I keep in mind the precise venture I first used Superior Customized Fields (ACF) on. It was about seven years in the past and it was a publishing web site with a few customized put up varieties and a reasonably funky design for the house web page.
An excellent pal 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 staff members in regards to the plugin nowadays usually begin with…
“Practically each WordPress developer you’ve ever talked to, or will ever speak 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 staff (hat-tip to Elliot Condon and the Scrumptious Brains crew) for introducing new options in recent times that meet rising developer traits!
At the moment’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 hundreds 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 Web site Modifying, the 6.0 launch empowers builders even additional for constructing with fashionable 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 performed device. It’s been easy in its design and has at all times supplied a WordPress-native really feel. This has been excellent and it’s contributed nicely 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 staff tapped into to determine and execute on a lot of interface enhancements.
Particularly, with this newest launch, ACF brings a refined and improved UI to the Area Group enhancing display screen. These modifications deliberately work to satisfy the next UX goals:
Cut back the vertical top of the sector settings – The ACF staff has reorganized the sector settings into tabs that cut back the peak of a single discipline on the display screen and improves consumer navigation round this space.
Make major actions at all times seen – The Add New Area and Save Adjustments buttons at the moment are sticky to the highest of the desk, which means even in lengthy lists of fields, you now have easy accessibility to those major actions.
Simpler discipline reordering and collapsing – With some easy tweaks, the expertise of reordering and collapsing fields and their settings is now even simpler.
Try the discharge put up right here for a deeper dive into these UI modifications.
2. Repeater Pagination (ACF Professional function)
The Repeater Area is absolutely the MVP of ACF options, however anybody who has labored with it lengthy sufficient is aware of it will possibly turn out to be unwieldy at scale. With the launch of ACF 6.0 you now have entry to an opt-in function that permits Repeater Fields to be paginated. This implies, in the fitting eventualities, content material creators have a more-refined consumer expertise and a lowered 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 would not entry a discipline and its settings utilizing solely a keyboard. This modifications in 6.0 with full assist for keyboard-only navigation all through the customized discipline expertise.
Spherical of applause for ACF placing effort into making the admin of their plugin work for keyboard solely customers! 👏👏 I ♥️ when plugin devs concentrate on accessibility, and together with backend accessibility is simply as vital as frontend accessibility.https://t.co/6gH9K6sdMO
— Amber Hinds (@heyamberhinds) August 29, 2022
4. Firstclass block.json assist (ACF Professional function)
Because the 5.8 launch of WordPress, the popular methodology of registering and configuring blocks has been by way of the block.json configuration file. This method has progressively taken desire in official WordPress documentation and now, with ACF 6.0, it comes with first-class assist. There are a few plugin-specific nuances to pay attention to, 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 function)
The unique launch of ACF Blocks pioneered block particular asset loading alongside customized blocks. WordPress core has since launched comparative loading strategies by way of asset configuration keys (editorScript, script, editorStyle, and magnificence), and ACF now permits the enqueuing of belongings by way of these keys as nicely, guaranteeing longer-term core compatibility. The extra upside is that loading belongings 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. Try the total launch put up to dig deeper.
Obtain model 6.0
To get your palms 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 Area.
Get began with constructing Customized Blocks
Able to go greater 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+ yr) historical past in WordPress. It, alongside a lot of different Scrumptious Brains plugins, joined the WP Engine household in June this yr. 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 favor extra conventional templating, the ever-improving expertise of the Block Editor and Full Web site Modifying, and even getting into the world of headless WordPress, ACF model 6.0 is a large launch. We are able to’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 targeted 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 communicate to a consultant now.
