Custom Fields

⏱ ~6 min read · build a field group, add fields to it, choose which content types show it, render the values on your page, and recover a group from the trash.

In short. Custom Fields lets you add your own data fields to a content type — Pages, Blog posts, Events, or any Custom Object — without code. You build a field group, add one or more fields (each with a Label, a Name, and a Type), then tick the Locations where the group should appear. Authors fill in the values on each record, and you render those values on the public page with the [custom_field name="..."] shortcode.

On this page: Where to find it · How it fits together · Create a field group · Add fields · Field types · Choose where fields appear · Use a field value on your page · Edit a group · Restore a trashed group · Worked examples · Troubleshooting

Where to find it

Open the admin for your site and, in the left navigation, click Custom → Fields. You'll land on the Custom Fields list, where each row is a field group with its title, the locations it's attached to, and the date it was last modified. Use the filter tabs at the top — including Drafts and Trash — to narrow the list, and click + Add New in the top-right to start a new group.

How it fits together

Custom Fields extends the default record schema without code, and it works in three layers:

A field group is the container you create. It holds one or more fields and is attached to one or more content types.
A field lives inside a group and has a Label (what authors see), a Name (the internal key), and a Type (text, number, select, image, and more).
Locations decide which content types show the group's fields. A group with no location ticked is invisible on every author screen.

If you need a brand-new content type rather than extra data on an existing one, that's a Custom Object — Custom Fields then attach to it. The rule of thumb: a custom object extends your content model with a new type; a custom field extends an existing type with new data.

Create a field group

Click Custom → Fields, then + Add New in the top-right.
In the Title field, give the group a descriptive name — for example, "Staff Bio" or "Event Details".
Click Add New Field for each field you want (see Add fields below).
In the Locations section, tick every content type the group should attach to — Page, Blog, Events, or any Custom Objects you have.
Set Status to Publish (or leave it Draft if you're not ready to show it to authors yet).
Click Create Item.

the New field-group editor, showing the Title field, an expanded field row with Label / Name / Type, and the Locations checkboxes below.

Add fields

Inside the group editor, each field is a row you fill in:

Click Add New Field to append a field row.
Fill in Label — the text authors see above the input (for example, "Origin Country").
Fill in Name — the internal key used in the shortcode (for example, origin_country). Use lowercase with underscores. SGEN auto-generates it from the label if you leave it blank, but check it before saving.
Choose a Type (see the table below).
For Select, Radio, or Checkbox fields, enter one choice per line in key : Display Label format — for example, light : Light.
Repeat for each field. Drag a field row by the handle on its left edge to reorder.
Click Create Item (new group) or Update item (existing group).

Each field row collapses to a header once you move on. Click the pencil icon on a row to expand it again.

Field types

Type	What it stores
Text	A short, single-line answer
Textarea	Longer, multi-line copy
Number	A numeric value
Select	A dropdown from a defined choice set
Radio / Checkbox	A choice (or choices) from a defined set
Image	A pick from the media library
Repeatable Fields	A list of repeating rows

the Custom Fields list, showing several field groups with their attached locations and Published / Draft status.

Choose where fields appear

The Locations section is what makes a group's fields show up:

Open the group editor and scroll to the Locations section.
Tick Page to show the fields on Page edit screens, Blog for blog posts, Events for events, and tick any Custom Objects you've created — they appear in this list when they exist on your site.
Click Create Item or Update item. The fields appear on the ticked content type's edit screens the next time someone opens a record of that type.

If a Custom Object you expect is missing from the Locations list, go to Settings → Custom Objects, confirm it's published, then reload this screen.

Use a field value on your page

Once a group is published, a location is ticked, and an author has filled in a value, you render that value on the public page with a shortcode:

Confirm the group's status is Publish and the right Location is ticked. Authors must have entered a value on the record for the shortcode to output anything.
Open the page, post, or event in your editor (SG-Builder or the text editor).
In a text paragraph or an HTML block, type [custom_field name="your_field_name"], replacing your_field_name with the exact Name you gave the field (for example, origin_country or roast_level).
Save and view the page. The shortcode resolves to whatever the author typed into that field on this record's edit screen.

For a Select or Radio field, the shortcode outputs the Display Label (the text after the : in your choices list), not the stored key.

Edit a group

On the Custom Fields list, click the group's title (or hover the row and click Edit). The editor opens pre-filled with the current settings.
Make any combination of changes — add a field (click Add New Field), rename a label (click the pencil icon; labels are safe to rename anytime), reorder fields (drag by the left-edge handle), change locations, or hide from authors temporarily by switching Status to Draft (the fields disappear from author screens without deleting any stored values).
Click Update item. The green save banner confirms the change.

Restore a trashed group

On the Custom Fields list, click the Trash tab.
Find the group — each row shows its title, locations, and last-modified date — and click Restore in its actions column.
The group comes back as a Draft, with all its fields, locations, and stored values intact. Click the Drafts tab to confirm.
Open the group, change Status from Draft to Publish, and click Update item to make it live again.

Worked examples

Goal	What you do
Reading time on posts	New group → add a Number field "Reading time" (`reading_time`) → tick Blog location → publish. Render with `[custom_field name="reading_time"]`.
Warranty tier on products	Add a Select field "Warranty" with `1yr : 1 year` / `lifetime : Lifetime` → tick the product location → publish.
Staff directory	Create a Custom Object for Staff → add a group with Role, Bio, Photo → tick the Staff location.
Hide a group during a rebuild	Open the group → set Status to Draft → Update item. Values are preserved; fields vanish from author screens.
Recover a deleted group	Trash tab → Restore → open it → set Status to Publish → Update item.

Troubleshooting

My fields don't show on the edit screen. Confirm the group's Status is Publish and the matching content type is ticked in Locations. An unticked group is invisible everywhere.
A Custom Object isn't in the Locations list. Go to Settings → Custom Objects, confirm it's published, then reload the group editor.
My shortcode outputs nothing. Check that the field group is published, the location is ticked, the author filled in a value on the record, and the Name in the shortcode exactly matches the field's internal Name.
A Select field shows a code instead of a label. That's expected only if the choices weren't entered as key : Display Label. Re-enter them in that format; the shortcode then outputs the label.
I deleted a group by mistake. Open the Trash tab and click Restore — the group, its fields, and stored values all come back as a Draft.