Dynamic Tags

Custom Meta Tags

4 min read

Meta tags let you display custom fields stored on users, posts, pages, products, or orders. If WordPress, WooCommerce, or another plugin saves extra data on your site, you can often show that data inside notification text.

Base tags are covered in User, Post, and Page Tags and WooCommerce Product and Order Tags. This article focuses on the {..._meta_KEY} pattern.

For creative ways to combine meta tags with other tags, see Combining Dynamic Tags: Creative Examples.

Works with data from other plugins

Notifal meta tags read from the same meta fields WordPress stores for each item. That means many plugins integrate naturally without extra setup:

Plugin typeWhat you can showExample tag
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF)Custom fields on posts, pages, products{product_meta_your_field_name}
WooCommerce extensionsExtra product or order data (brands, badges, custom tabs){product_meta__custom_key}
Membership / profile pluginsUser profile fields stored as user meta{user_meta_membership_level}
Review pluginsRatings stored as comment or product meta{product_meta_average_rating}
SEO pluginsFocus keywords, custom descriptions{post_meta__yoast_wpseo_focuskw}
How it works: If a plugin saves data to user, post, page, product, or order meta, Notifal can read it with the matching {..._meta_KEY} tag. Use the tag inserter to search for keys already used on your site, or check the plugin documentation for the meta key name.

You are not limited to WooCommerce defaults. Store market comparison prices, loyalty points, delivery estimates, course progress, or any other field your plugins save, as long as you know the meta key.

Meta tag patterns

EntityPatternExample
User{user_meta_KEY}{user_meta_nickname}
Post{post_meta_KEY}{post_meta_rating}
Page{page_meta_KEY}{page_meta_subtitle}
Product{product_meta_KEY}{product_meta__sku}
Order{order_meta_KEY}{order_meta_billing_phone}

KEY is the internal meta key from WordPress or WooCommerce. WooCommerce product keys often start with an underscore, for example _price → {product_meta__price}.

Common WooCommerce product meta keys

PurposeTag
SKU{product_meta__sku}
Regular price{product_meta__regular_price}
Sale price{product_meta__sale_price}
Stock quantity{product_meta__stock}

Price meta values are formatted as currency on output.

Common order meta keys

Billing and shipping fields are stored as order meta:

FieldExample tag
First name{order_meta__billing_first_name}
City{order_meta__billing_city}
Phone{order_meta__billing_phone}
Shipping address{order_meta__shipping_address_1}

How to find the right key

  1. Open Insert Tag in the HTML Builder (or the Notifal tag panel in Elementor/Block Editor).
  2. Browse the User Meta, Product Meta, or Order Meta sections.
  3. Search for a field name. Notifal suggests frequently used keys from your database.

Plugin or custom fields

If you use Advanced Custom Fields, custom product fields, or other plugins, the meta key may match the field name configured in that plugin. Check the plugin docs or export screen for the exact key.

Meta tags and content source

Meta tags show data from the item in context (the user, post, product, or order selected for that impression). Set Content Source on the notification so the right product or order is loaded before meta values make sense.

Empty values

If meta is missing:

  • On the live site, the tag outputs nothing (blank).
  • In preview, Notifal may show a placeholder like "Preview Value" so you can test layout.

Security and privacy

Do not expose sensitive meta (internal notes, full addresses, API tokens) in public notifications. Stick to fields you would happily show any visitor.

Dynamic Tags series