Lightning App Builder – Practical Guide

The Lightning App Builder is one of the most powerful declarative tools in Salesforce.
It allows Administrators to design apps, pages, and user experiences without writing code.

In this guide, we’ll build a real-world example app — Pawfect Care — to learn how to:

• Create a custom Lightning App.
• Configure a custom object with fields and record types.
• Customize page layouts and restrict visibility.
• Create list views, reports, and a home page dashboard.

Whether you’re preparing for the Salesforce Administrator Certification or building your first Lightning app, this hands-on guide will strengthen your skills.

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🧭 Table of Contents

1. Requirements
2. Create a New Lightning App
3. Custom Object Setup
4. Record Types and Page Layouts
5. List Views and Reports
6. Home Page Setup
7. Restrict Views by Team (Optional)
8. Summary & Key Takeaways

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Requirements

Prerequisites

Before you begin:

• Access to a Salesforce Playground, Developer Org, or Sandbox.
• Familiarity with the Setup menu.
• Logged into Lightning Experience.

Background

Pawfect Care, a company that runs pet grooming and adoption centers, wants to manage their animal data and team operations in Salesforce.
They handle multiple types of pets — Dogs, Cats, and Birds — and want to track information for each, manage adoptions, and analyze grooming activities.

Objectives

As the Salesforce Administrator, you need to:

1. Build a new Lightning App for the Pawfect Care team.
2. Configure custom objects, fields, and record types for Pets.
3. Set up different page layouts and record pages for each type of pet.
4. Restrict views by team (Bird Team vs. Cat & Dog Team).
5. Create a Home Page Dashboard that shows summary charts.

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1. Create a New Lightning App

Step 1: App Details & Branding

1. Go to Setup in your Salesforce Playground.
2. Quick Search → App Manager.
3. Click New Lightning App.
4. App Name = Pawfect Care (Developer Name will auto-populate and must be unique).
5. Add a description, choose an icon and color, or keep defaults.

Step 2: App Options

1. Select the options best suited for your app.
2. Disable end-user personalization of navigation items.
3. Disable temporary tabs for items outside this app.

Step 3: Utility & Navigation Items

• Add any desired Utility Items, or click Next.
• Move relevant items to Selected Items under Navigation Items.
• Assign to specific User Profiles.
• Click Save & Finish.

Step 4: Launch the App

1. Locate Pawfect Care in the App Manager.
2. Use the App Launcher → Search “Pawfect Care” → Click to open.

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2. Custom Object

Now, let’s create a Custom Object for Pets so the team can start adding records.

• Object Name: Pet
• Plural Label: Pets

Fields for Pet Object

Click here to view field details

Field Label	API Name	Data Type	Common / Type-Specific	Example Value	Description
Pet Name	Name	Text(80)	Common	Bella	Primary identifier
Type	Type__c	Picklist (Dog, Cat, Bird)	Common	Dog	Pet category
Breed	Breed__c	Picklist	Common	Labrador	Sub-type or breed
Age	Age__c	Number(16,2)	Common	3.5	Pet age in years
Age Category	Age_Category__c	Formula (Text)	Common	Adult	Derived from age
Gender	Gender__c	Picklist (Male, Female)	Common	Female	Gender of the pet
Color	Color__c	Text(20)	Common	Brown	Physical attribute
Weight	Weight__c	Number(16,2)	Common	15	Weight in kilograms
Favorite Food	Favorite_Food__c	Text(200)	Common	Chicken Treats	Pet’s preferred food
Playtime Notes	Playtime_Notes__c	Long Text Area(32768)	Common	Loves rope toys	Free-text notes
Available For Adoption	Available_For_Adoption__c	Checkbox	Common	TRUE	Indicates adoption status
Owner (Account)	Owner__c	Lookup(Account)	Common	Paw Shelter	Business owner or shelter
Owner (User)	OwnerId	Lookup(User, Group)	Common	Staff Member	Record owner
Cage Size	Cage_Size__c	Number(18,0)	Bird Only	80	Cage size (cm)
Can Talk	Can_Talk__c	Checkbox	Bird Only	TRUE	Indicates talking ability
Training Level	Training_Level__c	Picklist (Basic, Intermediate, Advanced)	Dog Only	Intermediate	Dog obedience level
Walk Frequency	Walk_Frequency__c	Number(18,0)	Dog Only	2	Walks per day
Indoor/Outdoor	Indoor_Outdoor__c	Picklist (Indoor, Outdoor, Both)	Cat Only	Indoor	Cat lifestyle
Favorite Toy	Favorite_Toy__c	Text(100)	Cat Only	Yarn Ball	Cat’s favorite toy

Add Pets Tab to Navigation

If the new Pets tab is not visible in your app:

1. Go to App Manager → Edit Pawfect Care App.
2. Select Navigation Items → Add Pets.
3. Save and refresh the app.

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3. Record Types and Page Layouts

On the Pets listing page, you’ll notice many fields are irrelevant to specific pet types.
To fix this, we’ll create Record Types and Page Layouts.

Why Record Types?

• Support multiple business processes on the same object.
• Control picklist values for different users.
• Assign specific page layouts per record type.

Why Page Layouts?

• Display data in a clear, structured way.
• Show only relevant fields for each type.
• Improve readability and user experience.

Setup

Record Type	Layout Name	Purpose
Dog	Pet Layout – Dog	Includes Training Level, Walk Frequency
Cat	Pet Layout – Cat	Includes Indoor/Outdoor, Favorite Toy
Bird	Pet Layout – Bird	Includes Cage Size, Can Talk

Steps

1. Go to Setup → Object Manager → Pet → Record Types.
2. Create record types for Dog, Cat, and Bird.
3. Assign to appropriate profiles and mark as Active.
4. Edit Picklist fields (Type, Breed) to include only relevant values.
5. Create new Page Layouts for each record type and include related fields.
6. Assign layouts using Page Layout Assignment.

Verification

When creating a new Pet record, you’ll now see 3 options: Dog, Cat, Bird.

After selecting Dog, you’ll see only Dog-related fields and picklists.

If you only see one record type:

• Check Active status of all record types.
• Verify profile assignments.
• Wait a few minutes for changes to apply.

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4. List Views and Reports

Let’s create list views for each pet type and a report for analytics.

List Views

1. All Dogs – Filter: Type = Dog
2. All Cats – Filter: Type = Cat
3. All Birds – Filter: Type = Bird
4. Available for Adoption – Filter: Available For Adoption = TRUE

Reports

Create a Donut Chart Report showing total animals by type.
If you don’t see “Pet” as a reportable object:

• Go to Setup → Object Manager → Pet → Edit.
• Enable the checkbox “Allow Reports”.

🧠 Admin Tip: Objects must be reportable to appear in the Report Builder.

For a deeper dive into reports and charts, see:
Salesforce Data Insights: Lists, Views & Report Charts

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5. Home Page

The goal is to design a custom Home Page for the app with a welcome message and dashboard chart.

Steps

1. Go to Setup → Lightning App Builder.
2. Click New → Home Page → Name: Pets Home.
3. Choose Header and Three Regions layout.
4. Add:
   • Rich Text Component → Welcome message.
   • Report Chart Component → Select your Pet Report.
5. Activate → Choose App Default → Select Pawfect Care App.
6. Check the Home Page in your app.

If the Home Page does not appear:

• Verify Navigation Assignment in the App Builder.
• Wait for updates to reflect.

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6. Restrict Views by Team (Optional)

In a real-world scenario, different teams (Dog Team, Cat Team, Bird Team) should only see their relevant records.

You can achieve this by:

• Creating Public Groups (e.g., Dog Team, Cat Team, Bird Team).
• Setting Sharing Rules on the Pet Object.
• Using Role Hierarchies or Record Type filters in List Views.

💡 Tip: Use Sharing Rules and Profiles for record-level security.
We’ll explore this further in a dedicated guide on Salesforce Security & Record Access.

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🏁 Summary & Key Takeaways

By following this guide, you’ve learned how to:

• Build a custom Lightning App with branding and navigation.
• Create a Custom Object with meaningful fields.
• Configure Record Types and Page Layouts for each pet type.
• Build List Views, Reports, and a Home Page dashboard.

These steps mirror real admin tasks and reinforce key Salesforce concepts:

• App customization and visibility control.
• Data modeling with objects and fields.
• Layout design and user experience optimization.

Next, continue learning with:

• Salesforce Data Insights: Lists, Views & Report Charts
• User Access & Security Settings in Salesforce