Overview
Custom fields in Groundhogg allow you to store additional, structured information about your contacts beyond the default fields like name and email. You can use custom fields to personalize communication, segment your list, trigger flows, and sync data with third-party tools.
When to Use
Use custom fields when you want to:
- Capture extra contact details such as membership level, preferences, spouse details, etc.
- Track internal data like lead source or sales rep assignment
- Personalize emails and site content using replacement codes
- Filter or segment contacts based on non-standard data
“Custom Fields” are/is “Meta”
You may see/hear us refer to custom fields as “meta” occasionally. That’s because custom fields and meta are functionally the same thing. All custom field data and values are stored in the meta table as metadata.
Custom fields are simply the structured visual UI to display and edit that meta in a user friendly way. In the contact record, under the More tab you can see a list of all the meta key/value pairs, including data from your custom fields.
That means for any features that reference ‘meta’ such as the meta filter or the “Edit Meta” action you can use the internal name of any custom field.
Should you use Custom Fields or Tags?
You may be deciding on whether to use tags or custom fields for a specific use case.
Use tags when:
- You want to track broad behavior or group contacts by activity (e.g. “Downloaded Ebook”, “VIP”)
- You’re triggering flows based on an action (e.g. tag applied → send email)
- You want to add or remove a label easily in bulk
Use custom fields when:
- You need to store specific data (e.g. “Company Name”, “Annual Revenue”)
- You want to personalize content with detailed or numeric values
- You need to perform conditional logic in flows based on specific input
Rule of thumb: Tags = labels. Custom fields = structured data.
Creating Custom Fields
There is no separate interface for managing custom fields. Instead, they are edited directly within any contact record, making it fast and easy to make changes as you manage your contacts, reducing the need to tab in and out.
To create a new custom field tab
Before you can create custom fields, you must create a tab to add them in.
- Go to any contact record
- Next to the More tab in the edit panel, click the [+] icon
- Name the tab and click Create
The new tab will be automatically selected, then…
- Click Add Custom Properties
- You’ll have to create a property group, give it a name, and click Create Group
- The Add field dialog will appear, give the field a label, select the type of field you want, and edit options as desired.
- Click Create Field to add the field to the tab.
Contact Custom Fields are universal, meaning when you create them, they appear for all contacts.
To edit or remove a custom tab
- Select the tab you wish to edit or remove
- Click the [⁝] next to the tab navigation and the [+] icon
- Click Rename to change the tab name, or Delete to delete it.
⚠️ Deleting a custom tab will also delete any custom fields and groups in that tab.
To create a new custom field in an existing tab/group
If you have existing custom field tabs and groups…
- Select the tab
- Hover over the group you want to add the field to and click the [⁝] that appear
- Click Add Field in the dropdown
To edit/delete an existing custom field
- Select the tab where the field is
- Double-click on the field to show options for it
- Click Edit field or Delete
⚠️ When deleting custom fields, only the field itself is deleted. Any data that resides in the database associated with that custom field is not deleted. You will be able to see that data in the More tab under Meta.
Custom Field Settings
Custom fields have some common settings
| Field Label | The label for the field in the UI. |
| Internal Name | The key in which the field is store in the meta table in the database. Must be lowercase, contain only alpha-numeric characters (a-z, 0-9, _, -) |
| Field Type | The type of data you are entering into the field. |
| Options* | Options are only available for Dropdown, Radio, and Checkboxes field types. |
| Order | Use a number > 0 to specify how ion which position the field should appear in the UI. The default is 10. |
| Width | How the field should appear in the UI. Can either be half or full. |
| Group | You can change which group the field belongs to in the UI. |
Personalization with Custom Fields
Each custom field will have a corresponding replacement code that matches the internal name of the field.
If the internal name of your custom field is spouse_name then the replacement code will be {spouse_name}.
Filtering with Custom Fields
All your custom fields will also be available as filters when using the search filters.
Custom Fields Beyond Contacts
Other objects like companies and deals also support custom fields. Custom fields for other objects work in exactly the same way as with contacts.
Troubleshooting Tips
Field value not showing?
Make sure the contact has a value for that field. You can use a default or conditional logic fallback if needed.
Can’t find a field in the email editor?
Make sure it has been added to a contact before trying to use the replacement code.
Imported field not showing up?
Check that the column name in your import matches the custom field key or create the field manually beforehand.
FAQs
Q: Can I use custom fields in forms?
A: Yes — use the form builder to map fields to any custom key.
Q: Are custom fields searchable?
A: Yes — use the search filters tool to find contacts based on any custom field value.
Q: Can I use custom fields in my site content?
A: Yes — with the Site Personalization feature, you can display custom field values on the frontend using replacement codes.
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