Transitioning from ACF Flexible Content Fields to ACF Blocks

04/24/23 • 35 min

In this episode, Aurooba and Brian discuss his recent recent experience speaking at WordCamp Phoenix. Then, they dig into the presentation topic: transitioning from Advanced Custom Fields Flexible Content Rows to ACF Blocks. The conversation ranges from what it takes to learn a new workflow to understanding the limitations of the block editor.

A full transcript of the episode is available on the website. Watch the video podcast on YouTube and subscribe to our channel and newsletter to hear about episodes (and more) first!

Brian's WCPHX Talk (with slides and code) - https://www.briancoords.com/phoenix/
WordCamp Phoenix Livestreams https://www.youtube.com/@wcphx/streams
Let’s Build a Custom Block in 15 Minutes by Nick Diego - https://nickdiego.com/wcus-2022/
Brian's website – https://www.briancoords.com
Aurooba's website – https://aurooba.com

00:00:00 Our First WordCamps
00:04:20 Brian spoke at WordCamp Phoenix
00:08:33 Our histories with ACF
00:09:24 The age of shortcodes is over. The time of the flexible content rows has come.
00:11:02 Transitioning and staying profitable
00:13:54 Live-coding a presentation
00:16:03 Looking at a standard ACF Flexible Content Rows page
00:19:04 ACF Blocks on the frontend
00:20:51 ACF Blocks in the Block Editor
00:24:10 Experimenting with Core Blocks and ACF Blocks
00:30:07 On writing the same code for the rest of your life
00:32:18 Transitioning from ACF Blocks to native blocks

(00:00) - Our First WordCamps
(04:20) - Brian spoke at WordCamp Phoenix
(08:33) - Our histories with ACF
(09:24) - The age of shortcodes is over. The time of the flexible content rows has come.
(11:02) - Transitioning and staying profitable
(13:54) - Live-coding a presentation
(16:03) - Looking at a standard ACF Flexible Content Rows page
(19:04) - ACF Blocks on the frontend
(20:51) - ACF Blocks in the Block Editor
(24:10) - Experimenting with Core Blocks and ACF Blocks
(30:07) - On writing the same code for the rest of your life
(32:18) - Transitioning from ACF Blocks to native blocks

A full transcript of the episode is available on the website. Watch the video podcast on YouTube and subscribe to our channel and newsletter to hear about episodes (and more) first!

Brian's WCPHX Talk (with slides and code) - https://www.briancoords.com/phoenix/
WordCamp Phoenix Livestreams https://www.youtube.com/@wcphx/streams
Let’s Build a Custom Block in 15 Minutes by Nick Diego - https://nickdiego.com/wcus-2022/
Brian's website – https://www.briancoords.com
Aurooba's website – https://aurooba.com

(00:00) - Our First WordCamps
(04:20) - Brian spoke at WordCamp Phoenix
(08:33) - Our histories with ACF
(09:24) - The age of shortcodes is over. The time of the flexible content rows has come.
(11:02) - Transitioning and staying profitable
(13:54) - Live-coding a presentation
(16:03) - Looking at a standard ACF Flexible Content Rows page
(19:04) - ACF Blocks on the frontend
(20:51) - ACF Blocks in the Block Editor
(24:10) - Experimenting with Core Blocks and ACF Blocks
(30:07) - On writing the same code for the rest of your life
(32:18) - Transitioning from ACF Blocks to native blocks

Previous Episode

Tips on how to to debug your WordPress code

On today's episode, Aurooba manufactures a little bug in her code and then Brian helps debug what's going on. As they debug the code, they discuss the high level approach to debugging, some helpful WordPress tools to make finding problems easier, and discuss the role coding standards can have in helping you debug better.

A full transcript of the episode is available on the website. Watch the video podcast on YouTube and subscribe to our channel and newsletter to hear about episodes (and more) first!

Query Monitor – https://en-ca.wordpress.org/plugins/query-monitor/
Using either option or options in ACF – https://www.advancedcustomfields.com/resources/get_field/#get-a-value-from-different-objects
The code from this episode – https://github.com/viewSourcePodcast/viewSource-blocks/blob/debug-episode/functions.php
Brian's website – https://www.briancoords.com
Aurooba's website – https://aurooba.com
viewSource Newsletter – https://viewsource.fm/subscribe

(00:00) - Introduction
(02:55) - How do you debug?
(08:16) - Live debugging a little problem
(09:10) - Giving context for the bug
(11:13) - Using Query Monitor
(14:48) - Talking through the problem
(16:51) - Adding conditionals appropriately
(19:09) - Debugging a functional logic error
(19:44) - Let's var_dump()!
(25:50) - Thinking about what should happen
(32:37) - Providing code feedback
(33:54) - Being more verbose in your code
(34:24) - Naming variables better
(35:43) - Choosing the right kind of conditionals
(37:34) - Conclusion

Next Episode

Managing State in React

Aurooba and Brian are back with the series on building with React inside WordPress! In this episode, they dive into how state works in React and why ternary expressions are more common in JavaScript than they are in PHP. They break down the code of the accordion they've been building in React over the course of this series, focussing on exactly how it manages which item stays open or closed.

A full transcript of the episode is available on the website. Watch the video podcast on YouTube and subscribe to our channel and newsletter to hear about episodes (and more) first!

The code from the episode – https://github.com/viewSourcePodcast/viewSource-blocks/tree/add/accordion-block-components
The React series playlist – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtmY2Ck_6i0&list=PLqKZJzLBhX4LYt7vhrs3CvJdPrWBugPJ9
The episode on debugging in WordPress – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g0Mlh71PYk
Brian's website – https://www.briancoords.com
Aurooba's website – https://aurooba.com
(00:00) - Introduction
(00:25) - Recap of where we are in the React series
(02:03) - Rerenders in React
(06:39) - What is state in React?
(10:40) - The expand() function
(14:30) - How a ternary expression works
(16:55) - Why are ternary expressions more common in JavaScript?
(20:33) - Where it makes sense to use a ternary experession
(26:09) - What's next?
(27:28) - Taking the editing experience into account when making a block