What is Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) in WordPress?
ACF is a WordPress plugin that lets you add your own fields to posts, pages, users, taxonomy terms and custom post types, such as a location, a date, an image or a list of results. Editors fill in labeled boxes, and the theme prints each value where it belongs. Values are stored in the WordPress database alongside the post.
What is the difference between ACF free and ACF PRO?
The free version includes most field types, plus registering custom post types and taxonomies from the admin. ACF PRO adds the Repeater, Flexible Content, Gallery and Clone fields, options pages and ACF Blocks. If you need repeating rows, site-wide settings or PHP-built blocks, you need PRO.
How much does ACF PRO cost?
ACF PRO is sold as a yearly license in US dollars: Personal is $49 a year for one website, Freelancer is $149 a year for up to ten websites, and Agency is $249 a year for unlimited websites. All three include the same PRO features. Licenses renew automatically unless you switch to manual renewal.
Should we use ACF Blocks or native Gutenberg blocks?
ACF Blocks are registered with block.json and rendered with a PHP template, so a PHP team can ship editor blocks without writing React. Native blocks built in React give a richer editing experience inside the canvas. We often mix them: ACF Blocks for data-heavy sections and native blocks where editors type directly on the page.
Can ACF fields be used with the REST API or a headless front end?
Yes. When a field group has Show in REST API turned on, its values appear in the WordPress REST API responses for that post type and can be updated through it. For GraphQL, the WPGraphQL for ACF plugin exposes field groups to WPGraphQL. We check which fields should be public before switching either on.
What happens to our content if ACF is deactivated?
The stored values stay in the database, so nothing is deleted. Templates that call ACF functions will stop working, and on a careless theme that can break the page. We guard template calls so the site degrades quietly, and we keep field groups in acf-json files so they can be restored exactly.
Does ACF slow down a WordPress site?
Not on its own. Slowness usually comes from the model: a huge Repeater queried on every page, or archive filters built on meta queries across thousands of posts. We keep filterable facts in taxonomies where we can, cache expensive lookups, and test archive pages with realistic numbers of posts.
Can you fix or reorganize an ACF setup another developer built?
Yes. We list every field group, check which fields templates actually read, and look for duplicates and orphaned values. Then we merge or rename fields and migrate the stored values with a script tested on staging, so existing posts keep their content after the change.
Can ACF data sync with Zoho CRM?
Yes. With the field group shown in the REST API, Zoho Flow or a Zoho Catalyst function can create and update posts and their ACF fields from Zoho CRM records. In the other direction, forms can pass a page’s ACF values to Zoho CRM as hidden fields so new leads arrive already tagged.
How is your ACF work priced?
The first call is free. The content model, templates, migrations and any Zoho sync are then listed in a BRD and quoted as a single fixed price, with a delivery schedule. A large inherited setup may need a short paid review first, and we tell you that cost before it starts.
