Register widget area vs custom fields… pros & cons

[lucaslem]

Hi,
I'm considering adding a custom content area on home page which will serve as a call-to-action block. It occured to me that I can approach this one of two ways:

1. Register new widget area — something like this
2. Use custom fields (ACF) — something like this

Is there a "best practice" for this sort of customization? What are the pros and cons of one approach versus the other? Which way would you go and why? Thanks to both Carrie Dils and Brad Dalton for their great tutorials!

Thanks!

[David Chu]

Hi,
Interesting question. I don't think there's a strong right answer here. I use Custom Field Template, but it is geekier than ACF, so it's not for everyone, but it's my favorite.

I have one thought. If you're just sticking plain text or just a pinch of HTML into the call to action, a widget is fine. If you use ACF, you can get WYSIWYG, and you may want that. Then again, you could use the Black Studio TinyMCE to get WYS into the widget! So it's all good, to coin a phrase!

Dave

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Dave Chu · Custom WordPress Developer – likes collaborating with Designers

[Brad Dalton]

Widget area in your case.

I would only use Custom Fields if you want to display different content in the same hook position.

You can also code it in a front page template of using your functions file.

If it's only one widget area, i would use the functions file otherwise i would copy an existing child themes front page template and use that for multiple widgets.

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Tutorials for StudioPress Themes & WooCommerce.

[lucaslem]

Thanks to you both for your thoughts. Brad, I think your logic of determining whether I will be using the single hoook position for different content makes most sense in this case.

[Author]

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