Why Custom Fields Not Showing in WordPress and How to Fix

Custom fields come as an advanced feature allowing you to add extra information to your WordPress posts. This additional content can be author names, dates, times, and more, which is also known as “metadata”. Thanks to custom fields, visitors are able to look for extra details about the post faster.

There may be times when you don’t find custom fields in a few WordPress posts. Don’t worry, you’re not alone.

In this post, we’ll touch on some major benefits of WordPress custom fields briefly. We’ll also discuss 2 main reasons why you don’t see them in your posts before diving deep into how to fix this issue.

Let’s get started!

Advantages of WordPress Custom Fields

As mentioned, custom fields permit theme designers and developers to greater control over your WordPress website content. Apart from providing additional info on the post, developers and site owners can also use them to request feedback from visitors. This information will be then recorded in a table and displayed in other areas.

To take one example, authors take advantage of custom fields to show their feeling when writing the post. Or users can fill in this field their ratings for the product they are reviewing.

  

Custom fields prove most useful for large WordPress websites like multi-author blogs, e-commerce and business portals, and multilingual sites.

WordPress displays the custom field section at the bottom of every page and post enabling you to add new ones with just a mouse click.

Why Don’t You See Custom Fields in Your WordPress Posts?

WordPress, by default, hides this custom field area from the edit screen. That explains why you don’t view this section in your post’s edit screen.

In this situation, you just need to enable it by checking the Custom fields box in the hidden Screen Options at the top of the page.

However, you sometimes find this checkbox goes missing there. It’s pretty sure that you’re using the Advanced Custom Fields plugin. Once activated, this tool will remove the default WordPress custom field meta box to increase the page loading time.

There are 2 different paths you can take to fix the error of custom fields not showing, both in the classic editor or in Elementor, depending on the page builder you’re using on your site.

How to Display Custom Fileds in Classic editor

As we explained above, you don’t see the custom filed in your post because you might have forgotten about turning on this feature in the Screen Options. And it’s super easy to deal with. All you need to do include:

1. Head to Pages/Posts in your WordPress admin dashboard after logging in
   
2. Edit your desired post
3. Click on the Screen Options button at the top of the page
   
4. Check the Custom Fields box
   

That’s it!

In case don’t find this option there, it’s possible that you’re having an advanced custom field plugin installed and activated.

The plugin already removes the default WordPress custom field feature and allows you to create custom fields in various places on your site. But if you do really want to display it there, follow the guide below for troubleshooting:

1. Go to Theme Editor under Appearance in your navigation menu
   
2. Click on the Theme Functions (functions.php) feature under Themes Files on your right hand
3. Enter this code into the file

   add_filter('acf/settings/remove_wp_meta_box', '__return_false');

Remember to create a child theme before making any changes there, otherwise, it will affect your entire site performance.

How to Solve Custom Field Not Showing Issue in Elementor

Elementor proves a simple yet effective page builder empowering you to create a gorgeous WordPress site. It works perfectly with WordPress custom fields so you can display everywhere on your site without having to touch a bit of code.

One problem with Elementor is that you sometimes can’t see custom fields in the post edit screen although they still show up on the live page. This blocks you from customizing or editing your fields.

You can easily troubleshoot this error by changing the Preview setting or switch back to the older version of Elementor. Here is how

Method 1: Adjust the Elementor Preview Setting

This method requires you to create a new page template before edit its preview setting. To achieve that, you need to:

1. Go to Templates > Theme Builder then add a new template as your wish. It will then lead you to the template editor.
2. Hit the gear icon at the bottom-left corner of the settings menu
3. Assign the content type for the template on the Preview Settings block, then click the APPLY & PREVIEW button
4. In the canvas area, add a Text Editor widget. Choose ACF under the dynamic icon. This option should be Pods Field if you’re using the Pods plugin.
5. Select your desired key (custom field) after clicking the wrench icon

Method 2: Rollback to Elementor’s Older Version

Once updating to the lasted version of Elementor and you’re no longer able to add a custom field on your editing screen, chances are the new version carries a bug. To correct this, you must switch back to the previous version of this page builder plugin. Here is how:

1. Head over Elementor → Tools section on your admin sidebar
2. Open the Version Control tab
3. Pick the older version of Elementor in the Rollback Version option to reinstall
   
4. Remember to save your changes

Make Use of WordPress Custom Fields

Custom fields give you a helping hand in adding extra information to your post, besides the body content. However, you can’t always find this option in the page/post edit screen.

It’s simple to fix this issue, even for WordPress beginners. We’ve shown you 2 directions to show the custom field on your content: via the classic editor and Elementor page builder.

Still have a question related to WordPress custom field issues such as how to protect file uploads through ACF Repeater Field? Just drop us a line in the comment section below.