By default, WordPress treats the contents of custom fields as plain text and does not execute any shortcodes that may be included within them. This means that if you have a custom field containing a shortcode, such as `[shortcode] VALUE [/shortcode]`, the shortcode itself will not be processed, and the entire text, including the HTML tags, will be displayed as is.

To overcome this limitation and enable the execution of shortcodes within custom fields, you can use a code snippet in your template files. Here’s an elaboration of the process:

  1. Retrieve the custom field value: In your template file, you need to retrieve the value of the custom field using the appropriate WordPress function, such as `get_post_meta()` or `get_field()`, depending on whether you are using native custom fields or a plugin like Advanced Custom Fields.
  2. Process the content: Once you have obtained the custom field value, you can use the `do_shortcode()` function provided by WordPress to process and execute any shortcodes within the content. This function takes the custom field value as its parameter and returns the processed output.
  3. Display the processed content: Finally, you can echo or display the processed content on your website using the `echo` or `print` statements.

Here’s an example code snippet that demonstrates the process:


    $customFieldValue = get_post_meta(get_the_ID(), 'your_custom_field_name', true);
    $processedContent = do_shortcode($customFieldValue);
    echo $processedContent;

In the above code, `get_post_meta()` retrieves the value of the custom field with the specified name (`your_custom_field_name`), `do_shortcode()` processes the content, and `echo` displays the processed content on your website.

By using this snippet, you can run shortcodes from custom fields and have them executed properly, allowing you to incorporate dynamic functionality and display the desired output.