Flexible Content in WordPress (with ACF Pro)

Article originally published in 2018 on lovetocode.com, now updated with a modern approach.

One of the biggest frustrations when creating a WordPress blog is its inherent rigidity, especially when it comes to customizing and adding new elements. Every time you need to make a change, it typically requires the help of a developer. This can quickly become costly, time-consuming, and lead to delays.

Every time you need to make a structural change, you often need a developer. Not only is this expensive in terms of money, but it also incurs an opportunity cost. What if you needed to reorder content today, but couldn’t because the website is fixed and you need a developer to make the change? You might lose potential sales in the process.

Fortunately, there is a solution that empowers you to make changes quickly and easily—without needing a developer every time. This is particularly useful for agencies looking to build reusable code for multiple client sites.

Meet Advanced Custom Fields (ACF)

ACF is a WordPress plugin that brings the flexibility you need to the platform. It allows you to create custom sections or components (or blocks) that you can re-arrange on your own—without having to bug your developer every time you need something changed. And if you’re an agency, it’s even better because you can build reusable code that can be used across multiple client sites.

Step 1: Add a new Row

First up, you need to add a “row.” Think of this as a section of your website. Some common sections include hero images, logos, testimonials, FAQs, and CTAs (Call To Actions)—but you can basically create any kind of section you want.

In ACF, these sections are called “rows.”

Step 2: Choose a layout or block you want to add to the Row

Once you’ve added your row, it’s time to pick a block or component to place inside it. This could be a simple header, a text box, an image, or anything you need to display. The beauty of ACF is that it lets you organize content in all kinds of ways. For example, you can add multiple images side-by-side in separate columns within a row.

It’s pretty flexible, but the specific functionality will depend on what your developer has set up. Either way, it’s way more adaptable than the standard WordPress setup.

Step 3: Populate the fields with content

Once the structure is laid out, it’s time to add your content. This part is straightforward—just pop in your text, images, or whatever media you want to display. Simple.

Step 4 - Optional: Re-order if needed

Here’s where ACF really shines. If you ever need to change the layout or reorder sections on your website, it’s easy. No developer needed! You can simply drag and drop your sections around to re-organize the content, whenever you feel like it.

No more lost sales or frustrating time because a dev didn't do something on time.

Conclusions

ACF Pro does something that WordPress should have built in from the start. It fills a big gap in customization. It’s also one of the most popular plugins out there, bringing in millions of dollars in revenue. In fact, it was acquired by a bigger company back in 2020.

As a side note, having worked with plenty of sites in WordPress, its actually what got me inspirted into creating my own solution where you can drag-drop layouts, create components with or without a developer, create themes with just a few clicks - have access to the code if needed - its still very beta, but if you're curious check it out here TailBuilder