For builders creating headless WordPress sites, modeling the data structure is a crucial part of the site development process. It’s one of the reasons we developed the Atlas Content Modeler (ACM) plugin to help power our Atlas platform.
Since WP Engine acquired the Delicious Brains plugins, the team have been working hard to make sure Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) is the most comprehensive and powerful solution available for building complex data structures in WordPress. With the release of ACF 6.1 in April of 2023, you can not only use the plugin to add custom fields, but also add and configure custom post types and custom taxonomies, making ACF the complete content modeling solution for WordPress sites.
Due to the advancement of ACF, ACM is entering an end-of-life phase. During this phase, we will continue to support the ACM plugin to ensure it is secure and functional, giving you time to move your site to our recommended replacement. While security support and critical bug fixes will continue to be provided through 2024, no new feature development will happen in ACM.
We recommend ACF as a replacement for Atlas Content Modeler. ACF is a mature and stable product, with a large community, and it has most of the features that Atlas Content Modeler has, and more!
Will WP Engine continue to invest in ACF?
Absolutely! WP Engine is continuing its investment in ACF with new features and more throughout 2024 and beyond.
ACF is an important plugin in the WordPress ecosystem and has become an integral part of the WP Engine family of products. The decision to retire ACM in favor of ACF reflects this investment as it will allow us to continue to ensure ACF is a best-in-class solution for building WordPress sites of all shapes and sizes.
Do I have to stop using ACM before the end of this year?
It takes a long time to develop a WordPress site and we understand that so, no, you do not have to stop using ACM today. Instead, we encourage you to start any new projects in ACF and make plans to migrate from ACM to ACF for existing projects in 2024.
Take a look at the 2023 recap from the ACF team to find out more.
Do I have to stop using ACM before the end of this year?
It takes a long time to develop a WordPress site and we understand that so, no, you do not have to stop using ACM today. Instead we encourage you to start any new projects in ACF and make plans to migrate from ACM to ACF for existing projects in 2024.
ACM will continue to receive critical bug fixes and security updates throughout 2024 to make this transition easier. As you get started in migrating existing projects we invite you to take a look at our ACM to ACF migration guide and reach out through our support channels if you have any questions.
ACF is a proven and robust tool for WordPress projects of all sizes and we look forward to helping you improve all your sites with ACF throughout 2024 and beyond.
