Salesforce is not just a CRM, it is a powerful platform that allows businesses to customize their environment according to their processes. Learning to create custom objects, apps, and fields empowers Salesforce Admins to tailor Salesforce to business needs without code, aligning seamlessly with automation and reporting.

This step-by-step guide will help you understand visually and practically how to create custom objects, apps, and fields in Salesforce Lightning Experience, using clean, easy-to-follow explanations alongside screenshots for hands-on clarity.

In this session, you will learn:

1️⃣ How to create Custom Objects and Tabs in Salesforce Lightning
2️⃣ How to create Custom Apps in Salesforce Lightning
3️⃣ How to create Custom Fields (Text, Text Area, Rich Text) inside Salesforce objects for structured data management.

This roadmap will help you understand the flow of customization in Salesforce systematically, ensuring you can apply these learnings in your projects.

What is Salesforce?

Salesforce is a Customer Success Platform beyond CRM that allows you to:

• Build strong customer relationships.
• Improve customer service with faster support.
• Close deals faster with structured lead management.
• Track customer activities and automate follow-ups.
• Send personalized automated outreach messages.

This understanding will help you grasp why customization matters, as each business may have different needs in tracking and managing their customer data efficiently.

This futuristic CRM dashboard visual represents analytics, charts, and structured data insights at your fingertips, showing why Salesforce is the #1 CRM for businesses. It manages customer data, sales pipelines, and helps in decision-making with real-time dashboards.

Salesforce Lightning Home Page

Here is your Salesforce Lightning Experience Home Screen, showing:

• Close Deals: Monitor your opportunities.
• Plan My Accounts: Track your account activities.
• Grow Relationships: Manage your contacts.

This dashboard is your control center where your custom objects and fields will integrate seamlessly, enabling you to manage your workflows efficiently.

Navigating to the Setup Menu

Click on the gear icon (Setup) on the top right of your Salesforce Lightning interface. This will take you to the backend configuration area where you can create custom objects, apps, fields, and manage automation rules in Salesforce.

Setup Menu Options

Once you click on the Setup icon, you will see options:

• Setup for current app
• Data Cloud Setup
• Service Setup
• Developer Console

Select Setup to enter the Salesforce Setup Home, your workspace for customization and configuration.

Setup Home in Salesforce

This is your Setup Home screen, where you can:

• Access Object Manager to create and manage objects.
• Use Quick Find to search for objects, fields, or automation tools.
• Watch Salesforce videos for guided help.

You will frequently use Object Manager for creating and managing custom objects.

Object Manager Overview

In Object Manager, you can see standard objects like Account, Contact, and Lead, and also access your custom objects. This interface is where you will manage fields, page layouts, validation rules, and automation for each object.

Creating a Custom Object

Click on the Create button in Object Manager, where you will get options:

• Custom Object
• Custom Object from Spreadsheet
• For structured creation, select Custom Object to create a new object directly, specifying fields like Object Label, Object Name, and Record Name, and defining permissions and deployment settings.

Creating Custom Fields

After creating your custom object, you can create custom fields by navigating to the Fields & Relationships section of your custom object. You can add:

• Text Fields: For single-line text data like names.
• Text Area Fields: For multi-line text data.
• Rich Text Fields: For formatted text with images and links.

This allows you to structure your Salesforce data to capture exactly what your business needs, enhancing reporting and workflow automation.

Editing the Custom Object

Here you can edit your custom object’s details, including:

• Label and Plural Label (used in tabs, page layouts, and reports).
• Object API Name.
• Description for clarity.
• “Starts with vowel sound” (useful for grammar consistency in UI messages).

You can also save or save & create another object, making your setup efficient if configuring multiple custom objects in your Salesforce environment.

Object Details Review

After creation, you can review the object’s detailed settings:

• API Name (Student__c)
• Singular Label (Student)
• Plural Label (Students)
• Description (This Object Stores Student Information)
• Enabled features: Reports, Activities, Field History Tracking
• Deployment Status: Deployed

This review ensures your object is correctly configured before adding fields, page layouts, and building automations.

Setting Record Name Field

In this image, we define the Record Name field for the object:

• Record Name: Student Name
• Data Type: Text

This field acts as the primary display value in list views, reports, and related lists, allowing each record to be uniquely identified. Choosing an intuitive name like “Student Name” helps in clear record identification within your object.

Enabling Optional Features for Custom Object

This configuration panel allows enabling optional features for the custom object:
✅ Allow Reports
✅ Allow Activities
✅ Track Field History
✅ Allow in Chatter Groups

Enabling these features ensures your custom object can:

• Participate in Salesforce reports.
• Track user activities (calls, meetings).
• Maintain field history for audits.
• Be used in Chatter discussions for collaboration.

These configurations enhance your object’s functionality and integration within Salesforce workflows.

Creating a New Custom Object

This screen shows the process of creating a new custom object in Salesforce. Here, the object’s singular label, plural label, and API name are defined. For instance:

• Label: Student
• Plural Label: Students
• Object Name: Student

Adding a clear description helps administrators understand the object’s purpose (e.g., “This Object Stores Student Information”).

These settings are foundational to ensuring your object is well-structured and easy to manage during deployment and reporting.

Understanding Tabs in Salesforce

What are Tabs?

Tabs in Salesforce are navigational elements that help users quickly access specific objects, features, or data within applications, acting as entry points for different functionalities:

• Standard Tabs: Default tabs provided by Salesforce like Accounts, Contacts, and Opportunities.
• Custom Tabs: User-created tabs for custom objects, web applications, or Visualforce pages to meet specific business needs.

Creating tabs ensures your custom objects are easily accessible to users, enabling smoother navigation in the Salesforce Lightning Experience.

Navigating to Tabs Setup in Salesforce

After creating your custom object (e.g., Student), you will want to create a custom tab to make your object easily accessible for users.

In this image:
✅ You are inside Setup Home in Salesforce Lightning Experience.
✅ You have typed “Tabs” in the Quick Find box on the left panel.

By doing this, Salesforce will display options:

• Rename Tabs and Labels
• Tabs

Click on “Tabs” to proceed to the interface where you can:

• Create Custom Object Tabs for your newly created objects.
• Create Web Tabs or Visualforce Tabs if required.
• Manage existing tabs for consistent navigation in your Salesforce environment.

Searching for Tabs in Salesforce Setup

In this image, we are in the Salesforce Lightning Setup page. To create or manage tabs in Salesforce, we first need to search for “Tabs” in the Quick Find box on the left. By typing “Tabs,” we get options like Rename Tabs and Labels, and Tabs under the User Interface section. This is the first step when you want to create a custom tab for your object to display it on the navigation bar in Salesforce apps.

Tabs Setup Page Overview

After clicking on “Tabs” in the Setup, you will land on this Tabs Setup page. Here, Salesforce shows you options to create:

• Custom Object Tabs
• Web Tabs
• Visualforce Tabs
• Lightning Component Tabs

This page allows you to extend Salesforce’s functionality by creating new tabs to display your custom objects, embed web pages, or display Visualforce and Lightning components directly in your Salesforce interface. Currently, we see “No Custom Object Tabs have been defined”, indicating we are ready to create our first tab for our custom “Student” object.

Custom Object Tabs Section

This image focuses on the “Custom Object Tabs” section. It clearly shows the “New” button next to the Custom Object Tabs header, which you need to click to start creating a new tab for your custom object. Here, since no tabs have been defined yet, we are preparing to add our Student custom object tab, which will help you access the object’s records directly from the app’s navigation.

Creating a New Custom Object Tab

After clicking “New,” we see the “New Custom Object Tab” wizard. Here, you need to:
✅ Select your custom object (in this example, “Student”) from the dropdown.
✅ Choose a Tab Style by clicking the search icon (you can select an icon and color for your tab).
✅ Optionally, you can select a Splash Page Custom Link to display a welcome or instruction page when users open this tab for the first time.
✅ Add a short description explaining the tab’s purpose.

This step finalizes your tab creation, ensuring your custom object is now easily accessible within your Salesforce app navigation, improving user experience and accessibility.

Student Tab Visible in Navigation

In this Salesforce Lightning Seller Home screen, we are demonstrating how your newly created “Students” custom object tab appears under the “More” dropdown in the navigation bar. This confirms your custom tab creation was successful and is now accessible to users for quick navigation, allowing them to easily view, create, and manage Student records directly from the app’s navigation.

Accessing Setup Again for Additional Configurations

This image shows returning to the Seller Home screen while accessing the “Setup” gear icon at the top right. This is necessary if you need to make further configurations like field creation, validation rules, page layouts, or app assignments for your newly created custom object to refine user experience and data handling.

Student Tab Successfully Created and Listed

In the Tabs Setup page, we now see our “Students” custom object tab listed under “Custom Object Tabs.”

• The Label column shows “Students” confirming your tab creation.
• The Tab Style column shows the selected icon (Flag).
• The Description confirms this tab is linked to the Student object.

You can now edit or delete this tab if needed, or continue to add it to your custom apps for structured navigation.

Verifying in Setup for Final Checks

This image further validates your Student tab is active and properly configured in Salesforce. This check ensures your Salesforce environment is ready for object record management, field addition, and app integration, providing a seamless admin workflow for your learning path and practical implementations.

What are Salesforce Custom Apps?

A Salesforce Custom App is a collection of objects, tabs, and functionalities designed to support a specific business process in Salesforce. Custom Apps allow you to:

• Personalize the user experience based on roles.
• Improve navigation by grouping relevant objects and reports.
• Enhance productivity by providing quick access to key tools.
• Tailor workflows to specific business processes.

In this training, we are creating a School Management App as a real-time example.

In Salesforce Setup, search for App Manager in the Quick Find box. This is where you can view, edit, and create Lightning and

Here, you see the Lightning Experience App Manager page where you can click on New Lightning App to begin creating your custom app.

Navigate to your Salesforce App Launcher, select School Management App, and confirm your navigation items (Students Tab) are visible and functioning correctly.

Create a Custom Object named Students, defining fields such as Student Name, Enrollment Number, and Class to track student records effectively within your School Management App.

After adding your custom object, verify that it appears in your app’s navigation bar and confirm that your list views like Recently Viewed display correctly.

This image captures the workflow for creating fields within your Students object, ensuring fields are added with correct data types to support your business use cases.

Before creating a new app, it’s helpful to view existing apps like Sales, Service, and School Management App to understand the structure and naming conventions for consistency.

Choose your Navigation Style (Standard or Console) and Supported Form Factors (Desktop, Phone, or both). This determines how users interact with the app.

Utility items like Recent Items, Reports, Quip Notifications, or To-Do Lists can be added for productivity directly in the app’s utility bar.

Choose which objects and tabs should be available in your app navigation, such as Students, Accounts, and Contacts, ensuring quick accessibility.

Assign profiles that can access the app. Here, System Administrator is added for initial testing. Later, you can assign it to user profiles as needed.

App Launcher displaying “School Management App”

In this screenshot, you see the Salesforce App Launcher where “School Management App” appears under the Apps section. This confirms that the custom app you created is now active and accessible within your Salesforce org. Users can search for “School Management App” using the App Launcher to open the app and begin working within it, utilizing all the objects and customizations you have added, such as Students, Accounts, and Contacts. This step is crucial for validating your app is live and ready for end-user testing or daily operations.

“School Management App” opened with Guidance Center pop-up

In this image, your School Management App is open, and you can see the “Students” tab is active, ready for record management. Additionally, Salesforce’s Guidance Center pop-up appears, providing helpful onboarding tips for admins. This feature offers:

• Curated help articles.
• Trailhead modules related to the page you are on.
• Contextual support while exploring or customizing your Salesforce app.

This ensures you and your users can learn while working in the School Management App without the need to leave Salesforce for help documentation.

School Management App with “Students” tab list view

In this final image, you see the “Students” tab fully loaded within the School Management App. The list view displays the “All” filter, allowing you to view, sort, and manage your student records easily within Salesforce. The clean UI confirms:
✅ The Students custom object has been successfully added to your app.
✅ You can now add new student records using the “New” button.
✅ You can import multiple student records in bulk if needed.
✅ You can assign labels, change ownership, and customize list views for efficient management.

This demonstrates the end goal of your tutorial: creating a custom app, adding a custom object, and making it ready for data entry and real-time management in Salesforce.

Salesforce Seller Home Page

This image shows the Salesforce Seller Home Dashboard:

• Provides quick insights into opportunities, accounts, and contacts.
• Helps sales users track their pipeline, upcoming activities, and relationship-building efforts.

While this is part of the Sales app, understanding dashboards like this helps you design dashboards for your School Management App to visualize student enrollments, pending fees, and activity tracking.

What are Salesforce Custom Fields?

This image explains why Salesforce Custom Fields are used:

• They store business-specific data that standard fields cannot capture.
• Improve reporting and organization of school data.
• Enable custom automations in workflows.

For example, in your School Management App, fields like Roll Number, Class Teacher, and Attendance Percentage are best captured using Custom Fields tailored for your institution’s processes.

Understanding Salesforce Custom Fields — Types

This slide introduces Data Types for Custom Fields in Salesforce. Custom Fields allow you to capture organization-specific data beyond standard fields. It lists key field types:

• Text: For names, addresses, notes.
• Number: For numeric data (marks, fees).
• Date / DateTime: To store DOB, joining dates.
• Checkbox: For true/false flags (Active/Inactive).
• Picklist: Dropdown selections (Grade, Class).
• Boolean: Similar to checkbox for true/false.
• Formula: Auto-calculates based on expressions.

This slide helps you understand field choices during object customization in Salesforce, essential for handling School Management data efficiently.

Navigating to Object Manager

Here, you have opened Object Manager in Setup and are searching for “Student.” Object Manager allows you to:

• Access and manage Standard and Custom Objects.
• View, create, or modify object fields and relationships.

This step is the foundation for customizing your Salesforce org for any business-specific app, such as the School Management App.

Selecting the Student Object

This image shows the Student Custom Object found in Object Manager:

• API Name: Student__c (standard for custom objects).
• Type: Custom Object.
• Description: Stores student information for the School Management App.

Clicking on this object will allow you to manage fields, layouts, and relationships specifically for student records.

Object Details for Student

This image shows the details page of the Student Object:

Confirms the API Name, Label, Deployment Status (Deployed), and enabled features like:
Reports
Track Activities
Track Field History

This page is useful for reviewing your object setup, ensuring it aligns with your app’s requirements, and confirming it is ready for users.

Viewing Existing Fields in Student Object

This shows existing fields in the Student Object:

• Created By, Last Modified By, Owner (auto-created fields).
• Student Name (text field created for the app).

You can add additional fields as needed, and these will appear here, allowing you to manage them easily.

Adding Fields to Student Object

This image shows the ‘Fields & Relationships’ section under the Student Object where you can:

• Create new fields using the “New” button.
• Choose from data types like Text, Number, Checkbox, Lookup, Formula, etc.

Here you will define fields such as Roll Number, Admission Date, and Parent Contact, aligning your Salesforce org with school data requirements.

Explanation (Selecting Field Type as Text for Student Custom Field)

In this step within Object Manager > Student > Fields & Relationships, you are at the “Select Data Type” screen while creating a new custom field in Salesforce.

Here:

• You see various data types listed (Number, Percent, Phone, Picklist, Picklist Multi-Select, Text, Text Area, URL, etc.).
• You selected “Text”, highlighted with a blue radio button, which allows you to store any combination of letters and numbers for the Student object.
• The description on the right explains:

Text fields can accept up to 255 characters.

Useful for capturing standard identifiers like Student IDs, Names, or short custom values.

• This step is important because choosing the correct field type ensures accurate data entry and consistent reporting in Salesforce.

This is a foundational step while building out your Student object schema, ensuring each data point captured aligns with your school’s record-keeping standards.

Entering Field Details for the Student ID Custom Field)

In this step, you have moved to Step 2 of 4: Enter the Details while creating your Student ID custom field for the Student object.

Here:

• Field Label is set as “Student ID” — this is what users will see on the page layout.
• Length is set to 20, meaning this field can store up to 20 characters for the Student ID.
• Field Name is automatically populated as “Student_ID”, which will be used in formulas, API integrations, and automation references.
• The Description and Help Text fields are currently empty, but it is best practice to add:
  Description: “Stores the unique identifier assigned to each student.”
  Help Text: “Enter the official Student ID provided by the institution.”

This screen ensures your field is configured with the appropriate data constraints before being added to your object structure, maintaining consistency in your School Management App.

Creating a New Custom Field (Text) on Student Object

In this step, we are in the Object Manager under the Student object and selecting the data type for our new custom field. We have chosen “Text” as the data type, allowing us to capture alphanumeric student IDs, names, or codes easily. This screen helps you pick the appropriate data type aligned with the data you want to capture in your custom field, ensuring data integrity and relevance in Salesforce.

Enter Field Details for Student ID

Here, we specify details for our new custom field:

• Field Label: Student ID
• Field Name: Student_ID
• Length: 20 characters (to accommodate IDs of various institutions)

You can also add Description and Help Text for clarity, helping end users understand the purpose of this field while entering data. This is an important step for maintaining consistency and clean documentation within your Salesforce org.

Student ID Field Now Visible in Fields & Relationships

After completing the creation, your Student ID field now appears in the Fields & Relationships list under the Student object with the API name “Student_ID__c” and type “Text(20).” This confirmation helps you verify your field was created correctly, and you can now leverage it in forms, reports, validation rules, and automation.

Navigating to the Student Tab from Seller Home

Here, you can see navigating to the Students tab from the Salesforce Seller Home screen using the “More” dropdown. This workflow demonstrates how you can access the custom Student object you created and continue with record management, showcasing a practical step for new admins to understand navigation in Salesforce Lightning.

Student Object List View — Recently Viewed

In this image, we are inside the Student object list view showing “Recently Viewed.” Since no records have been created yet, it shows a blank state with an option to create a New student record. This screen is your go-to area for managing, importing, and creating student records, filtering views, and managing mass actions on student records.

Creating a New Student Record

This is the record creation screen for the Student object. We fill in:

• Student Name: Crs Info Solution
• Student ID: 438824

This form allows you to capture key student details, and by clicking “Save” or “Save & New,” you can efficiently manage record creation within Salesforce. This demonstrates how your newly created field (Student ID) is now live and ready for data entry.