customers don’t know a characteristic exists till they want it and go on the lookout for it. This could generally imply our customers miss out on worth. Our latest “7 Issues You Didn’t Know You Might Do With ACF” session at DE{CODE} was a testomony to this in ACF. We showcased a roster of options, suggestions, and methods that highlighted unrealized worth to many long-term ACF customers. 

With 6.1 we’re beginning to introduce enhancements to the UI that encourage native and contextual discovery. For example, as a person selects a subject sort they’ll optionally “browse fields”, opening a modal with way more context than the easy drop-down record offers.

Free as in Beer

Now you might assume that these new options are solely out there in ACF PRO. Nicely, you’d be incorrect! Registering customized taxonomies and publish varieties will be accomplished in each the free and PRO variations of ACF. 

At WP Engine, we’re dedicated to enabling as broad an viewers of WordPress professionals as attainable to construct unimaginable websites. We’re extremely excited to convey the worth of those new options to all ACF customers, for each conventional and headless initiatives.

Degree up Your ACF Skillz

ACF is central to the way in which so many construct with WordPress and our developer advocate workforce is investing increasingly more into occasions and content material to allow you to succeed. When you’re seeking to develop as a WordPress skilled, ensure you try our Builders group. Loads of ACF goodness is ready there for you!