05 fields choice and toggles

5. Fields: Choice and Toggles

This guide covers fields designed for making selections, from simple on/off toggles to complex, searchable multi-select dropdowns.

A key extra for many of these fields is the 'options' array. This is an associative array where the key is the value that gets saved to the database, and the value is the user-facing label.

'options' => [
    'low'    => 'Low Priority',
    'medium' => 'Medium Priority',
    'high'   => 'High Priority',
]

---

Checkbox

• Type: checkbox
• Description: A standard single checkbox. Ideal for boolean (true/false) settings.
• Value Saved: true if checked, false if unchecked.
• Key Feature: The 'description' text is automatically wrapped in a <label> tag with the checkbox, making the entire text clickable, which improves accessibility and user experience.

Example

$page->add_field( 
    'open_links_in_new_tab', 
    'general_section', 
    'checkbox', 
    'New Tab Behavior', 
    [
        'description' => 'Enable this to open all external links in a new browser tab.',
        'default'     => true,
    ]
);

---

Switch

• Type: switch
• Description: A modern, styled toggle switch that is functionally identical to a checkbox. It provides a better user experience for simple on/off settings.
• Value Saved: true if on, false if off.
• Key Feature: Like the checkbox, the 'description' is a clickable label.

Example

$page->add_field( 
    'enable_dark_mode', 
    'display_section', 
    'switch', 
    'Dark Mode', 
    [
        'description' => 'Activate the dark mode theme for the front-end.',
        'default'     => false,
    ]
);

---

Choice (Radio Buttons)

• Type: choice
• Description: A group of radio buttons, used when a user must select one option from a small set of choices.
• Required extra: 'options' (array)

Example

$page->add_field( 
    'thumbnail_position', 
    'display_section', 
    'choice', 
    'Thumbnail Position', 
    [
        'description' => 'Choose where to display the featured image on single posts.',
        'default'     => 'above_title',
        'options'     => [
            'above_title' => 'Above the Post Title',
            'below_title' => 'Below the Post Title',
            'no_thumb'    => 'Do Not Display',
        ],
    ]
);

---

Buttons Group

• Type: buttons_group
• Description: A visually appealing alternative to radio buttons, styled as a segmented button control. It's functionally identical to the choice field.
• Required extra: 'options' (array)

Example

$page->add_field( 
    'content_alignment', 
    'display_section', 
    'buttons_group', 
    'Content Alignment', 
    [
        'description' => 'Select the default text alignment for your content.',
        'default'     => 'left',
        'options'     => [
            'left'   => 'Left',
            'center' => 'Center',
            'right'  => 'Right',
        ],
    ]
);

---

Select

• Type: select
• Description: A searchable dropdown menu for selecting a single option. This field is enhanced with the Select2 library for a better user experience, especially with long lists.
• Assets: Automatically enqueues Select2 scripts and styles.
• Required extra: 'options' (array)

Example

$page->add_field( 
    'font_selection', 
    'display_section', 
    'select', 
    'Primary Font', 
    [
        'description' => 'Choose a font from the Google Fonts library.',
        'default'     => 'roboto',
        'options'     => [
            'roboto'    => 'Roboto',
            'open_sans' => 'Open Sans',
            'lato'      => 'Lato',
            'montserrat'=> 'Montserrat',
        ],
    ]
);

---

Multi-Check

• Type: multi_check
• Description: A group of checkboxes that allows the user to select multiple options.
• Value Saved: An indexed array of the selected option keys (e.g., ['dashboard', 'media']).
• Required extra: 'options' (array)

Example

$page->add_field( 
    'post_types_to_search',
    'general_section', 
    'multi_check', 
    'Searchable Content', 
    [
        'description' => 'Select which post types should be included in search results.',
        'default'     => ['post', 'page'],
        'options'     => [
            'post'    => 'Posts',
            'page'    => 'Pages',
            'product' => 'Products',
            'docs'    => 'Documentation',
        ],
    ]
);

---

Multi-Select

• Type: multi_select
• Description: A searchable, multi-select dropdown menu, also powered by Select2. It's the best way to handle multiple selections from a long list of options.
• Assets: Automatically enqueues Select2 scripts and styles.
• Value Saved: An indexed array of the selected option keys.
• Required extra: 'options' (array)

Example

$page->add_field( 
    'user_roles_access', 
    'advanced_section', 
    'multi_select', 
    'Roles with Access', 
    [
        'description' => 'Select which user roles can access the premium features.',
        'default'     => ['administrator', 'editor'],
        'options'     => [
            'administrator' => 'Administrator',
            'editor'        => 'Editor',
            'author'        => 'Author',
            'contributor'   => 'Contributor',
            'subscriber'    => 'Subscriber',
        ],
    ]
);

Now that you've mastered choice-based fields, the next section will cover fields for handling rich content, code, and media from the WordPress library.

Next: 6. Fields: Content and Media