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title: Introducing Visualforce
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locale: en-us
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# Introducing Visualforce

Visualforce consists of a tag-based markup language that gives developers way to build applications and customize the Salesforce user interface. With Visualforce, you can:

-   Build wizards and other multistep processes.
-   Create a custom flow control through an application.
-   Define navigation patterns and data-specific rules for optimal, efficient application interaction.

Interested in creating new Visualforce components? We recommend building Lightning web components instead. They’re more modern and powerful custom HTML elements for your Salesforce apps and sites. If you’re still curious about why you should use Lightning Web Components instead of Visualforce, [find out more now.](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/salesforce-pages-developers-guide/guide/pages-intro-when-use-lwc.md)

Visualforce is available for desktop browsers and in the Salesforce mobile app. For desktop browsers, it’s available in both Lightning Experience and Salesforce Classic. Visualforce pages and custom iframes aren’t supported in Lightning Experience on iPad Safari. Visualforce is available in Contact Manager, Group, Professional, Enterprise, Unlimited, Performance, and Developer Editions.

-   **[What is Visualforce?](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/salesforce-pages-developers-guide/guide/pages-intro-what-is-it.md)**  

-   **[Why Should I Use Lightning Web Components instead of Visualforce?](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/salesforce-pages-developers-guide/guide/pages-intro-when-use-lwc.md)**  

-   **[Which Permissions are Required for Visualforce Development?](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/salesforce-pages-developers-guide/guide/pages-intro-permissions.md)**  


    Visualforce development requires various permissions, depending on the specific activity.

-   **[How is Visualforce Architected?](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/salesforce-pages-developers-guide/guide/pages-intro-architecture.md)**  

-   **[How Do Visualforce Pages Compare to S-Controls?](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/salesforce-pages-developers-guide/guide/pages-intro-vs-scontrols.md)**  

-   **[How Visualforce is Versioned](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/salesforce-pages-developers-guide/guide/pages-intro-versioning.md)**  


    Visualforce pages and components are versioned. When a page or component has a version number, the functionality of older Visualforce elements doesn’t change as new implementations are introduced. Visualforce versions start at 15.0. If you try to set the version of a Visualforce page to a version earlier than 15.0, it automatically changes to 15.0.