AutomatorWP – Custom User Fields

AutomatorWP РCustom User Fields is a WordPress plugin designed to extend the capabilities of AutomatorWP by exposing and managing custom user metadata within automation workflows. Its primary purpose is to make any user-specific custom field — whether created by WordPress core, themes, or third-party plugins — accessible as triggers, conditions, or actions inside AutomatorWP recipes. By bridging user meta and automation, the plugin enables site administrators and developers to create highly personalized, data-driven automated processes such as conditional emails, targeted role assignments, profile updates, and integrations that react to changes in user fields.

The plugin operates by discovering custom user fields (user meta keys) and providing a standardized interface so those fields can be used in automations without custom coding. It handles field type detection, value normalization, and frequently needs to connect with popular profile and form plugins. AutomatorWP – Custom User Fields is particularly useful for sites with extended user profiles, membership platforms, learning management systems, or any site that collects bespoke user information beyond the default WordPress fields.

Features

• Automatic Discovery of User Fields

  The plugin scans your site for user meta keys created by themes, plugins, and custom code and lists them in AutomatorWP’s interface. This automatic discovery removes the need to manually register every custom field, saving time and reducing configuration errors.

• Field Type Detection and Normalization

  Detected fields are analyzed to infer their data type (text, number, boolean, date, multi-select, etc.). Values are normalized so triggers and conditions work reliably. For example, date strings are converted to timestamp-aware values and boolean values from form plugins are mapped consistently to true/false for use in conditions.

• Use Custom Fields as Triggers

  Turn updates to any user field into Automator triggers. Whether a user updates a profile field, submits a form that updates user meta, or an admin changes a value, the plugin can fire AutomatorWP recipes based on specific field changes, thresholds, or exact matches.

• Conditions Based on User Field Values

  Incorporate conditional logic into recipes using custom user fields. Recipes can check whether a field equals a value, contains a string, falls within a range, or exists at all. This is ideal for segmentation: only run actions for users who meet profile-based criteria.

• Actions to Update User Fields

  Automate updates to custom fields as part of a recipe. For example, when a user completes a course, the plugin can set or increment a user progress field; when a manual review happens, an admin action can update a “verified” field. Actions support setting, appending, incrementing/decrementing numeric values, and clearing fields.

• Integration with Popular Profile and Form Plugins

  Works seamlessly with plugins that create user fields, including Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), Meta Box, Profile Builder, WP User Manager, Ultimate Member, BuddyPress profile fields, and form plugins that map entries to user meta (e.g., Gravity Forms, WPForms, Formidable Forms). The plugin reads metadata written by these tools and makes it available in AutomatorWP recipes.

• Support for Repeater and Complex Fields

  Where plugins support repeaters or serialized arrays (e.g., ACF repeaters or complex meta structures), the plugin flattens or provides indexed access so recipes can target individual subfields or iterate over array items for conditional decisions.

• Human-Friendly Field Labels

  Instead of showing raw meta keys, the plugin displays readable field labels wherever possible (sourced from the creating plugin or explicit registration), reducing confusion and speeding up recipe creation for non-technical users.

• Security and Capability Awareness

  Read and write operations respect WordPress capabilities: only users with the appropriate capability can register, edit, or trigger automations that modify sensitive user meta. Actions that touch private metadata can be restricted to avoid exposing or changing protected data inadvertently.

• Developer API for Custom Integration

  Includes hooks and filters to register custom field mappings or to override detection logic. Developers can use provided filters to add support for bespoke field types or to preprocess values before they’re used in conditions or actions.

• Logging and Debugging Tools

  Offers logging of detected field changes, recipe firings triggered by user field events, and action outcomes. Debugging tools help trace why a recipe did or didn’t run based on user field data, which is helpful during onboarding and complex workflow building.

• Bulk Operations and Migration Support

  Provide utilities to bulk-update user fields via AutomatorWP recipes or import/export field mappings for migrating setups between environments. These utilities make it easier to apply consistent user meta-driven automations across multiple sites or stages.

• Conditional Placeholders and Templating

  Expose user field values as placeholders for email templates, notifications, or action parameters. Conditional placeholders allow recipes to insert dynamic content based on user data (e.g., personalized greetings or conditional sections in messages).

• Multi-site and Role-aware Support

  On multisite WordPress setups, the plugin can detect and operate on site-specific user fields and respect site-scoped metadata. It also supports role-aware automations — for example, run different actions depending on whether a user is a subscriber or an administrator.

Use Cases

AutomatorWP – Custom User Fields unlocks many practical scenarios across different types of WordPress sites. Below are concrete examples showing how the plugin can be used to solve real-world problems and improve user experience, automation, and site administration.

Personalized Onboarding for Membership Sites
Membership sites often collect profile information such as experience level, interests, or learning goals. Using AutomatorWP РCustom User Fields, when a new member selects “Beginner” in a custom profile field, a recipe can automatically enroll them in an introductory drip campaign, tag their account for beginner-level content, and notify a community manager to assign a mentor. Conversely, selecting “Advanced” could route the user to a different content path.

Adaptive Learning Paths in LMS Environments
Learning Management Systems commonly store progress and preferences in custom user meta. When an LMS writes a course progress percentage to a custom field, AutomatorWP can trigger certificate issuance, grant access to next-level courses, or award badges. Conditions can prevent actions until a numeric threshold (e.g., progress >= 80%) is reached, allowing precise, data-driven learning workflows.

Profile Completeness Gamification
Encourage users to complete profiles by using custom fields to track which sections are filled. When a user’s profile completion field increments to 100% as fields are filled, a recipe can automatically reward the user with a points update, unlock forum privileges, or send a congratulatory email. This approach gamifies engagement without custom development.

Targeted CRM and Email Segmentation
Collecting lead or contact-specific metadata via forms (industry, role, product interest) allows marketers to build dynamic segments. AutomatorWP can use these custom user fields to trigger tailored email sequences, add users to targeted CRM lists, or assign sales reps via integrated CRM actions. Conditional checks ensure only appropriate sequences run for each segment.

Automated Role and Capability Management
Sites that grant access based on profile criteria can automate role changes. For example, when a user’s “verified_contributor” custom field is set by a moderator, AutomatorWP can automatically promote their role to “author”, enable publishing capabilities, and send instructions on how to submit content. This automates workflow and reduces manual role management.

Event and Booking Workflows
Event platforms that capture attendee preferences or dietary restrictions as user fields can trigger custom workflows when these fields change. If an attendee updates their “dietary_restrictions” meta to “gluten-free,” an automation can notify catering staff, update the attendee’s booking note, and include a custom message in the event confirmation email.

Compliance and Verification Processes
For sites requiring identity verification or consent records, custom fields can store verification status or signed timestamps. When an admin updates a “KYC_verified” or “terms_accepted” field, a recipe can mark users as compliant, restrict or enable access to regulated content, and log the verification event in an audit channel.

Rich Integrations with Forms and Community Plugins
When Gravity Forms or ACF saves a user meta key from a profile update form, AutomatorWP – Custom User Fields can trigger downstream actions: send a Slack notification, update a CRM entry, or add the user to a cohort. For community plugins like BuddyPress and Ultimate Member, profile field changes can start workflows that notify group leaders, generate welcome posts, or adjust group memberships.

Maintenance and Admin Operations
Administrators can use recipes to enforce data hygiene: automatically clear deprecated custom fields, normalize inconsistent values, or populate derived fields (e.g., setting “full_name” from first and last name). Bulk recipes can migrate old meta keys to new structures during site refactors, reducing manual database operations.

Developer and Agency Workflows
Agencies building client sites can use the plugin as part of a repeatable automation pattern: map client-specific profile fields into AutomatorWP recipes to deliver custom onboarding, support triage, and content personalization. The developer API allows agencies to extend support for bespoke meta created by custom plugins, ensuring automations are reliable across projects.

In summary, AutomatorWP – Custom User Fields makes user meta actionable within AutomatorWP, turning profile data into a first-class component of automation workflows. Whether your goal is to personalize user journeys, automate administrative tasks, or integrate profile-driven logic into complex systems, the plugin streamlines the process of using custom user fields as triggers, conditions, and actions ‚Äî minimizing code and maximizing flexibility. For alternatives or complementary tools, consider integrations and addons such as Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), Meta Box, Pods, Profile Builder, WP User Manager, Ultimate Member, Gravity Forms, and AutomatorWP’s other addons (e.g., WooCommerce, BuddyPress, LearnDash integrations) to broaden the types of user metadata and interactions available for automation.