Slides from my WordCamp Buffalo 2014 talk on Structuring Content in WordPress using the Advanced Custom Fields plugin. This page will be updated with accompanying wordpress.tv link as soon as it becomes available!

1. STRUCTURING CONTENT
with ADVANCED CUSTOM FIELDS
WordCamp Buffalo 2014

2. Hello!
I’m Jamie Schmid.
EX-DESIGNER, CURRENT WORDPRESS ENTHUSIAST & INFORMATION ARCHITECT
FREELANCE, CORPORATE & IN-BETWEEN
PORTLAND, OR
@jamieschmid

3. Why Custom Fields?
 Structuring content is more important than ever
 Take site out of WYSIWYG box
 Chunks vs blobs: break content into manageable blocks
 Serve together on one page, or divide & send to mobile, API,
anywhere else
 COPE: Create once, publish everywhere
 Good experience for content publishers

4. Custom Post Types vs Taxonomies
vs Custom Fields
 Custom Post Types: WP has 2 different “post” types: post & page.
 Taxonomy: Means of classifying things. Puts the post into a group.
Category and Tags are examples of taxonomies.
 Custom Fields: Data items consisting of a key/value pair, that must be
bound to a content type. Store custom information about the object
they are attached to. Default page already has fields: title field,
WYSIWYG field, featured image field. These are the same thing,
except custom to your own content. You’re just making up field
name, value, and adding the tag to the template field ( the_title();
the_content(); ) yourself!

5. Why Advanced Custom Fields?
o Difficulty in entering content interrupts the
editor’s workflow
o Core custom fields interface is confusing,
not user friendly - lots of work to customize
and limit
o ACF provides an extremely easy to use GUI,
fantastic documentation and support
http://www.advancedcustomfields.com/

6. ACF - Available Fields
Basic Fields
 Text / Text Area
 Number
 Email
 Password
 Date/Color picker
Content
 WYSIWYG full or ltd
 Image
 File
Choice
 Select
 Radio Button
 Checkbox
 True/False
Relational
 Page Link
 Post Object
 Relationship
 Taxonomy
 User
jQuery
 Google Map
 Date Picker
 Color Picker
Layout
 Message
 Tab
 Flex Content *
 Repeater *
 Gallery *
 Options *
* Pro only: $25 single site, $100 lifetime unlmited

7. Fields Demo!

8. Examples of
ACF in Action

14. OPTIONS FIELD use case: content that is repeated in various places across the site

16. REPEATER FIELD use case: content whose format is repeated numerous times on a page

18. REPEATER FIELD use case: easy for user to add their own accordions on a page

22. Conditional Statements
 In Your Theme:
 Best practice to display CF’s with a
conditional
 Can display certain support
elements only if field exists
 Add class to body
 Display alternate data
 Only display posts with a specific
custom field
 In the Admin:
 Setting expiration date for posts
 Page-specific content types
 Extended publish statuses

23. The (Not So Scary) Code

24. Basic Field
Conditionals with image and text field

25. REPEATER FIELD uses the same syntax as the WordPress loop!

26. Content Modeling
Planning your content types before you build
is important.
 Wireframe every page
 You will probably find there are
more pages than you thought.
Maybe even whole sections,
navigations and layouts.
 Use standard naming conventions &
language the user will understand
 Identify unique blocks
 That require special tags, special
format, or shared content: these
are probably good custom field
candidates!
But be realistic.
 Draw a balance between strictly
structured content, and freedom for
the author to enter all the content
they need
 We don’t want to make the author
bend their content to fit your
structure
 Get content as early as you can!
Build out all your Custom Post Types,
Custom Fields and Taxonomies at
the onset; develop the template
while your client populates their
content on staging!

27. Admin UX
Custom Fields Can GREATLY improve the Admin Panel User Experience!
 Hide unused page elements
 Field & Metabox naming conventions
 Logical grouping of related fields
 Tabs
 Page placement – top, main, sidebar
 Conditionals for showing different inputs
 Input Validation
 Notes/directions

28. Potential Issues 
 ACF Plugin must be installed for metadata fields to show
 Can export as PHP for mu_plugins
 wp_search: only searches the_content() – no custom fields
 Search WP & Faceted Search plugins
 rss: only feeds the_content()
 Localization plugins: only translates the_content() (typically)
 ACF text output is not escaped like native WordPress functions
 https://github.com/10up/secured-advanced-custom-fields
 http://codex.wordpress.org/Validating_Sanitizing_and_Escaping_User_Data

29. Questions / Examples?
Thanks :)
Jamie Schmid
@jamieschmid