Recipe: Building a Product Catalog | Field Forge - Custom Fields, Built for Speed
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Recipe: Building a Product Catalog

User Guide

This recipe covers setting up custom fields for a product catalog, including individual product details, a flexible product description section, and global catalog settings via an options page.

Step 1: Create Product Detail Fields

  1. Go to Field Forge > New Field Group
  2. Title it Product Details
  3. Add the following fields:
FieldTypeSettings
PriceNumberRequired: Yes, Min: 0, Step: 0.01, Prepend: “$”
Sale PriceNumberMin: 0, Step: 0.01, Prepend: “$”
SKUTextRequired: Yes, Placeholder: “PROD-001”
AvailabilitySelectChoices: In Stock, Out of Stock, Pre-Order, Discontinued
Product GalleryGallery (PRO)Min: 1, Max: 20, Preview Size: Medium
WeightNumberAppend: “kg”, Step: 0.01
DimensionsGroup (PRO)Sub-fields: Length (Number), Width (Number), Height (Number) — all with Append: “cm”
Short DescriptionTextareaRows: 3, Character Limit: 200
FeaturesRepeater (PRO)Sub-fields: Feature Name (Text), Feature Value (Text)
  1. Set Location Rules to Post Type is equal to Product (assumes you have a “Product” custom post type)
  2. Save the field group

Step 2: Create Flexible Product Sections

For rich product descriptions that content managers can customize per product:

  1. Create another field group titled Product Sections
  2. Add a Flexible Content field (PRO) labeled Product Content with name product_content
  3. Add the following layouts:
LayoutSub-fieldsPurpose
Specs TableHeading (Text), Specs (Repeater: Spec Name + Spec Value)Technical specifications
Image with TextImage (Image), Heading (Text), Body (WYSIWYG), Image Position (Select: Left/Right)Feature highlight with photo
Video DemoTitle (Text), Video URL (oEmbed), Caption (Text)Product demonstration video
Comparison ChartTitle (Text), Items (Repeater: Feature + Product 1 Value + Product 2 Value)Side-by-side comparison
DownloadsTitle (Text), Files (Repeater: Document Name + File)Manuals, datasheets, PDFs
  1. Set Location Rules to Post Type is equal to Product
  2. Save the field group

Step 3: Options Page for Global Catalog Settings

Global settings that apply to all products:

  1. Go to Field Forge > Options Pages (PRO)
  2. Create an options page titled Catalog Settings
  3. Create a field group titled Global Catalog Options with these fields:
FieldTypePurpose
Currency SymbolTextDefault: “$”
Currency PositionSelectBefore Price / After Price
Show Sale BadgeTrue/FalseToggle sale badges site-wide
Default Sort OrderSelectPrice Low-High, Price High-Low, Name A-Z, Newest First
Products Per PageNumberDefault: 12, Min: 4, Max: 48
Catalog Header ImageImageBanner image for the catalog listing page
Out of Stock MessageTextCustom message when a product is unavailable
  1. Set Location Rules to Options Page is equal to Catalog Settings
  2. Save the field group

Step 4: Content Manager Workflow

Adding a new product:
  1. Go to Products > Add New in the WordPress admin
  2. Enter the product title and any block editor content
  3. Scroll down to the “Product Details” metabox
  4. Enter the price, SKU, and availability status
  5. Upload product images to the gallery — drag to reorder, with the first image as the primary photo
  6. Fill in weight, dimensions, and features
  7. In the “Product Sections” metabox, click Add Layout to build the product description
  8. Add a Specs Table layout for technical details
  9. Add an Image with Text layout for a feature highlight
  10. Reorder sections by dragging
  11. Click Publish
Filtering and sorting: Your developer implements the catalog listing page using the global settings from the Catalog Settings options page. Content managers control sort order and display preferences through those settings without touching code.

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