Salesforce Lightning is the modern Salesforce: Lightning Experience, the user interface where Salesforce now adds every new feature, plus the tools for building on it, such as the Lightning App Builder and Lightning Web Components. The older interface, Salesforce Classic, still exists, but it gets no new features.
This guide was first published in 2020 as "4 Things You Need To Know About Salesforce Lightning". It has been rewritten for 2026: what the Lightning name covers today, how it compares with Classic, and what to do if part of your org still runs in Classic.
What does "Salesforce Lightning" mean?
"Salesforce Lightning" means Lightning Experience, the current interface, plus the Lightning App Builder and Lightning Web Components used to build on it. The word covers three related things, which is why searches for it return such different results:
| Term | What it is | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Lightning Experience | The current Salesforce user interface: component-based record pages, home pages and apps | Every Salesforce user |
| Lightning App Builder | A drag-and-drop tool for designing record, home and app pages from components | Admins |
| Lightning Web Components | Salesforce's framework for building custom components on modern web standards | Developers |
You will also see "Lightning Platform", an older name for Salesforce's app-building platform as a whole. In day-to-day use, "moving to Lightning" almost always means moving users from Classic to Lightning Experience.
What can you do in Lightning Experience that you can't in Classic?
Lightning Experience adds designable pages, every new feature, reusable custom components and productivity tools that Classic will never get. Salesforce publishes a list of Lightning Experience-only features. The practical differences teams notice first:
- Pages you can design. With the Lightning App Builder, admins build record and home pages from components and show different layouts to different users, without code.
- New features land here only. Salesforce adds new capabilities to Lightning Experience, and current products, including its AI features, are built for it.
- Custom components. Developers build Lightning Web Components that admins can reuse across pages.
- A more productive interface. Features such as keyboard shortcuts and app page templates exist only in Lightning.
Lightning Experience features worth knowing
Salesforce's Lightning-only features guide lists hundreds of features; these are the ones most teams use daily:
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Lightning App Builder pages | Custom home and record pages, assigned to different profiles or apps |
| Kanban list views | Drag records such as opportunities between stages on a board |
| Path | Shows the stages of a record, such as a lead or opportunity, with guidance for each step |
| Activity timeline | Open tasks, planned meetings and past activity in one place, with actions you can take from it |
| Utility bar | Quick access to tools such as notes, recent items or a dialer from any page |
| Lightning console apps | Tabbed workspaces for service and sales teams handling many records at once |
| Keyboard shortcuts | Faster navigation and actions without the mouse |
Most of these need no code: admins switch them on and arrange them in Setup and the Lightning App Builder. Our Salesforce customization guide covers where configuration ends and code begins.
What are SLDS 2 and the Cosmos theme?
SLDS 2 is the second generation of the Salesforce Lightning Design System, the styling behind Lightning Experience, and Salesforce Cosmos is its default theme. According to Salesforce Help's Cosmos and SLDS 2 availability page, as of Winter '26 SLDS 2 features are generally available in all editions, and new orgs get SLDS 2 and Cosmos turned on by default. Existing orgs opt in from Themes and Branding in Setup. Some products don't support SLDS 2 yet, including the Salesforce mobile app, Flow Builder, the Lightning App Builder, Lightning Out and Experience Cloud, and some related features, such as dark mode, are switched on separately. Test the new look in a sandbox with your custom components before turning it on in production.
Lightning Web Components vs Aura components
Lightning Web Components (LWC) is the current way to build custom Lightning components; Aura is the older framework, still supported. Trailhead's comparison module explains how they relate:
- LWC is built on web standards such as custom elements and Shadow DOM, so skills transfer from general web development.
- Both can run on the same page, and users and admins see them as ordinary Lightning components.
- Nesting goes one way: an Aura component can contain a Lightning web component, but not the reverse.
- Choose LWC for new work when you have the choice; keep Aura only where LWC doesn't yet support something you need.
Developers new to the platform should learn LWC first; our guide to learning Salesforce lists the trails.
Is Salesforce Classic being retired?
Classic still works, but it gets no new features and its older features are retired one by one. Salesforce has not announced a single retirement date for the Classic interface. What it does say, on Trailhead, is that you won't find any new features in Salesforce Classic, and that you should watch for end-of-life announcements for older Classic features in case they affect your organisation. Individual Classic features and apps have been retired over the years, so an org that still depends on Classic is exposed to each of those announcements. Classic-era automation is a clear example: Workflow Rules and Process Builder reached end of support on 31 December 2025, with Flow as the replacement (see our Workflow Rules guide and Flow guide). Salesforce still ships three releases a year, Spring, Summer and Winter, and as of November 2026 all of their new features land in Lightning Experience.
Salesforce Lightning vs Classic at a glance
Lightning Experience gets every new feature and designable pages; Classic keeps only a shrinking set of older features.
| Salesforce Classic | Lightning Experience | |
|---|---|---|
| New features | None | All new Salesforce features |
| Page design | Page layouts | Page layouts plus Lightning App Builder pages, with visibility rules per user or device |
| Custom user interface | Visualforce | Lightning Web Components (Visualforce pages can still run inside Lightning) |
| Feature parity | Some older features exist only here | Covers almost everything; Salesforce lists the remaining gaps |
For a full comparison and a step-by-step move plan, see our Salesforce Classic to Lightning migration guide.
How to move the rest of your org to Lightning
Move the last Classic users in five steps: find them, check the gaps, rebuild, redesign pages and pilot. Salesforce's Lightning Experience Transition Assistant in Setup guides the same journey.
- Find who still uses Classic and why. Usually it is one team, one custom button or one report they rely on.
- Check the gaps against Salesforce's list, and decide a replacement for each feature you use.
- Rebuild what doesn't carry over, such as JavaScript buttons, as quick actions, flows or Lightning Web Components.
- Design Lightning pages for each role with the App Builder, so the move feels like an improvement rather than a change.
- Pilot with one team, then switch the rest, and remove the option to switch back once the gaps are closed.
Getting help
Techila is a Salesforce Summit Partner. If part of your org still runs in Classic, our Classic to Lightning migration guide shows how we plan the move, and our implementation services cover rebuilding pages and components for Lightning. Talk to us about what is keeping your users in Classic.
Frequently asked questions
What is Salesforce Lightning?
Salesforce Lightning is the name for the modern Salesforce user interface, Lightning Experience, together with the tools for building on it, such as the Lightning App Builder and Lightning Web Components. It replaced Salesforce Classic as the interface where Salesforce adds new features.
Is Salesforce Classic being retired?
Salesforce has not announced a single retirement date for the Classic interface. Trailhead says you won't find any new features in Classic and advises teams to watch for end-of-life announcements for older Classic features that could affect them.
What is the difference between Salesforce Lightning and Classic?
Classic is the older interface and gets no new features. Lightning Experience is the current interface: component-based pages you can design with the Lightning App Builder, and the place where all new Salesforce features appear. A few Classic features still have gaps in Lightning, which Salesforce lists in its Help.
What are Lightning Web Components?
Lightning Web Components (LWC) is Salesforce's framework for building custom user-interface components, based on modern web standards. Developers use it to build components that admins can then place on pages with the Lightning App Builder.
Do I need to move from Classic to Lightning?
If your users still work in Classic, yes, plan the move: new features and most current Salesforce products only work in Lightning Experience. Check the known gaps first, and test with a pilot group before switching everyone.