Custom templates rarely live on title and body alone. Airtable holds the columns. WordPress needs them as post meta or ACF. In Integration for Airtable, ACF and post meta mapping are Pro features, alongside custom post type destinations and media.
When this problem shows up
- A listing needs price, phone, coordinates, and hours
- A job needs location, employment type, and an apply URL
- A team profile needs LinkedIn, pronouns, and a department code
- An editorial post needs a subtitle, canonical source, or campaign ID
What you need on the WordPress side
- ACF field groups assigned to the target post type.
- Known field names you will map to.
- Compatible types: text to text, number to number, URL to URL, and select options that match.
- An importer that writes post meta or ACF, not only core title and content.
Group, repeater, flexible content, and clone fields map from JSON in one Airtable column. Formula, lookup, and rollup columns can be the source for a field.
Field type guidance
| Airtable | ACF or meta | Watch-outs |
|---|---|---|
| Single line text | Text | Length |
| Long text | Textarea or WYSIWYG | Formatting |
| Number | Number | Locale decimals |
| Single select | Select | Option values must match |
| Multiple select | Checkbox or multi-select | Array shape |
| Checkbox | True/false | Truthy mapping |
| Date | Date picker | Timezones |
| URL | URL | Validation |
| Attachment | Image or file | Pro media import |
| Text (post ID, slug, or title) | Relationship | Values resolve to WordPress posts by ID, slug, or title |
| Email, username, or user ID | User | Values resolve to WordPress users by email, login, slug, or ID |
Start with scalar fields. Add Relationship and User fields once those re-import cleanly—store WordPress post IDs, slugs, or titles for Relationship, and emails, logins, or user IDs for User.
Setup on Pro
The ACF group must already be assigned to the destination post type.
Title, slug, status, and content come first so the post exists and stays matched.
One Airtable column per field. Don’t pack three values into one long-text cell.
A view such as “Ready for web” keeps drafts in Airtable off the public site.
Confirm the values in the ACF UI, not only on the front end.
The same post should update. A new post means the ID map is not holding. See publishing without duplicates.
Only after the ACF UI shows the updated values on the original post.
Design tips that prevent remaps
- Name Airtable columns after ACF labels you will still recognize in six months.
- Keep select options identical, including spelling and case.
- Don’t overload one long-text cell when you need three ACF fields.
- Document the map in the base description. Don’t leave it in one person’s head.
Import-only products also emphasize ACF. Choose based on whether you also need forms → Airtable in the same plugin. See Air WP Sync vs Integration for Airtable.
Related reading
Questions: support@ripplestep.com.
Prove three fields before you schedule
On Pro, map one custom post type and three ACF fields from a scoped view. When the ACF screen still matches after a second import, schedule it.
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