I’m trying to set up an automation workflow between my WordPress website and Zapier. The goal is to automatically generate new posts in a custom post type using data from an RSS feed, while also filling in specific ACF fields with information from that feed.
The basic functionality works fine - I can successfully create new posts in my custom post type through Zapier. However, I’m running into an issue where none of the custom fields I’ve set up for that post type appear as options in Zapier’s interface.
Has anyone found a solution to make ACF fields visible in Zapier, or discovered an alternative method to automatically populate these custom fields during the post creation process?
For context, I built the custom post type using Custom Post Type UI plugin and set up the custom fields with Advanced Custom Fields Pro.
I’ve been doing WordPress automations for years - Zapier’s WordPress integration is clunky as hell for this stuff. Those field mapping issues you’re seeing? That’s just the beginning.
Switched to Latenode for my WordPress workflows and it handles ACF fields way better. Skip Zapier’s crappy WordPress connector and use Latenode’s HTTP nodes to hit WordPress REST API endpoints directly. The visual workflow builder makes mapping RSS feed data to ACF fields dead simple.
Best part? You get actual error handling and can see what’s happening at each step. No more wondering why fields won’t populate or fighting Zapier’s black box nonsense.
Build one workflow that grabs your RSS feed, processes the data, creates the post, and updates your ACF fields. Takes 20 minutes to set up and runs way more reliably than anything I got working with Zapier.
the zapier webhook works, but there’s an even simpler solution. just install the zapier plugin directly in wordpress. once it’s active, your acf fields automatically show up in zapier’s interface. no need to mess with custom endpoints or field keys - refresh your zap and they’ll appear in the dropdown.
Check your ACF field group settings first - the location rule needs to target your custom post type properly. I had the same problem where fields wouldn’t sync because ACF was set to show only on regular posts, not my CPT UI custom post type. Go into your field group settings and make sure the location rules specifically target your custom post type. Also double-check that your ACF fields are set to show in REST API under the field group options. If REST API visibility isn’t enabled, Zapier won’t detect them no matter what method you use. This fixed my automation when nothing else worked consistently.
I had the same issue and switched to using WordPress REST API instead of Zapier’s built-in WordPress connector. Set up webhooks in Zapier to send POST requests straight to custom WordPress endpoints. You’ll need to create a custom endpoint that handles post creation and ACF fields together - just add a function to your theme’s functions.php that registers the endpoint and processes Zapier’s data. The ACF update_field() function works great this way since you’re working inside WordPress, not through some external integration. Takes more setup upfront but you get full control over field mapping.
Had this exact problem about six months ago setting up automated property listings from an MLS feed. ACF fields don’t show up in Zapier’s WordPress integration by default - super annoying. Here’s what fixed it: Use Zapier’s custom fields feature instead of looking for ACF fields in the dropdown. You’ll need the field keys (not the labels) - find these in your ACF field group settings. They look like “field_5f8a9b2c3d4e5” instead of your readable names. In the Zapier action, scroll to custom fields and manually add each ACF field using its key as the field name. Then map your RSS data to the value. This completely bypassed the visibility issue and my custom fields populated perfectly.