Navigation Tab
A navigation tab in Salesforce is an item that appears in the navigation bar of a Lightning app, giving users a one-click path to an object's list view, a Lightning page, a Visualforce page, a web tab, or a utility item.
Definition
A navigation tab in Salesforce is an item that appears in the navigation bar of a Lightning app, giving users a one-click path to an object's list view, a Lightning page, a Visualforce page, a web tab, or a utility item. Each app has its own ordered set of navigation tabs, defined under Setup > App Manager > Edit App > Navigation Items, and admins control which profiles or permission sets see which app.
Navigation tabs are the most visible piece of Lightning Experience information architecture. They decide what the user sees first, what is one click away, and what is buried inside the App Launcher. A poorly designed navigation bar pushes daily-use objects to the third or fourth click and parks rarely-used ones in plain view; a well-designed one mirrors the user's actual workflow.
How navigation tabs drive Lightning app information architecture
Where tabs come from and what they can point to
Every standard object ships with a default tab, and every custom object created through Object Manager generates one too. Custom tabs come in four flavors: object tabs (always created with the object), web tabs (an external URL rendered in an iframe), Visualforce tabs (a VF page wrapped as a tab), and Lightning Component tabs (an LWC or Aura component exposed as a tab). All four show up in the Tabs list under Setup and become eligible for inclusion in any Lightning app's navigation bar.
Temporary tabs and the workspace model
Lightning Console apps add a second tier of tabs called workspace tabs and subtabs. These open when a user clicks into a record and persist until the user explicitly closes them, so a service agent can have eight open cases stacked across the top while the navigation bar stays fixed underneath. Standard (non-console) apps do not have workspace tabs; clicking a record replaces the current view. Choose the console app type when users routinely juggle multiple records at once.
Personalization through Edit App Navigation
Users can right-click any tab in their nav bar and pick Edit App Navigation Items to add, remove, or reorder tabs for themselves. Admins can override this by setting Personalization to Off on the app, locking the bar to whatever the admin shipped. Most orgs leave personalization on for sales and admin users but turn it off for service consoles where consistency matters for training and call-handling time.
Profile visibility and tab settings
Every tab has a per-profile setting: Default On, Default Off, or Tab Hidden. Default On means the tab is visible and shows in the App Launcher; Default Off lets the user add it back via personalization; Tab Hidden blocks access entirely. The setting interacts with the app's assigned profiles, the app's navigation items, and the object's CRUD permissions. A tab can be Default On in the profile but absent from a specific app's nav bar; the user reaches it through the App Launcher instead.
Utility items vs navigation tabs
The utility bar at the bottom of every Lightning app is a separate set of items, not navigation tabs. Utility items host small, persistent tools like a click-to-dial softphone, a notes panel, or a recent items list. They follow the user across every page in the app rather than replacing the current view. Treat the navigation bar as primary IA and the utility bar as secondary tooling.
Mobile navigation tabs
The Salesforce mobile app uses a separate navigation menu defined under Setup > Mobile Apps > Salesforce > Salesforce Navigation. Tabs in the desktop nav bar do not automatically appear in mobile; admins curate a shorter mobile list because the small screen can only show four to five primary items before the rest collapse into a More menu. Keep mobile navigation focused on the two or three highest-frequency objects per persona.
How to add and reorder navigation tabs in a Lightning app
Configure the navigation bar for a Lightning app from Setup > App Manager. The change applies to every user assigned to the app's profiles or permission sets and ships through change sets or a DX project.
- Open App Manager and edit the target app
Navigate to Setup > App Manager, find the Lightning app, and click the dropdown arrow on the right to choose Edit. Standard apps cannot be edited directly; clone them first.
- Open the Navigation Items step
From the side menu in the App Wizard, click Navigation Items. The left pane shows all available tabs in the org; the right pane shows the tabs currently in this app, in the order users see them.
- Add and reorder tabs
Move tabs from left to right with the arrow buttons. Use the up/down arrows on the right-pane list to set order. The first item is the landing page when a user opens the app, so put the most-used object at the top.
- Pick the temporary tab behavior
Toggle Personalization to control whether users can edit their own nav bar. Leave it on for sales apps, turn it off for tightly controlled console apps where uniformity matters.
- Save and assign profiles or permission sets
Move to the User Profiles step and assign every profile that should see the app. Users without an assignment cannot find the app in the App Launcher. Save the app to publish the change instantly.
Default tab type for standard and custom objects; opens the most recent list view.
Renders an external URL inside an iframe. Useful for embedding intranet pages but breaks if the external site sends X-Frame-Options DENY.
Wraps a Visualforce page as a tab. Surviving from Classic but still supported for legacy customizations.
Surfaces an LWC or Aura component as a tab. Modern way to build custom landing pages.
Exposes a Lightning App Page built in App Builder as a navigation tab. Drag-and-drop, no code.
- The first navigation item becomes the app landing page. Putting the Home page first usually hurts; put the highest-frequency object there instead.
- Users only see tabs whose underlying object or page they have permission to view. A tab pinned in the nav bar but blocked by a profile shows a Tab Hidden error on click.
- Web tabs that point to sites with strict X-Frame-Options or Content-Security-Policy headers will render blank. Use a Canvas app or a Lightning Component with iframe support if the target site cannot be embedded directly.
- Edit App Navigation lets users add tabs the admin did not put in the bar. If you need a tab to be unreachable in this app, set Tab Hidden on the profile, not just absent from the nav.
Trust & references
Cross-checked against the following references.
- Set Up Lightning App NavigationSalesforce Help
- Workspace Tabs and Subtabs in Lightning ConsoleSalesforce Help
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Navigation Tab.
- Lightning Apps OverviewSalesforce Help
- Customize My TabsSalesforce Help
Hands-on resources to go deeper on Navigation Tab.
About the Author
Dipojjal Chakrabarti is a B2C Solution Architect with 29 Salesforce certifications and over 13 years in the Salesforce ecosystem. He runs salesforcedictionary.com to help admins, developers, architects, and cert/interview candidates sharpen their fundamentals. More about Dipojjal.
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