When to use Repeater Fields

For content that you need to present only as looped—that don’t need an independent page of its own—use repeater fields. They are perfect for such content type. If you don’t use repeater fields, you have to create a separate Post-Type for each content-type that you want to repeat in your templates. Post-Types works but they are not the correct solution for such content. They are messy to manage. Post-Types should only be used when you are going to have its independent or detail page. Examples are: Blog Posts, Pages, News, Press Releases etc.

Why Repeater Fields are great

• Everyone, along with your clients love clean and perfect solution. Repeater Fields help you keep your WordPress admin clean by not registering unnecessary Post-Types for content-types that only loops and doesn’t need an independent page.
• Post Type solution becomes super-messy when each of your post, page, team member need something repeating that is specific to each of them. For example: you need to display books written by author on author page.
• Clients mostly don’t need much explanation with repeater fields.

Plugins that offer Repeater Fields other than ACF repeater:

Repeater fields are normally found in PRO version of most plugins. Each plugin presents its own way to create such fields.

1. Effortless Custom Fields Premium

Creating Repeater fields in ECF Premium is extremely simple. Click on Field Type, and select Repeater Field under Layout Fields. After selecting, you will get an option to enter Section Label; this is default label you want to give to a newly created section and the label of button that creates a new section when clicked. For example, if you want to create a slider: you’ll enter “New Slide” for Section Label. Button label will become “+ New Slide.” See screenshots:

Pros:

• Extremely simple, clean, and beautiful.
• Fields containers are collapsible. It keeps interface clean and help user focus.
• You can disable any section that you don’t want to output in your templates for a while.
• You can reorder sections whenever you want.
• You can change section label for easy reference.

Cons:

• You can’t change the fields layout. They appear one after the other.
• Not great for entering huge dataset.
• No multi-level nesting.

2. Meta Box

They use different name for repeater: Meta Box Group. It comes as an extension to their PRO plugin: Meta Box. Creating New Meta Box Group in PRO plugin is simple as selecting the Field-Type = Meta Box Group, and adding subfields to it. They don’t give any option to edit the Section Label in the interface. You have to dig through their docs to find how to handle it through code. Screenshots:

Pros:

• Groups are collapsible and reorderable.
• Multi-level nesting supported.
• You can display fields within group in any number of columns with another extension: Meta Box Columns.

Cons:

• Design is pretty basic.
• Plugin cost is high. Each extension puts additional load on budget.
• Groups can’t be disabled.

3. Pods

Pods don’t have their own repeater field—that could hold any numbers of subfields. They only have an option to make any field repeatable; no-nesting. To enable repeatable fields in Pods, you need to use another plugin: Panda Pods Repeater Field. This plugin does the job but its pretty messy to setup.

First you have to create some Advanced Content Type. Let’s say You create Slider as plural and Slide as Singular. After that you will land on Manage Fields Tab. Delete fields not required. Add fields that you want.

Now Go to Edit Pods and select the Post Type where you want this repeater field to appear. In Manage Fields, add New Field of the type Pods Table as Repeater Field.

Pros:

• Separate table option to save repeater fields at some other place for performance.
• Can load fields in multiple columns—though configuring is complex.
• Free

Cons:

• No option to disable section.
• Complex to understand.
• Presentation is very poor—not professional.

The post Which other WordPress Plugins have repeater fields like ACF repeater? appeared first on Effortless Custom Fields.