HelgaTheViking

I found I constantly needed a way for clients to mark a post as something they wanted to feature and I’ve never found sticky posts particularly inuitive and the UI is pretty hidden for new users. The simplest solution was a checkbox in prominently located metabox.
Please note that this plugin, by itself, will not change how your posts are displayed. It just gives the UI to users and a meta key to theme developers to query for.
<h4>Usage</h4>
This plugin simply adds a <code>_featured</code> meta key to every post with a value of <code>yes</code> for featured items and <code>no</code> for everything else. Actual display of the featured items is entirely up to the theme developer, but an example ( place in your template where you’d like to display a list of featured “Portfolios”) might be as follows:
<pre><code>// params for our query
$args = array(
 'post_type' => 'portfolio',
 'posts_per_page' => 5,
 'meta_key' => '_featured',
 'meta_value' => 'yes'
);

// The Query
$featured_portfolios = new WP_Query( $args );

// The Loop
if ( $featured_portfolios ) :

 echo '<ul class="featured">';

 while ( $featured_portfolios->have_posts() ) :
 $featured_portfolios->the_post();
 echo '<li>' . get_the_title() . '</li>';
 endwhile;

 echo '</ul>';

else :

 echo 'No featured portfolios found.';

endif;

/* Restore original Post Data
 * NB: Because we are using new WP_Query we aren't stomping on the
 * original $wp_query and it does not need to be reset.
*/
wp_reset_postdata();
</code></pre>
Multiple queries per page load can slow down your site so it is worthwhile to take advantage of the <a href="https://codex.wordpress.org/Transients_API" rel="nofollow ugc">Transients API</a>, so an alternate usage would be:
<pre><code>// Get any existing copy of our transient data
if ( false === ( $featured_portfolios = get_transient( 'featured_portfolios' ) ) ) {
 // It wasn't there, so regenerate the data and save the transient

 // params for our query
 $args = array(
 'post_type' => 'portfolio',
 'posts_per_page' => 5,
 'meta_key' => '_featured',
 'meta_value' => 'yes'
 );

 // The Query
 $featured_portfolios = new WP_Query( $args );

 // store the transient
 set_transient( 'featured_portfolios', $featured_portfolios );

}

// Use the data like you would have normally...

// The Loop
if ( $featured_portfolios ) :

 echo '<ul class="featured">';

 while ( $featured_portfolios->have_posts() ) :
 $featured_portfolios->the_post();
 echo '<li>' . get_the_title() . '</li>';
 endwhile;

 echo '</ul>';

else :

 echo 'No featured portfolios found.';

endif;

/* Restore original Post Data
 * NB: Because we are using new WP_Query we aren't stomping on the
 * original $wp_query and it does not need to be reset.
*/
wp_reset_postdata();
</code></pre>
Then to ensure that your featured posts list is updated, add a function to your theme’s functions.php to delete the transient when a portfolio (in this example) post type is saved.
<pre><code>// Create a function to delete our transient when a portfolio post is saved
function save_post_delete_featured_transient( $post_id ) {
 if ( 'portfolio' == get_post_type( $post_id ) )
 delete_transient( 'featured_portfolios' );
}
// Add the function to the save_post hook so it runs when posts are saved
add_action( 'save_post', 'save_post_delete_featured_transient' );
</code></pre>
Simple queries should only need the <code>meta_key</code> and <code>meta_value</code> parameters, but if you need something more advanced then you might want to read about how to use the more <a href="http://scribu.net/wordpress/advanced-metadata-queries.html" rel="nofollow ugc">complex Meta Query parameters</a>.
<h4>Support</h4>
Support is handled in the <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/featured-item-metabox" rel="ugc">WordPress forums</a>. Please note that support is limited and does not cover any custom implementation of the plugin.
Please report any bugs, errors, warnings, code problems at <a href="https://github.com/helgatheviking/Featured-Item-Metabox/issues" rel="nofollow ugc">Github</a>

Featured Item Metabox

Quickly add a metabox to any post type for marking a post as featured.  Toggle featured status even more quickly from the posts lists/ quick edit scre …

Themepure

The Pure Metafields Plugin is a powerful tool designed to enhance the functionality and flexibility of your WordPress website. With this plugin, you can easily create and manage custom meta boxes, adding extra fields and data to your posts, pages, and custom post types.
<h3>Key Features</h3>
✅ Custom Meta Boxes: Create unlimited custom meta boxes with ease. Define the title, placement, and priority of each meta box to suit your needs.
✅ Flexible Field Types: The plugin offers a wide range of field types to choose from, including text, textarea, select, checkbox, radio buttons, date picker, and more. Customize the field options and validation rules effortlessly.
✅ Repeatable Fields: Enable the ability to repeat fields, allowing users to add multiple instances of the same field dynamically. Perfect for scenarios where you need to capture multiple sets of data.
✅ Conditional Logic: Set up conditional logic to show or hide fields based on the value of other fields. This feature adds versatility and improves the user experience of your forms.
✅ Built-in Validation: Ensure data accuracy by implementing validation rules for your fields. You can define required fields, validate input formats, and customize error messages effortlessly.
✅ Save and Retrieve Meta Data: The plugin provides simple functions to save and retrieve meta data, allowing you to access and utilize the stored information in your themes or plugins.
✅ Integration with WordPress API: Seamlessly integrate with the WordPress API and extend its functionalities. Hook into actions and filters to manipulate meta data and create dynamic interactions.
<a href="https://themepure.net/plugins/puremetafields/" rel="nofollow ugc">Live Docs</a>

Pure Metafields

Very light weight playable plugin

Pure Metafields is very light weight plugin tused to create custom metabox for any post type like page, post and your custom post type support it.

Featured Item Metabox vs Pure Metafields