📘 Salesforce Admin + Developer Concepts Complete Summary Guide

I. Introduction to Salesforce

Salesforce is a cloud-based CRM platform used for managing customer relationships, business workflows, and building custom applications. It includes tools for sales, service, marketing, analytics, and application development.

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II. Core Terminology

Term	Description
Org	A Salesforce instance (your environment).
Object	A table of data (Standard: Account, Contact; Custom: Invoice__c).
Record	A row in an object (e.g., one Account).
Field	Column in an object (e.g., Name, Email).
App	Collection of tabs that work together.
Tab	UI component to access objects.
Record Types	Allow different business processes on the same object.
Page Layouts	Controls field visibility on record pages.

III. Salesforce Admin Essentials

1. User Management

• Create users, assign profiles, roles, permission sets.

• Reset passwords, deactivate/reactivate users.

2. Profiles & Permission Sets

Element	Description
Profile	Defines baseline access to objects, fields, tabs.
Permission Set	Adds permissions beyond the profile.

3. Role Hierarchy & Sharing

• Controls record-level access.

• OWD (Org-Wide Defaults), Sharing Rules, Role Hierarchy.

4. Automation Tools

Tool	Description
Workflow Rules	Triggered actions based on conditions. (Legacy)
Process Builder	Visual automation (being phased out).
Flow (Lightning Flow)	Powerful tool for building logic via UI.
Approval Processes	Route records for approval.

5. Reports & Dashboards

• Custom reports on objects, groupings, filters.

• Dashboards visualize report data.

6. Data Management

• Import Wizard / Data Loader for data load/mass updates.

• Tools: Duplicate Rules, Validation Rules, Data Export.

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IV. Salesforce Developer Essentials

1. Development Languages

Tool	Description
Apex	Java-like backend language. Used for triggers, classes, controllers.
SOQL	Salesforce Object Query Language. Similar to SQL.
SOSL	Salesforce Object Search Language. Used to search across objects.
Visualforce	Markup language for building classic UIs.
Lightning Components (Aura)	Older component-based UI framework.
LWC (Lightning Web Components)	Modern, JS-based UI components.

V. Apex Development

Triggers

• Execute code before/after insert/update/delete:

apex

trigger AccountTrigger on Account (before insert) {
    for (Account acc : Trigger.new) {
        acc.Name = acc.Name + ' - Verified';
    }
}

Classes & Methods

apex

public class MyUtils {
    public static void greet(String name) {
        System.debug('Hello, ' + name);
    }
}

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VI. LWC (Lightning Web Components)

• Built using HTML + JavaScript + Apex.

• Lightweight and performant UI components.

File structure:

• helloWorld.html

• helloWorld.js

• helloWorld.js-meta.xml

Sample:

html

<template>
  <lightning-card title="Hello">
    <p>Hello {name}!</p>
  </lightning-card>
</template>

js

import { LightningElement } from 'lwc';
export default class HelloWorld extends LightningElement {
  name = 'World';
}

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VII. Integration Basics

Integration Type	Description
REST API	Access and manipulate Salesforce data via REST endpoints.
SOAP API	XML-based integration for enterprise systems.
Apex Callouts	Make outbound requests to external services.
Named Credentials	Secure endpoint access management.

VIII. Deployment & CI/CD

Tool	Description
Change Sets	Manual migration between Salesforce orgs.
ANT Migration Tool	CLI-based deployments using XML configs.
Salesforce CLI (SFDX)	Modern CLI to interact with Salesforce DX environments.
Scratch Orgs	Disposable environments for development/testing.
Git + CI/CD	Used for version control and automated deployments.

IX. Key Differences: Admin vs Developer

Category	Admin	Developer
Tooling	UI-based (setup, flow)	Code-based (Apex, LWC, CLI)
Automation	Flows, Workflow Rules	Triggers, Apex classes
Data Mgmt	Import Wizard, Data Loader	Bulk Apex, APIs
Security	Profiles, Roles, Permission Sets	Apex Sharing, System Context

X. Certifications (Optional But Recommended)

Track	Entry-Level Certs
Admin	Salesforce Administrator (ADM 201)
Developer	Platform Developer I (PD1), II
Architect	Application Architect, System Architect

XI. Salesforce Best Practices

1. Use Flow instead of Process Builder or Workflow (future-proof).

2. Keep triggers bulk-safe (handle many records).

3. Avoid hardcoding IDs; use Custom Metadata.

4. Document automation with naming conventions.

5. Use Permission Sets over Profiles for flexibility.

6. Follow governor limits when writing Apex code.