ACF Composer Blocks vs Block Patterns in Nynaeve Theme

acf-composer-vs-block-patterns.md

🛠️ ACF Composer vs. Block Patterns in setup.php

🔍 Overview

ACF Composer (by Log1x) excels at defining ACF Blocks and Field Groups in a structured, object-oriented way using PHP classes.

While you could use ACF Composer to register block patterns, it doesn’t offer a significant advantage over your current method via setup.php — especially when it comes to layout-based patterns.

---

✅ Your Current Approach: setup.php for Patterns

You're already following a common and valid method:

• Defining patterns as PHP files containing block markup
  e.g., faq-pattern.php, modern-pricing-table.php
• Reading these files and their metadata in setup.php
• Registering them using the standard register_block_pattern() function
• Styling them in app.css and editor.css

This setup works well for layout-based, reusable block patterns.

---

🧩 Using ACF Composer for Pattern Registration (Optional)

If you wanted to centralize pattern registration in ACF Composer, you would typically:

1. Create a dedicated Composer class for each pattern, or use a service provider.
2. Inside that class/provider:
   • Read the pattern file content (like your get_processed_pattern_content() in setup.php).
   • Register it using register_block_pattern().
3. Remove pattern logic from setup.php.

🧠 This approach centralizes logic, which is nice for consistency if you're already deep into ACF Composer.
However, it doesn't change how the patterns work or render — it's more about structure.

---

🔄 Blocks vs. Patterns: What's the Difference?

🔳 Block Patterns

• Reusable layouts built with existing core/custom blocks
• Content is editable within the editor
• No ACF fields involved
• Great for static layouts like:
  • Pricing tables
  • FAQs
  • Hero sections

🧱 ACF Blocks (via Composer)

• Custom block types with specific ACF fields
• Rendered using Blade templates
• Perfect for components needing structured data, such as:
  • Testimonial blocks (name, quote, image)
  • Team member blocks
  • Accordions with dynamic content

Your current faq-pattern.php and modern-pricing-table.php are patterns, not ACF Blocks.

---

✅ Recommendation

• Stick with your current method in setup.php for block patterns — it's efficient and fully valid.
• Use ACF Composer when you need to build custom blocks with field input, rendering logic, and better reusability.
• You're free to mix both methods:
  • Use setup.php for layout patterns
  • Use ACF Composer for field-driven ACF Blocks