Meta Box: Custom Fields for WordPress

The "Custom Fields" are a native functionality (although hidden) of WordPress that allows us to add additional information to our Tickets. Goal Box It is the component that makes the most of this capacity, simplifying it and even giving us an online tool to generate ultra-optimized code. In this note we explain why we believe that this plugin cannot be passed by just like that.

The utility of Custom Fields

If this note had been made using a free key granted by an imaginary sponsor, and this case was recurring on our site, we could take advantage of Custom Fields and create a “sponsor” Meta field to mark these Posts within WordPress. So, adding a few lines of code to the file functions.php either single.php of our Theme, WordPress would automatically insert an informative statement in the relevant Posts (“This note was parsed from a key provided by its developers”). This is an example among countless advantages.

WordPress once again it is ultra flexible allowing us to create MetaData for our content without restrictions. However, the bigger our site gets, or the more sophisticated, the sooner we're going to feel like we need to find a better way to organize Meta information. which are the Customizable Fields, in order to better organize and manage our content. For this, there is Meta Box.

With you, Meta Box

Goal Box is the component that allows us create and manage custom META fields easily and effectively. It has a hundred five-star ratings and has 500,000 active installs.

Custom fields can be useful in a myriad of scenarios, especially in the field of eCommerce. For example, for when we need to add specific information to our product range. If we sell books, we will want to mention the genre, the publisher, the author, whether it is hard or soft cover… And, although many plugins offer us comparable possibilities, Meta Box stands out for:

• More of 40 different types of fields with its more than 40 corresponding data types (allowing the entry of data such as Posts, Attachments, Terms, Media, Radial Buttons, HTML and much more).
• Super intuitive interface.

• Both the free and premium version split the features into individual extensions, allowing us to activate what is useful to us and discard the rest (keeping our site light).
• These extensions can fit virtually any all requirements of any developer.
• extensive documentation to be able to use it without hindrance.

The Extensions

The free extensions are eleven, and among them we have integration with the popular Rank Math, Elementor, Beaver Builder and Yoast Seo.

The Meta Box Premium version adds 20 additional extensions, and among them it is worth mentioning MB Custom Table. Why is MB:CT such a great competitive advantage for our site? Because, unlike other management plugins meta data, Goal Box Custom Table allows us to store data in a custom table instead of relying on the default WordPress Post/User/Term meta table. Thus, all meta values are stored in a single row, while each column becomes a meta key.

In simple words: it is possible to reduce the number of rows in the MySQL database of our website, which prevents the typical slowdown problems when we have a very large site.

In addition, the use of a custom table allows us to store the data in one place, making it easy to view, edit, import and export.

How to install and use Meta Box?

If you want to try the Meta Box plugin in its free version, simply download it from wordpress.org as they would any other free plugin. The alternative is to add it from the WordPress Dashboard itself using the search engine in the section of Add New Plugin. Once this is done, we will see the options when editing an Entry or creating a new one. If we do not find the options at the end of editing our content, then we must activate the display within WordPress by following these two simple steps:

We remember that Meta Box free version does NOT provide an interface for creating Custom Fields for the WordPress Dashboard. Instead, he offers to use the Online code generator whose interface is practically identical to the one included natively in the Premium version. Through this we will obtain a code that saves us programming in PHP manually, although we must enter it in the file functions.php of our theme. The comprehensive user guide is located here.

If this mechanic is a problem for us, then better consider the premium version that allows us to download Meta Box AIO and take advantage of the graphical interface in our WordPress. In the following video we see the precise instructions of its operation.

MetaBox Premium with AIO and all paid extensions is included in our service Managed WordPress. This plugin is part of a package of professional plugins selected by us that hope to turn your site into a professional website of excellence.

If you have doubts or questions, please write to us at [email protected] or message us on our Contact Form. We want to advise you.