Building Scalable Component Libraries in Bricks Builder
How we use Bricks Builder and ACF Pro to create reusable, maintainable WordPress components that cut development time in half.
Why Component Libraries Matter
When you're building multiple WordPress sites or working across projects with consistent design systems, a component library becomes your single source of truth. Instead of rebuilding the same hero section, card layout, or form pattern across different pages, you create it once, configure it via ACF Pro, and reuse it everywhere.
Our Approach: Three Layers
We organise our components into three layers: Atoms (buttons, form inputs, typography), Molecules (card layouts, feature blocks, headers), and Organisms (hero sections, content grids, footer systems).
Using Bricks for Visual Building
Bricks Builder's template system allows us to save complete component designs as templates. This means designers can work visually without touching code, and developers can extend these templates with ACF Pro fields for dynamic content.
ACF Pro for Configuration
Every component gets an ACF Pro field group that controls its content. Text fields, image pickers, colour selectors, relationships — all defined once, reusable everywhere. We export these field groups as JSON and version control them alongside our theme.
The Results
On our last multi-site project (four WordPress builds in six weeks), this approach cut our development time by 48% compared to building each site from scratch. More importantly, consistency across all four sites was guaranteed by design — every site used the exact same component library.
If you're building multiple WordPress projects or want to systematise your workflow, start with a component library. You'll spend a few extra hours upfront, but you'll earn back that time on every project after.