I keep in mind the precise mission I first used Superior Customized Fields (ACF) on. It was about seven years in the past and it was a publishing website with a few customized put up sorts and a reasonably funky design for the house web page.
A very good buddy of mine, a number of years my senior in WordPress, pointed me to Superior Customized Fields (ACF). It was precisely what I used to be on the lookout for and I by no means appeared again.
ACF has been this type of catalyst for a lot of within the WordPress ecosystem. My conversations with crew members concerning the plugin today usually begin with…
“Practically each WordPress developer you’ve ever talked to, or will ever discuss to, has used ACF!”
There’s lower than a handful of plugins which have achieved this type of omnipresence, and we’ve gotta give kudos to the plugin’s crew (hat-tip to Elliot Condon and the Scrumptious Brains crew) for introducing new options in recent times that meet rising developer tendencies!
At this time’s 6.0 launch, once more, displays a continuation of that dedication, and demonstrates why this plugin deserves the respect it has. The unique ACF Blocks launch ~3 years in the past was the gateway for tens of 1000’s of builders to shift in the direction of constructing with the Block Editor. With the evolution of the Block Editor within the years since, and with the arrival of Full Website Modifying, the 6.0 launch empowers builders even additional for constructing with trendy WordPress.
Let’s take a look at a number of of those newer options and enhancements
1. A refreshed and refined UI
ACF has at all times been a get-the-job achieved device. It’s been easy in its design and has at all times offered a WordPress-native really feel. This has been excellent and it’s contributed effectively to ACF’s adoption by the greater than 2 million websites which have energetic ACF installs. With these 2 million+ websites comes a trove of consumer suggestions, which the ACF crew tapped into to establish and execute on a lot of interface enhancements.
Particularly, with this newest launch, ACF brings a refined and improved UI to the Subject Group enhancing display screen. These modifications deliberately work to fulfill the next UX aims:
Cut back the vertical top of the sector settings – The ACF crew has reorganized the sector settings into tabs that scale back the peak of a single area on the display screen and improves consumer navigation round this space.
Make major actions at all times seen – The Add New Subject and Save Modifications buttons are actually sticky to the highest of the desk, which means even in lengthy lists of fields, you now have quick access to those major actions.
Simpler area reordering and collapsing – With some easy tweaks, the expertise of reordering and collapsing fields and their settings is now even simpler.
Take a look at the discharge put up right here for a deeper dive into these UI modifications.
2. Repeater Pagination (ACF Professional characteristic)
The Repeater Subject is absolutely the MVP of ACF options, however anybody who has labored with it lengthy sufficient is aware of it could change into unwieldy at scale. With the launch of ACF 6.0 you now have entry to an opt-in characteristic that permits Repeater Fields to be paginated. This implies, in the fitting situations, content material creators have a more-refined consumer expertise and a decreased threat of hitting higher reminiscence limits when sending up to date subfield knowledge again to the server.
3. Accessibility
One of many largest accessibility hurdles with ACF has been the truth that you could possibly not entry a area and its settings utilizing solely a keyboard. This modifications in 6.0 with full help for keyboard-only navigation all through the customized area expertise.
Spherical of applause for ACF placing effort into making the admin of their plugin work for keyboard solely customers! ?? I ♥️ when plugin devs deal with accessibility, and together with backend accessibility is simply as essential as frontend accessibility.https://t.co/6gH9K6sdMO
— Amber Hinds (@heyamberhinds) August 29, 2022
4. First-class block.json help (ACF Professional characteristic)
For the reason that 5.8 launch of WordPress, the popular methodology of registering and configuring blocks has been by means of the block.json configuration file. This strategy has progressively taken desire in official WordPress documentation and now, with ACF 6.0, it comes with first-class help. There are a few plugin-specific nuances to concentrate on, however largely this lets you lean into what WordPress core is doing whereas leveraging the ability of the ACF developer and consumer expertise.
5. Block asset loading (ACF Professional characteristic)
The unique launch of ACF Blocks pioneered block particular asset loading alongside customized blocks. WordPress core has since launched comparative loading strategies by means of asset configuration keys (editorScript, script, editorStyle, and magnificence), and ACF now permits the enqueuing of property by means of these keys as effectively, guaranteeing longer-term core compatibility. The extra upside is that loading property by way of core config keys auto-enables previews within the Block Editor. ?
Even Extra
These are just some of the headline acts for six.0 launch. Take a look at the total launch put up to dig deeper.
Obtain model 6.0
To get your fingers on the newest model of ACF, go right here for the free model on wordpress.org, or go right here and seize your self a PRO license to unlock options like Customized Blocks and the Repeater Subject.
Get began with constructing Customized Blocks
Able to go larger with constructing customized experiences by way of the trendy WordPress Block Editor? This five-minute tutorial will present you the way simple it truly is with ACF.
Superior Customized Fields and WP Engine
Superior Customized Fields has an extended (10+ 12 months) historical past in WordPress. It, alongside a lot of different Scrumptious Brains plugins, joined the WP Engine household in June this 12 months. WP Engine has at all times been a house for those who need to construct highly effective, distinctive, and performant websites on WordPress. We see ACF as central to this effort, as a result of—along with its unbelievable performance—it’s been an integral a part of constructing with WordPress for thus lengthy.
Whether or not builders want extra conventional templating, the ever-improving expertise of the Block Editor and Full Website Modifying, and even moving into the world of headless WordPress, ACF model 6.0 is a large launch. We will’t wait to see what you construct.
Now… it’s on to model 6.1! We predict you’ll prefer it! ?
Rob Stinson is a Sr. Product Advertising Supervisor at WP Engine, the place he’s labored since 2020. Presently serving to lead WP Engine’s rising suite of developer-centric instruments, Rob is concentrated on amplifying the unbelievable worth of those merchandise and telling the tales of those that construct with them.
Discover out extra at wpengine.com, and wpengine.com/builders, or converse to a consultant now.
