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 resolution for builders and content material creators who need simplicity and adaptability. Options like area teams, conditional logic, the Repeater area, Relationship fields, and extra just lately customized ACF Blocks, have made the plugin a useful software for a lot of freelancers and businesses. Greater than 4.5 million web sites now use ACF to increase WordPress.
At present, the following technology of ACF rolls out. With model 6.1, you can’t solely use the plugin so as to add customized fields, but in addition add and configure customized put up 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 usually has three items and appears one thing just like the desk under, exhibiting how issues are in WordPress core and the way issues look when folks lengthen WordPress:
The put up varieties, metadata, and taxonomies for examples 1 and a pair of are included out-of-the-box in WordPress. In the event you’ve ever written a weblog put up in WordPress, these can 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 “automobile itemizing” web sites.
Up till as we speak, Superior Customized Fields dealt with (fairly brilliantly, may I add) solely metadata. With model 6.1, it now handles the complete three layers. These three layers of configuration are sometimes known as content material modeling and are one thing so broadly applied throughout websites constructed with ACF that it made sense to carry these options into the core plugin.
Bringing these options collectively implies 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 steadiness between flexibility and construction and sometimes use it for headless WordPress purposes.
We continuously see websites hosted with Atlas utilizing ACF as their content material modeling software of alternative. With these updates, headless WordPress builders can take ACF even additional because the standardized basis for his or her headless initiatives.
Higher In-App Function Discovery
Too usually in software program, customers don’t know a function exists till they want it and go in search of it. This may 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, ideas, and tips 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. As an illustration, as a person selects a area sort they’ll optionally “browse fields”, opening a modal with way more context than the straightforward drop-down listing offers.
Free as in Beer
Now chances are you’ll assume that these new options are solely obtainable in ACF PRO. Properly, you’ll be incorrect! Registering customized taxonomies and put up varieties could be performed 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 unbelievable websites. We’re extremely excited to carry 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 best way so many construct with WordPress and our developer advocate staff is investing increasingly more into occasions and content material to allow you to succeed. In the event you’re trying to develop as a WordPress skilled, be sure you take a look at our Builders group. Loads of ACF goodness is ready there for you!
