Part 3 of 3: Maximizing Your Page Layouts Experience

Part 1 and Part 2 of this 3-part series brought to light some simple changes you can make to Lightning Apps and Lightning Record Pages, respectively, to reduce the noise your Salesforce users’ experience and increase their adoption of the technology. 

The focus of these three pieces is to walkthrough how Administrators can make small adjustments to the UI that will help make Salesforce a more usable tool for all End Users. Your End Users won’t just appreciate it, they’ll love it. 

For the final part of our 3-part series, let’s take a look at maximizing the value in your Page Layouts. These Page Layouts are consistent between Classic and the Lightning Experience, so whether you’ve been on Lightning for a while, or resisting the inevitable switch, this will feel familiar.

In Lightning, the Details component of a Lightning Record Page pulls in the logged-in user’s assigned page layout into Lightning. This means that a single Lightning Record Page can be used to accommodate multiple out-of-the-box Classic Page Layouts.

Standards for Creating Page Layouts

As with Lightning Record Pages, it’s important to define Standards for how you create Page Layouts. This will help you more quickly, effectively and efficiently manage your Pages and empower your End Users with thoughtful, consistent layouts.

Sections

Field Arrangement

One easy concept of time management that maximizes a person’s time is the idea of “grouping like tasks together.” Why not do the same with our Page Layouts? Here are a few questions to ask:

• Are fields organized with similar fields grouped into Sections or are they all in a single Section?
• Does the order of those Fields make sense from a user-workflow perspective?

As you know, Salesforce will place any new fields at the bottom of the first section, “<Object Name> Information.” Move things around and make life easier on your end users.

One-column vs. Two-column Layouts

When creating a Section in Page Layout, you choose between One-column and Two-column layouts. In many situations, choosing which layout is relatively simple, but here are a few pointers:

• One-column Layout – If you’ve got a Text Area field, holding large amounts of text, use a One-column Layout. Your users will thank you. 
• Two-column Layout – This layout works great for most field types, but also take into consideration your Lightning Page build. Is the Section going into a sidebar or main column?

When in doubt, try something. It’s easy enough to change, so build something. Better yet, involve your End Users. At the end of the day (and this is true for all aspects), if your build doesn’t match your End User expectations and workflow, you’ve got more work to do.

Blank Spaces

Blank Spaces are little gems in Page Layouts that allow you to truly tailor the End User experience to provide a better flow of information. Strategically placed, they can do a ton for your End Users.

Putting all three of these together, you can build a great experience for your users. One favorite trick is to combine Two-column and One-column layouts with a single visible header. In a scenario where you need to combine several fields, some of which are Text Area fields, build in a section but hide the Header from the Detail and Edit views. 

One consideration: Tab Order. For your Two-column sections, utilize the Left-right Tab Order and your users will never know there are two sections.

Buttons and Actions

Simply put, managing Buttons and Actions in your Salesforce org will ensure your users adhere to your company’s defined workflows and protect your org’s data quality.

A few quick tips for Button and Action management in Salesforce Lightning:

• Buttons and Actions are controlled through Mobile & Lightning Actions on your Page Layout. First step is to click Override the predefined actions. This will give you access to customize the button layout.

• Group like Buttons together. There are three types of buttons and actions available in this part of the Page Layout: Record Actions (Edit, Clone, Delete, etc.), Chatter Actions (Post, File, Question, etc.), Activity Actions (New Task, Log Call, Email, etc.). For your own management ease of these buttons, group them together.

• Remove unneeded buttons. Based on your company’s workflow, if your users should not be able to Clone or Delete a record, remove it from the Page Layout. Default Buttons also include New Lead, New Opportunity, etc. These aren’t always appropriate for every object. Make a thoughtful decision about what to keep and what to remove.

Where to Start

Your entire org will likely require changes, but at a minimum each Lightning App will require an evaluation. There’s no right answer about where to start, but just pick a spot and dive in. 

1. Meet with your End Users to understand their workflows and listen to what they say.
2. Start at the Lightning App and evaluate the Tabs. Build separate Apps for each workflow.
3. Build out standard-based Record Pages with built-in training documentation.
4. Organize your Page Layouts into End-User-focused sections. Manage Buttons and Actions to ensure appropriate workflow and data quality.

Salesforce is a powerful platform in which your company has invested heavily to capture the data it needs to make well-informed decisions. You have been entrusted with ensuring the usability of the system. And it is an absolute art form. Build something you can be proud of and your End Users will love!

Have questions about Salesforce Optimization? We’d love to hear from you!

At Bitwise Technology Consulting, we use a consultative approach to help you determine the best strategy to identify your challenges, implement appropriate solutions and enhance your systems. Did you miss Part 1 or Part 2 of this series? Don’t fear, click HERE or HERE. Worried about your Lightning transition? Check out this 5-minute read. For a free consultation, email [email protected] or call 559 550 3300 today.