Output Custom Field Value Within The Content Area Using Shortcode

We all know shortcodes enable you to execute a function and add content within the content area of your editor, as well as other locations. But what if you’re using custom fields and want to output the value of the custom field within the content area?

You can’t use a hook because that only enables you to execute before or after the_content.

What you need to do is combine a function for a shortcode with the function for a custom field.

The 2 functions you need to use are:

add_shortcode and get_post_meta

And here’s an example showing the output of the value of a custom field using a shortcode added manually to the editor, after the first paragraph of content in a post:

Here’s the Custom Fields meta box in the backend:

And here’s the shortcode added to the editor after the 1st paragraph of content in the editor:

To make this all happen, you simply need to copy & paste the following PHP code to the end of your child themes functions.php file using a code editor:

function your_shortcode_function() {
	$cf = get_post_meta( get_the_ID(), 'custom_field_name', true );
	$var = '<p class="your-class">' . $cf . '</p>';
	return $var;
}
add_shortcode( 'cfshortcode', 'your_shortcode_function' );

Related Tutorials

• 11 Ways to Code Custom Fields – Code Examples