Select a framework and template as part of your site planning. The choices you make at the beginning of your site creation process have long-term downstream implications. In particular, consider your business objectives, your technical know-how, and the costs associated with each.
Required Editions
| Available in: both Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience |
| Available in: Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer Editions |
Why Is This Important?
You can build an Experience Cloud site using one of three frameworks: Lightning Web Runtime (LWR), Aura, or Visualforce. Each framework supports different templates.
The LWR framework uses Lightning Web Components (LWC). LWC offers a platform for developers to build components on a standardized web stack. The LWR framework with LWC creates unparalleled performance and speed. LWR templates include Build Your Own (LWR) and Microsite (LWR). To build a site using an LWR template, you need access to developer resources.
Aura uses a standardized Server-Side JavaScript framework, which helps developers build customizable components. But web practices have changed, improved, and become even more standardized since Server-Side JavaScript’s introduction in 2014, paving the way for the evolution to LWR. Aura templates include Customer Service, Partner Central, Help Center, Build Your Own, and Customer Account Portal. Aura templates are mostly low-code. Lightning web components and Aura components can coexist and interoperate on a page.
The Visualforce framework includes a tag-based markup language, similar to HTML, and a set of server-side “standard controllers” that make basic database operations simple to perform. The Visualforce framework supports Salesforce Tabs + Visualforce sites. To create a branded experience using Salesforce Tabs + Visualforce, you need access to developer resources.
