Does your website host a variety of content? Make it easy for your users to find exactly what they’re looking for.
JetSmartFilters is a powerful tool for creating advanced filter systems for WordPress websites. But what truly makes it stand out is its seamless integration with different plugins, like Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), which makes complex setups feel effortless.
In this article, we’ll explore how JetSmartFilters works hand-in-hand with popular plugins like ACF and others to provide flexible, efficient, and visually appealing filtering solutions. Let’s dive into the possibilities!
Table of Contents
- What Is JetSmartFilters?
- What Is ACF?
- Most Popular and Practical Use Cases of Using ACF and JetSmartFilters
- Alternatives to ACF That Work Well with JetSmartFilters
- FAQ
- Bottom Line
What Is JetSmartFilters?
JetSmartFilters is a powerful WordPress plugin designed to create advanced filtering systems for websites built with Elementor, Bricks, or Block Editor (Gutenberg). It allows users to easily filter and sort dynamic content such as product listings, portfolios, blog posts, and more.
This plugin is ideal for eCommerce stores, real estate websites, directories, or any platform where dynamic content needs to be sorted and refined based on user preferences.
Key functionality of JetSmartFilters
- Multiple filter types. JetSmartFilters offers a wide range of filter types, including checkboxes, radio buttons, dropdowns, range sliders, search bars, and date pickers.
- Dynamic content filtering. The plugin works perfectly with dynamic data from different sources, including all kinds of custom post types and meta fields, making it a powerful tool for websites with large databases.
- AJAX-based filtering. JetSmartFilters supports AJAX-powered filtering, so the results are updated instantly without reloading the page.
- Pagination and sorting. JetSmartFilters also enables dynamic pagination and sorting options. Users can sort content by price, rating, date, or any other custom parameters, making navigation intuitive and user-friendly.
- Filter logic and hierarchy. Customize the logic of your filters (AND/OR conditions) and create hierarchical filtering systems, such as category-to-subcategory setups, to help users refine results progressively.
- Possibility to set SEO rules. With the JetSmartFilters plugin, you can manage and display SEO tags and meta descriptions for filtered URLs.
So, the JetSmartFilters plugin helps you create a flexible and powerful WordPress website and enables users to manage the content they want to use effectively.
What Is ACF?
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) is one of the popular WordPress plugins for developers and website creators who want to take full control of their website’s content structure.
With ACF, you can create custom layouts and data input forms that are adapted to your requirements. Overall, ACF is a great plugin for customizing and managing dynamic content.
The key functionality of ACF
- Custom Post Types. ACF allows you to integrate, manage custom post types, and structure your content in a way that suits your website’s needs, whether it’s portfolios, testimonials, or product catalogs.
- Custom Fields. ACF offers a wide range of field types, including text, textarea, image, file, relationship, repeater, gallery, and more. It also supports advanced fields like Google Maps, date pickers, and color pickers, making it suitable for a variety of use cases.
- Conditional logic. ACF supports conditional logic for fields, allowing you to show or hide certain fields based on the values of other fields.
- Custom field groups. Fields can be organized into groups and assigned to specific locations on your website, such as the post editor, user profile page, or taxonomies.
- Repeater Field. The ACF Pro version includes the Repeater Field feature, which allows you to create sets of repeating fields (e.g., lists of team members, product specifications, or testimonials).
- ACF Blocks for Gutenberg. With ACF, you can create custom Gutenberg blocks without complex coding.
Most Popular and Practical Use Cases of Using ACF and JetSmartFilters
The combination of Advanced Custom Fields and JetSmartFilters plugins creates endless possibilities for building highly customized and functional WordPress websites. Below are some of the most interesting and common use cases.
Real estate listings
Real estate websites often require advanced filtering systems to help users search for properties based on criteria like location, price range, property type, number of bedrooms, and square footage.
With ACF, you can create custom fields for properties, such as “Price,” “Number of Bedrooms,” “Bathrooms,” “Location,” “Property Type,” and “Square Footage.” With JetSmartFilters, it’s easy to create dynamic filters (e.g., range sliders for price, checkboxes for property types, and dropdowns for locations) so visitors can refine their search results.
Enable AJAX filtering so users can see updated results without page reloads.
eCommerce stores
Online stores often need advanced filters to allow users to sort through a large number of products by fields and attributes like price, brand, category, size, color, or material.
JetSmartFilters helps you to create filters for these fields, such as a price range slider, color swatches, or dropdowns for brands and materials. Combine multiple filters for a user-friendly product search experience.
Job portals
Job boards require filtering systems to help job seekers find relevant opportunities based on job title, company, location, salary range, and job type (e.g., full-time, part-time, remote).
Use ACF to add custom fields to job listings, such as “Salary Range,” “Job Type,” “Company,” and “Location.” Then, enable users to filter jobs by these fields using dropdowns, checkboxes, or sliders with JetSmartFilters.
Recipe websites
Recipe websites need filters to allow users to search for recipes based on cooking time, dietary preferences, difficulty level, cuisine type, and ingredients.
Again, with ACF, you can create required fields and add filters, such as checkboxes for dietary preferences, range sliders for cooking time, and dropdowns for cuisines, and then filter them using JetSmartFilters.
Portfolio websites
Creative professionals such as designers, photographers, and agencies often need filtering systems for their portfolios to showcase projects based on categories, clients, tools used, or project type.
JetSmartFilters allows clients or employers to quickly find relevant work examples, making it easier to understand the creator’s expertise.
Travel directories
Travel websites often need filters to help users search for destinations, accommodations, or activities based on location, budget, amenities, and type (e.g., family-friendly, luxury, adventure).
A powerful filtering system allows users to plan their trips effortlessly, increasing engagement and conversions.
As you can see, ACF and JetSmartFilters work great together and expand your possibilities in terms of ACF filter creation.
Alternatives to ACF That Work Well with JetSmartFilters
ACF is a great plugin, but it has several powerful alternatives that integrate seamlessly with JetSmartFilters. They allow you to build dynamic websites with advanced filtering capabilities. Let’s explore some of the best options.
JetEngine
JetEngine is one of the Crocoblock plugins. It provides tools for creating custom post types, taxonomies, meta fields, listing templates, relations, and much more. It’s a powerful all-in-one alternative to ACF that integrates natively with JetSmartFilters.
JetEngine offers out-of-the-box compatibility for creating advanced filtering systems.
It allows you to manage custom fields, dynamic content, and relationships, simplifying the process of building complex filtering solutions.
Pods
Pods is a flexible content management plugin that allows you to create and manage custom post types, taxonomies, and fields. It’s a great alternative for those who need a comprehensive solution to work with complex data structures.
Pods enable you to create custom fields for various content types and custom meta fields, which can then be used as filtering parameters in JetSmartFilters.
The plugin’s relationship functionality allows you to link content types (e.g., products and suppliers), making it easier to create filters for related data.
Meta Box
Meta Box is a lightweight yet powerful alternative to ACF. It provides tools for creating a wide range of field types, from simple text fields to more advanced options like sliders and datetime. These fields can be connected to JetSmartFilters for dynamic filtering.
It’s highly customizable and offers various extensions for specific needs, such as relationships or front-end form building.
Custom Post Type UI
Custom Post Type UI is a user-friendly plugin for creating custom post types and taxonomies. It’s particularly useful for those who don’t need advanced custom field functionality but want to extend their WordPress site with new content types.
While CPT UI doesn’t create custom fields itself, it works great when paired with JetSmartFilters for filtering based on taxonomies or post types.
FAQ
Yes, JetSmartFilters works seamlessly with several custom field plugins, including Pods, Meta Box, JetEngine, and others. These plugins allow you to create and manage custom fields, post types, and taxonomies that JetSmartFilters can use as filtering parameters. Depending o
Yes. JetSmartFilters supports AJAX functionality, allowing you to create real-time, dynamic filtering systems without requiring page reloads. When paired with custom field plugins like ACF, JetEngine, Pods, or Meta Box, you can build advanced filtering options (e.g., sliders, checkboxes, and dropdowns) that provide an interactive user experience.
Some of the most popular use cases include:
– eCommerce stores: filters for price, brand, size, and material;
– real estate listings: filters for location, price range, property type, and number of bedrooms;
– job boards: filters for salary range, job type, and location;
– recipe websites: filters for dietary preferences, cooking time, and ingredients;
– portfolio websites: filters for project type, tools used, and clients.
Bottom Line
JetSmartFilters is a great plugin that helps you create powerful filtering systems for different website types. When combined with plugins like JetEngine, ACF, Pods, or similar, its potential expands even further. These plugins enable you to create highly dynamic and interactive websites. They also allow you to manage custom fields, taxonomies, and post types seamlessly, giving website visitors an exceptional user experience.
With the variety of third-party plugin options available, there’s almost no limit to what you can achieve. Whether you’re a developer, designer, or website owner, JetSmartFilters and its integrations can help you build websites that are both powerful and user-centric.
