[Support request] Customised Sidebar for Specific Post

[Sam]

Hi GP team,

Got a question about Custom Sidebars for specific posts.

1. I run a podcast that posts 1 episode per day (or more)

2. I need to display information in the sidebar that is specific to the episode, but changes everyday, such as “About today’s Guest, Resources etc”

3. A good reference is the sidebar found here:

https://www.smartpassiveincome.com/podcasts/most-important-business-conversations-dan-andrews/

4. My question is: is there anyway to create like a fixed formatted sidebar or widget area for my Podcast Category, so that every new episode, I can just “fill in the blanks” with the details?

5. I did a search and know that Leo recommends using Content Aware Sidebars, but the problem is that it does not offer this kind of standard template that I am looking for. I mean, just thinking about 3 x 365 Sidebars a year alone scares me. It would be less taxing on the site to have that standard template that I just mentioned.

There must be a solution that I don’t know of. Please help. Thanks!

[Tom]

Hi there,

You’d likely need to use a solution like Advanced Custom Fields.

That would give you fields to fill in on each post.

Then you’d need to use code to insert a widget in the sidebar that dynamically pulls those fields using ACFs get_field() function.

I think that’s probably the best solution.

[Sam]

Hi Tom,

Thanks for your reply…

I’ve installed ACF and Content Aware Sidebars plugin but have no idea where to go now…haha.

Specific question: what code do I use etc.

This is the sidebar that i’ve created with Content Aware Sidebars..

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FDe924He6NSKwKLXF1Ql7zKQPT93yVlc/view?usp=sharing

[David]

Hi there,

this article may help:

https://www.advancedcustomfields.com/resources/get_field/

[Sam]

Thanks David.

Took a look at the post and I was lost (i tried some codes and my site crashed, so I had to remove it), so i’m trying another approach, by listing down what fields I need and hopefully you can guide me along:

1. Sidebar on Podcast category posts (except Podcast Archive page)

2. Sidebar should have 3 widgets inside (Today’s guest, you’ll learn:, and Resources)

3. Looking to create specific widgets and then fill up the fields specifically for each blog post), but the format stays the same.

Looking forward to your reply, thanks!

[Sam]

Reference site:

https://www.smartpassiveincome.com/podcasts/how-the-rideshare-guy/

[David]

Hi there,

this is really out of scope for us, and it may be something you want to take up with ACF support.
Their are several support topics on their regarding widgets. There is also this premium plugin that does this:

https://acfwidgets.com

[Sam]

Hi David,

so i’ve managed to create a Field label using ACF pro:

https://www.advancedcustomfields.com/resources/creating-a-field-group/

But i’m not sure how do i proceed with Tom’s advice of the get_field.

Specifically, how do I create a widget area on Generatepress child theme, so that I can proceed to display the field groups on Podcast category?

Thank you.

[Tom]

What you’re trying to do is pretty complicated unfortunately. You’d need to create a widget and then input your custom fields into it using PHP.

You could try a plugin like this, but I’m not sure how good/well supported it is: https://acfwidgets.com/

It may be something you need to get coded – I can’t find any other plugins that do it.

[Author]

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