Lightning record pages versus page layouts
Key Takeaway
Page layouts and Lightning record pages often work together in Lightning Experience. When a Lightning record page shows its fields in the Record Detail component, those fields come from the page layout, so you change them in the page layout editor. Dynamic Forms turns the fields into components that you manage in the Lightning App Builder.
Salesforce gives admins two tools for shaping what users see on a record. Page layouts, which you edit in the page layout editor, control which fields, buttons, related lists and custom links appear on a record, and whether fields are read-only or required. Lightning record pages, which you build in the Lightning App Builder, control the structure and components of record pages in Lightning Experience and the Salesforce mobile app.
What each tool controls
A page layout controls the layout and organization of these items on object record pages:
- Buttons
- Fields
- S-controls
- Visualforce
- Custom links
- Related lists
A page layout also helps decide which fields are visible, read-only and required. Page layouts work in both Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience.
A Lightning record page is a type of Lightning page. The template you choose divides the page into regions and controls how the page displays on each device. Components can be standard components built by Salesforce, custom components (LWC and Aura), or components from AppExchange.
Lightning pages sit between page layouts and Visualforce pages. Like a page layout, a Lightning page lets you add items to a page, but those items are Lightning components instead of fields or Visualforce components. Using Lightning components gives more flexibility.