Building Salesforce Lightning Component: A Step-by-Step Guide

If you are a Salesforce development company, then to build a Salesforce application efficiently, you need a component or function that can be performed as a standalone and also be reused recurrently to ease the complex Salesforce program that is a lightning component of the Salesforce platform.

So, these lightning components are important to accelerate the application development process and enhance app performance. In this blog, let’s understand these components and their deployment in application development.

What Is Salesforce Lightning?

Salesforce lightning consists of some lightning components along with some tools to ease the salesforce development services and improve collaboration among Salesforce developers to build custom sales applications and websites.

Let’s understand the lightning components and types available on the Salesforce platform.

What Are Salesforce Lightning Components?

Salesforce lightning components are User Interface frameworks in the Salesforce platform used by Salesforce developers to build interactive Salesforce lightning applications. These components are reusable and use programming languages such as HTML, JavaScript, Apex, etc.

Let’s explore the benefits of lightning components in Salesforce application development, such as:

• Reusable: As these components are reusable, so, it is easier for developers to build the components for once and then, reuse them to build different salesforce lightning services.

• Boost Performance: As these components are built with client-side architecture designs, so, multiple programs run on users’ devices, leading to faster performance and smoother usability among users.

• Boost Responsiveness: These components are designed to be mobile-first approach, so, the applications built within the components are sure to be responsive and improve user experience.

• Compatible with modern web technology: The salesforce lightning web components leverage modern languages like HTML and CSS to enable applications compatible with any kind of advanced browsers.

• Low Maintenance:  These components require low maintenance and easier upgradation to keep away from bugs or errors in the existing applications.

Some use cases of Salesforce lightning components include applications to manage student admission, Doctor Dashboard, hospital record application management, etc.

Types Of Lightning Components

Let’s discuss different lightning components in Salesforce to enhance the development process.

⤞ Standard Lightning Components

The standard lightning components provide out-of-the-box components that are available at each level of web standard development in the Salesforce platform.

Examples of standard components include current events, performance charts, top deals, news, etc.

The above components can be used in many salesforce applications such as in e-commerce apps, you can add top deals, or you can see an internal performance chart to view the sales and profits, etc.

⤞ Custom Lightning Components

Custom lightning web components in Salesforce enable developers to add customized Salesforce Flow to improve user experience. The significance of these components is they provide flexible third-party integrations of salesforce flow tools.

These custom components help developers add specific functionalities or data input to improve user experiences and enable businesses to reach beyond the user’s expectations.

Some examples of custom Lighting components include a personal wish list, order history, buy now, buy later, etc.

Read More: Getting Started With Salesforce Lightning: A Guide For New Users

⤞ App Exchange  Lightning Components

The app exchanges lightning web components salesforce enables businesses to improve defined customer experiences in cloud platforms. These are more than components that enable team members to work in a more productive manner.

The significance of these components is that many features can be installed in just a few clicks, enable faster execution, and provide customized security features in the applications.

Some examples of app exchange lightning components include building blocks, CRM data management, lightning bolts, flow solutions, etc.

Process For Deploying And Testing Your Salesforce Lightning Component:

After covering the list of lightning components in Salesforce, it’s time to learn how to deploy them in your application development process.

Step 1: Deploy To Salesforce Org

In order to deploy in the salesforce org, one should follow the below-mentioned commands such as:

• Firstly, you have to log in to your existing Salesforce org, or you can sign up for Salesforce org if you are new to the platform.

• Then, you can personalize the domain while in the search box and then search for my domain.

• Afterwards, you can file the domain name and deploy it to the users.

• Then, you have to click on the enable of your user domain in the quick find search box.

If you want to verify the deployment, check its validity, and whether a real deployment is in progress, you have to go to the status column and see if there are any pending deployments and failed or successful deployments are mentioned.

Step 2: Add the component To A Lightning Page

After deploying to Salesforce.org, you must need the lightning app builder before adding Salesforce lightning web components.

To access the lightning app builder, you must know how it works. Through the app builder

• You can work on the single-page apps to turn them into standard pages.

• You can add a dashboard regarding your key sales order or leads from sales prospects.

• Also, you can add customized sales record pages to improve user experience.

• You can add distinct home pages containing specific components as per your user demands.

After accessing the lightning app builder, it’s time to add salesforce lightning components to the page. For that, you have to create separate configure files for each lighting component.

The configuration files contain each component meta description designed in the lightning app builder.

For example, if you want to add one component called “image gallery,.” This main component has three sub-components such as in the form of HTML, JavaScript, and a metadata configuration file.

Step 3: Testing The Component

In the last stage to deploy components, you have to test the lightning components in Salesforce application. For that, you have to explore the lightning web components sidebar. It is a central location where you have to run your test codes where you can test a single test case or multiple test case scenarios in the following manner.

• To access the sidebar, first, you have to click on the VS code.

• You have to select the test cases from the test view of the LWC.

• After that, a play icon will appear on the screen, where you have to run the test cases or a single test case to see whether it is running properly or not.

After the test cases are tested successfully, the test results will appear in different colors that have distinct meanings. If the test result is in green, then, it means the test has passed, the orange sign defines some codes are skipped, and the red sign defines there are some errors or bugs in the code.

Read More: Understanding the Phases of the Salesforce Development Lifecycle

The next thing you have to do is resolve the bug issues. The steps are to debug the application code efficiently.

• Firstly, you have to add debug to the configuration jest file.

• Secondly, just click on the button “run and then debug” in the activity bar.

• After that, you have to select “add configuration” from the drop-down list.

• Then, select debug-LWC jest.

• Afterward, select run view and start running the test.

While debugging, you may face some issues. So, you need to know what are lightning components in Salesforce root causes. Because the debug logs bridge the gap between Windows and salesforce operations. You have to check the debug logs properly to see if there are any governance limits related to SQQL queries.

Best Practices Of Lightning Components In Salesforce

Let’s consider some best practices for lightning web components in Salesforce to leverage Salesforce application development in an efficient manner.

• In the first step of best practice, you have to use a lighting data service to access data in the Salesforce platform. These services are excellent at handling major data operations such as editing, coding, or deleting the record data without affecting the apex code.

• These services simplify the salesforce program data to improve application performance and user experience by applying field-level security in the application development process.

• To enhance the performance of lightning web components in Salesforce, you have to follow some optimization tips, such as lessening the data field as per the user needs, creating relevant records, and removing unwanted plug-ins.

• Other optimization tips include reviewing different views, analyzing the reports, and checking the dashboard menu. Also, updating the program regularly, as well as a stable network, boosts developmental works justifiably.

• To access Salesforce lighting components in programs, you have to practice the best component design, which may include building universally intended component designs and designing a proper component language.

Also, salesforce components demand for customization. So, avoid overriding the features. You should add each component distinctively such as colors, layouts, etc.

While adding these components, you have to use proper design tokens for each component that should define the scope of the elements added to the components, reflecting the separate properties.

Transform Your Salesforce Experience With Our Lightning Services!

To efficiently build the salesforce applications, lightning components play vital roles in enhancing the application performances and boosting sales drive for businesses. From using web components to featuring advanced programming languages, Salesforce lightning versions are helpful for developers who just started their journey as Salesforce Developers.

So, enhance your salesforce experience with the above-mentioned tips and best practices on your own to use these lightning components, or hire an experienced salesforce lightning consultant to ease your salesforce application development process today!