Field Groups and Types
Q: How many field groups can I create on the free plan?A: The free plan allows up to 3 field groups. Each field group can contain as many fields as you need from the 20 free field types. If you need more than 3 field groups, upgrade to PRO for unlimited field groups and all 32 field types.
Q: I already have 3 field groups. Why can’t I open the New Field Group editor directly?A: The 3-group limit applies everywhere, including a bookmarked or manually typed fieldforge-new admin URL. The field group list shows a locked New Field Group PRO control, and direct access shows an upgrade screen instead of an empty editor. Existing field groups remain editable on the free plan.
A: A field group is the container — think of it as a form. Fields are the individual inputs inside that form (text boxes, image pickers, dropdowns, etc.). You create a field group, add fields to it, and set location rules to control where it appears. When a content manager edits a matching post, the entire field group shows up as a metabox below the editor.
Q: Can I use the same field group on multiple post types?A: Yes. Use location rules with OR groups. For example, set one rule group to “Post Type is equal to Page” and add another rule group for “Post Type is equal to Post.” The field group will then appear on both Pages and Posts. You can add as many OR groups as you need.
Q: What happens if I change a field type after data has been entered?A: Changing a field type (for example, from Text to Number) does not delete existing data, but the data may not display correctly in the new field type. For example, if a Text field contained “hello” and you change it to a Number field, the editor will show an empty or invalid state. Always test field type changes on a staging site first. You can use the Revision History feature to roll back if something goes wrong.
Q: How do I reorder fields within a field group?A: Open the field group editor and drag any field by its handle to a new position. The order you set in the editor is the exact order content managers see when editing posts. You can also use wrapper width settings to place fields side by side on the same row.
Q: What are Layout fields (Tab, Accordion, Message) and do they store data?A: Layout fields do not store any data. They are purely organizational tools that improve the editing experience. Tab fields split your field group into clickable tabs. Accordion fields create collapsible sections. Message fields display instructional text to help content managers understand what to enter. Use them freely — they have no impact on performance or storage.
ACF Compatibility
Q: Will my existing theme code work with Field Forge?A: Yes. Field Forge provides a full ACF compatibility layer. Functions like get_field(), the_field(), have_rows(), get_sub_field(), and all other standard ACF functions work identically. Your theme code does not need any changes. Field Forge registers these functions automatically when ACF is not active. During ACF activation requests, Field Forge defers to ACF so ACF Pro can be enabled for migration without a PHP redeclare fatal.
A: Technically yes, but it is not recommended for normal use. During migration, both plugins should be active so Field Forge can read ACF data. After migration is complete and you have verified everything works, deactivate ACF. Running both plugins long-term can cause conflicts because they both try to register the same functions.
Q: Does Field Forge support ACF Pro features like Repeater and Flexible Content?A: Yes, with a Field Forge PRO license. Repeater, Group, Flexible Content, Clone, Options Pages, Gallery, oEmbed, Time Picker, and Relationship fields are all available in PRO. The migration tool also handles importing these complex field types from ACF Pro.
Migration from ACF
Q: Will migrating from ACF break my site?A: No. The migration process is non-destructive. Field Forge reads your ACF data and creates its own copy in optimized database tables. Your original ACF data remains untouched in wp_postmeta. If anything goes wrong, you can simply reactivate ACF and your site works exactly as before.
A: For small sites (under 100 posts), migration completes in seconds. For larger sites with thousands of posts, the value migration (PRO) runs in batches of 50 posts and processes in the background. A site with 5,000 posts typically takes 2-5 minutes. You can close the browser during background processing — it continues on the server.
Q: Do I need PRO to migrate from ACF?A: The free version can import field group definitions (the structure). To also migrate the actual field values (the content data stored on each post), you need PRO. For most practical migrations, you want both the structure and the data, so PRO is recommended.
Q: What if my ACF setup uses PHP-registered field groups (not the UI)?A: Field Forge detects both database-stored and PHP-registered ACF field groups. If your field groups are registered via acf_add_local_field_group() in your theme, the migration tool picks them up as well.
A: Field Forge can read ACF Local JSON files from acf-json/group_*.json in the active theme, parent theme, and filtered ACF load paths. The migration imports the field group structure from those JSON files even when the acf-field-group and acf-field posts are absent. Field values still come from ACF-style postmeta and require the PRO value migration.
Options Pages
Q: How many options pages can I create?A: There is no limit with PRO. You can create as many top-level options pages and sub-pages as your site needs. A typical setup might include a main “Site Settings” page with sub-pages for “Social Media,” “Footer,” and “Appearance.”
Q: Where is options page data stored?A: Options page data is stored in Field Forge’s own wp_fieldforge_options table, separate from regular post data. You access it in templates using get_field('field_name', 'options'). The 'options' parameter tells Field Forge to look in the options table instead of the current post.
A: By default, options pages require the manage_options capability, which means only Administrators can see them. You can set a custom capability when creating the options page to give access to Editors or other roles.
Repeater, Group, and Flexible Content
Q: What is the difference between a Repeater and a Group?A: A Repeater allows multiple rows — content managers add as many items as they need (like a list of team members). A Group always has exactly one set of sub-fields (like a single address block). Use Repeater when the number of items varies, and Group when you always have exactly one set of related data.
Q: Can I nest Repeaters inside other Repeaters?A: Yes. You can nest repeaters for complex data structures. For example, a “Courses” repeater could contain a “Lessons” repeater within each course. Be mindful that deeply nested repeaters can make the editing interface complex for content managers — two levels of nesting is usually the practical limit.
Q: How many layouts can a Flexible Content field have?A: There is no hard limit, but 4-8 layouts is the recommended range for usability. Too many layout options can overwhelm content managers. Each layout can contain any combination of field types, including Repeaters and Groups.
Q: Can I set minimum and maximum rows on a Repeater?A: Yes. In the Repeater field settings, you can set a minimum (e.g., “at least 3 features”) and a maximum (e.g., “no more than 10 items”). Content managers see the Add Row button disabled when the maximum is reached and cannot remove rows below the minimum.
Performance
Q: Is Field Forge faster than ACF?A: Yes. Field Forge stores data in its own optimized database table (wp_fieldforge_values) instead of wp_postmeta. This means fewer database queries, especially on pages with many fields. Posts with 20+ fields see the most significant improvement because ACF makes a separate database query for each field, while Field Forge retrieves all values in a single query.
A: The number of field groups has minimal impact on frontend performance. Field groups only affect the admin editing experience (loading field definitions). On the frontend, only the field values are queried, and those are fetched efficiently regardless of how many field groups you have defined.
Q: Should I worry about performance with Repeaters containing many rows?A: Repeaters with up to 100-200 rows perform well. If you regularly need more than 200 rows of data, consider whether a custom post type might be a better approach. For example, instead of a repeater with 500 product rows, create a “Product” custom post type where each product is its own post.
Local JSON
Q: What is Local JSON and do I need it?A: Local JSON saves your field group definitions as .json files inside your theme folder. This is primarily useful for developer workflows involving version control (Git). If you are a content manager without a developer on your team, you do not need this feature. If you work with a developer, they may enable it so field group changes can be tracked in code.
A: When you save a field group, Field Forge automatically writes an updated JSON file to your theme folder. If your developer also pushed changes to the same field group via code, you may see a sync notice the next time you visit the admin. The notice lets you choose which version to keep.
REST API
Q: Does Field Forge have a REST API?A: Yes. Field Forge exposes endpoints at /wp-json/fieldforge/v1/ for managing field groups, reading and writing field values, and working with options pages. Public field group schema reads (GET /field-groups and GET /field-groups/{id}) are available without cookies for headless/front-end use and include cache headers. Value reads and all write/import/generate endpoints still require authentication (cookie-based with a nonce or Application Passwords) and the relevant WordPress capability.
A: Reading field values for published posts is available to authenticated users with appropriate capabilities. Admin-level endpoints (creating field groups, importing data) require the manage_options capability. Your developer can configure custom permissions if needed.
A: Yes. When WPGraphQL is active, Field Forge registers native schema fields for matching field groups without requiring WPGraphQL for ACF. Media fields resolve to MediaItem, relationship fields resolve to ContentNode, taxonomy fields resolve to TermNode, and those object mappings also work inside Group, Repeater, and Flexible Content sub-fields. Anonymous queries receive null or filtered lists for inaccessible private/draft/password-protected posts.
Q: Why is thefieldforge object empty on /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/...?
A: The core WordPress post REST payload is now opt-in. Set show_in_rest => true on fields that are safe to expose publicly, or use the authenticated /wp-json/fieldforge/v1/fields/{post_id} endpoint for editor/admin workflows. Password and sensitive-looking fields are hidden by default even when a parent group is public.
License and Limits
Q: What are the limits of the free plan?A: The free plan includes up to 3 field groups, 20 field types (Text, Textarea, Number, Range, Email, URL, Password, Image, File, WYSIWYG, Select, Checkbox, Radio, True/False, Button Group, Date Picker, Color Picker, Tab, Accordion, Message), revision history, import/export, and the ACF compatibility layer. You do not need PRO for basic custom fields on a small site.
Q: What does PRO add?A: PRO unlocks unlimited field groups, 12 additional field types (Repeater, Group, Flexible Content, Clone, Relationship, Post Object, Page Link, Taxonomy, User, Gallery, oEmbed, Time Picker), Options Pages, Local JSON Sync, field value migration from ACF, AI Field Generation, TypeScript generation, and priority support.
Q: Can I use one PRO license on multiple sites?A: License terms are defined on your purchase. Check your license details at the Field Forge website. Typically, each license covers a single production site, though development and staging environments are permitted.
Q: What happens if my PRO license expires?A: Your existing PRO field groups and data continue to work. You retain access to all features that are already set up. However, you will not receive updates or be able to activate PRO on new sites until you renew.
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