Custom Meta Template Variables

Prefer video? Watch the Rank Forge tutorials 9 short guides covering every feature Watch

You can register custom template variables that become available in the meta template system. This is useful for WooCommerce product data, custom fields, or any dynamic content.

Registering Custom Variables via Filter

Rank Forge resolves variables by calling RANKFORGE_Meta_Templates::resolve(). To inject custom variables, hook into the resolution process by filtering the available variables and providing a replacement callback:

// Register a custom {{price}} variable for WooCommerce products
add_action( 'plugins_loaded', function () {
    if ( ! class_exists( 'RANKFORGE_Meta_Templates' ) ) {
        return;
    }

    // Add to the variable list (shown in template editor UI)
    add_filter( 'rankforge_template_variables', function ( $vars ) {
        $vars['{{price}}']    = 'Product price (WooCommerce)';
        $vars['{{sku}}']      = 'Product SKU (WooCommerce)';
        $vars['{{stock}}']    = 'Stock status (In stock / Out of stock)';
        $vars['{{brand}}']    = 'Product brand (custom taxonomy)';
        return $vars;
    } );

    // Resolve the variables when building meta output
    add_filter( 'rankforge_resolve_template', function ( $output, $post_id ) {
        if ( get_post_type( $post_id ) !== 'product' || ! function_exists( 'wc_get_product' ) ) {
            return $output;
        }

        $product = wc_get_product( $post_id );
        if ( ! $product ) {
            return $output;
        }

        $replacements = [
            '{{price}}' => $product->get_price() ? wp_strip_all_tags( wc_price( $product->get_price() ) ) : '',
            '{{sku}}'   => $product->get_sku(),
            '{{stock}}' => $product->is_in_stock() ? 'In stock' : 'Out of stock',
            '{{brand}}' => '',
        ];

        $brands = wp_get_post_terms( $post_id, 'product_brand', [ 'fields' => 'names' ] );
        if ( ! is_wp_error( $brands ) && ! empty( $brands ) ) {
            $replacements['{{brand}}'] = $brands[0];
        }

        return str_replace( array_keys( $replacements ), array_values( $replacements ), $output );
    }, 10, 2 );
}, 10 );

Using Custom Variables in Templates

Once registered, custom variables can be used in the global template settings:

update_option( 'rankforge_title_templates', [
    'product' => [
        'title'       => '{{title}} {{separator}} {{price}} {{separator}} {{siteName}}',
        'description' => '{{brand}} {{title}} - {{stock}}. {{excerpt}}',
    ],
] );

ACF Field Variable Example

// Register ACF custom fields as template variables
add_filter( 'rankforge_template_variables', function ( $vars ) {
    $vars['{{location}}']   = 'ACF Location field';
    $vars['{{event_date}}'] = 'ACF Event Date field';
    return $vars;
} );

add_filter( 'rankforge_resolve_template', function ( $output, $post_id ) {
    if ( ! function_exists( 'get_field' ) ) {
        return $output;
    }

    $output = str_replace( '{{location}}', get_field( 'location', $post_id ) ?: '', $output );
    $output = str_replace( '{{event_date}}', get_field( 'event_date', $post_id ) ?: '', $output );
    return $output;
}, 10, 2 );

—

13. Custom Meta Template Variables

Registering Custom Variables via Filter

Using Custom Variables in Templates

ACF Field Variable Example