One of the most common questions I get is “why aren’t my custom fields showing in my WordPress?” And living by the rule of not repeating myself, here is a post that explains some things to check if the Custom Fields meta box is not showing on the Edit Post screen of your WordPress-powered site.

By default, WordPress enables optional display of the “Custom Fields” meta box/panel on the “Edit Post” screen for any Post, Page, or Custom Post Type. To get there, log in to the WordPress Admin Area, then visit the Posts screen where you can view all of your posts. Click to edit any post to get to the Edit Post screen. This is where you can find all of the custom fields that are attached to the post.

If you’re using Gutenberg Block Editor

When using the Gutenberg Block Editor, the Custom Fields meta panel is not displayed by default. Here is a quick post that explains how to enable them on the “Edit Post” screen:

To view the Custom Fields for any post, click the three dots in the upper-right corner of the screen and then do one of these:

  • For older versions of WordPress, go to Options and check the box to enable Custom Fields (under “Advanced Panels”).
  • For newer versions of WordPress, go to Preferences ▸ Panels and check the box to enable Custom Fields (under “Additional”).

After enabling, scroll down the page to find the Custom Fields meta box.

The same steps work on “Edit Post”, “Edit Page”, and “Edit Custom Post Type” screens. If you follow these steps and still can’t find any Custom Fields meta, skip ahead in this article to the section on “Advanced Custom Fields”.

If you’re using the Classic Editor

If you are using a plugin to disable the new Gutenberg Block Editor, then you can enable the Custom Fields meta box by following these steps:

  1. Visit the “Edit Post” screen for any post
  2. Click on the “Screen Options” tab in the upper-right corner of the screen
  3. Check the box next to “Custom Fields”
  4. Click the Help tab again to close the options

Done! You now can find the Custom Fields meta box displayed beneath the post editor content area.

The same steps work on “Edit Post”, “Edit Page”, and “Edit Custom Post Type” screens. If you follow these steps and still can’t find any Custom Fields meta, skip ahead in this article to the section on “Advanced Custom Fields”.

If you’re using the “Advanced Custom Fields” plugin

For some reason the plugin called Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) actually disables the Custom Fields meta panel entirely for all Posts, Pages, and Custom Post Types. Not sure why a plugin that focuses on custom fields would disable them and make them harder to use? And sorry sacrificing key functionality to patch poor performance? I would have expected smarter moves from the great ACF.

Fortunately, it is possible to restore your Custom Fields by adding the following code snippet:

// ACF Display Custom Fields
add_filter('acf/settings/remove_wp_meta_box', '__return_false');

You can add that code via your theme (or child theme’s) functions.php file, or add via simple custom plugin. Either way, get it added and enjoy having your Custom Fields back.

If your custom fields still are not showing

If you’ve tried the above solutions but your custom fields still aren’t showing, most likely there is a conflict or issue with some plugin or maybe the theme. You can do some basic troubleshooting to find the source of the issue and hopefully resolve without too much fuss.