· Salesforce Development
Salesforce Development

Salesforce Development

Salesforce development encompasses building custom applications and integrations on the world's leading CRM platform, representing a distinct specialization within enterprise software engineering. Apex dominates as Salesforce's proprietary programming language, appearing in >15% of Enterprise Systems Development positions, enabling server-side business logic and database operations. Lightning Web Components (LWC) represents modern UI development on Salesforce (>5% prevalence), replacing legacy Visualforce pages. The platform shows cloud specialization: Sales Cloud and Service Cloud serve core CRM needs, Commerce Cloud powers e-commerce on Salesforce (appearing in >65% of E-commerce Backend Development alongside Salesforce), and Marketing Cloud handles customer engagement automation (>10% in e-commerce contexts). Entry-level accessibility is moderate for Apex and Salesforce platform skills (>10% in entry-level enterprise engineering), with Salesforce providing extensive training through Trailhead. This ecosystem represents a lucrative specialization with high demand for certified Salesforce developers, architects, and administrators. Skills span declarative configuration using point-and-click tools alongside programmatic customization with Apex, integrations via REST/SOAP APIs, Lightning platform development, and Salesforce-specific patterns like triggers, batch processing, and governor limits. Salesforce expertise enables careers in enterprise consulting, ISV partners, and organizations with significant Salesforce investments, often commanding premium compensation due to platform-specific knowledge requirements.

Salesforce Development Languages & Frameworks

Programming languages and UI frameworks for customizing Salesforce applications. Apex provides server-side logic, Lightning Web Components enable modern UI development, and Visualforce serves legacy interfaces. Moderate entry-level opportunities exist for Salesforce development, though platform-specific knowledge is required.

Apex

Moderate Demand
Rank: #1
Entry-Level: Moderate
Salesforce's proprietary language in Enterprise Systems Development (>15%), E-commerce Backend Development (>5%), and Salesforce ecosystem. Moderate entry-level demand with >10% prevalence. Java-like Salesforce language. Used for server-side business logic, database operations on Salesforce objects, triggers and batch processing, integration logic, custom REST/SOAP services, governor limit optimization, and core language for Salesforce platform development requiring platform-specific expertise.

Lightning Web Components

Low Demand
Rank: #2
Entry-Level: Low
Modern Salesforce UI framework in Enterprise Systems Development (>5%) and Salesforce development contexts. Lower explicit demand. LWC standard-based framework. Used for building Salesforce Lightning interfaces, custom components, modern web standards (JavaScript, HTML, CSS), reactive UI, replacing Visualforce, Lightning App Builder, and Salesforce's recommended approach for new UI development on the platform.

Visualforce

Low Demand
Rank: #3
Entry-Level: Low
Legacy Salesforce UI framework with limited presence (<5% prevalence). Declining but still maintained. MVC-based pages. Used for custom Salesforce pages, legacy application maintenance, complex page layouts, PDF generation, integration with Apex controllers, and traditional Salesforce UI development predating Lightning Web Components—still relevant for maintaining existing implementations.

Salesforce Cloud Products

Salesforce's industry-specific cloud platforms providing pre-built CRM, commerce, and marketing capabilities. These clouds require specialized platform knowledge beyond general programming, with expertise enabling configurations and customizations tailored to business needs. Typically requires Salesforce certifications and domain knowledge.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud

High Demand
Rank: #1
Entry-Level: Moderate
Salesforce e-commerce platform in E-commerce Backend Development (>35%). Moderate entry-level presence with >10% prevalence. Cloud-based commerce solution. Used for building e-commerce sites on Salesforce, B2C and B2B commerce, Einstein AI recommendations, order management, storefront customization, payment integration, headless commerce, and enterprise e-commerce requiring Salesforce ecosystem knowledge and commerce-specific configurations.

Sales Cloud

Low Demand
Rank: #2
Entry-Level: Low
Salesforce CRM platform in Enterprise Systems Development (>5%) and sales automation contexts. Lower explicit developer demand. Core Salesforce product. Used for sales force automation, lead and opportunity management, account and contact management, sales forecasting, configuring sales processes, custom Salesforce development on sales use cases, and foundational Salesforce cloud requiring platform knowledge for customizations.

Service Cloud

Low Demand
Rank: #3
Entry-Level: Low
Salesforce customer service platform in Enterprise Systems Development (>5%). Limited developer-focused demand. Customer support solution. Used for customer service automation, case management, knowledge base, omnichannel routing, service console customization, chatbots and AI, field service management, and extending Salesforce for customer support use cases requiring platform-specific service configurations.

Marketing Cloud

Low Demand
Rank: #4
Entry-Level: Low
Salesforce marketing automation in Enterprise Systems Development (>5%), E-commerce Backend Development (>10%), and digital marketing contexts. Lower developer demand. Multi-channel marketing platform. Used for email marketing automation, customer journey builder, personalization, SMS and mobile messaging, social media marketing, marketing analytics, integrating with Salesforce CRM data, and specialized marketing automation requiring Marketing Cloud-specific skills beyond core Salesforce development.

Salesforce

Moderate Demand
Rank: #5
Entry-Level: Moderate
General Salesforce platform in Enterprise Systems Development (>5%), E-commerce Backend Development (>5%), and Systems Integration (>5%). Moderate entry-level accessibility with >10% prevalence. CRM platform ecosystem. Used for CRM implementation and customization, business process automation, integration with enterprise systems, declarative configuration, Apex development, Lightning platform, AppExchange applications, and broad Salesforce platform expertise across clouds and capabilities.