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AdministrationIntermediate

Themes and Branding

Themes and Branding is a Setup page where administrators customize the visual appearance of Lightning Experience, including the org's logo, brand color, loading page background, and default banner image.

§ 01

Definition

Themes and Branding is a Setup page where administrators customize the visual appearance of Lightning Experience, including the org's logo, brand color, loading page background, and default banner image. These settings help organizations align the Salesforce interface with their corporate brand identity.

§ 02

In plain English

👋 Study buddy

“Here's a simple way to think about it: Themes and Branding is how Salesforce wears your company's colors. Logo, brand color, loading background, header banner - small effort, immediate effect of feeling like the company's tool.”

§ 03

Worked example

scenario · real-world use

The admin at GreenLeaf Organics uploads the company's logo, sets the brand color to forest green (#228B22), and adds a nature-themed background image for the login page in Themes and Branding. When users log in and navigate Salesforce, the interface reflects the company's eco-friendly brand identity, creating a cohesive experience.

§ 04

Why Themes and Branding is how Salesforce wears your company's colors

Out of the box, Salesforce looks like Salesforce - blue header, generic logo, default navigation accents. Themes and Branding lets you change that. Replace the logo, set the brand color, swap the loading-page background, choose a header banner, all from one Setup page. The change is subtle but immediate: users opening the platform see something that looks like their company's tool, not a third-party SaaS.

The reason this small effort is worth the time is psychology, not aesthetics. Users treat tools that look like part of their company as part of their workflow; tools that look like external apps feel like mandatory extras. Spend twenty minutes on themes and branding during initial setup, refresh after rebrands, and let the effect compound - adoption goes up when the platform stops feeling like an add-on and starts feeling like infrastructure.

§ 05

How to set up Themes and Branding

Themes and Branding configures the Lightning Experience visual theme — brand color, logo, navigation bar color. It applies org-wide to every Lightning App. Custom themes let you ship sub-branded experiences per business unit.

  1. Open Setup → Themes and Branding

    Setup gear → Quick Find: Themes → Themes and Branding.

  2. Click New Theme (or Edit an existing)

    Themes can be created and assigned to apps.

  3. Set Theme Name and Description

    Convention: brand identifier ("Acme Corp - Primary").

  4. Pick Brand Color

    Hex color or color picker. Drives navbar background, focus states, accent UI.

  5. Upload Logo

    PNG / JPG. Square aspect ratio recommended. Replaces the Salesforce cloud logo on the navbar.

  6. Set Background Image (optional)

    Big picture across the navbar. High-res, 1920×1080+ recommended.

  7. Save → Apply the theme

    Apply the theme as the org default, or assign per Lightning App.

Key options
Brand Colorremember

Hex value. Drives navbar + accents.

Logoremember

PNG / JPG. Replaces the Salesforce logo.

Background Imageremember

Optional decorative image.

Per-App Themeremember

Assign different themes to different Lightning Apps.

Gotchas
  • Themes apply to Lightning Experience only. Salesforce Classic and the Salesforce mobile app have their own branding paths.
  • Brand color is a single hex value. Complex multi-color brands need to pick a primary and accept that secondary colors stay Salesforce defaults.
  • Themes don't override Experience Cloud Site theming. Each Experience site has its own Experience Builder theme — separate config.
§ 06

How organizations use Themes and Branding

Cascade Industries

Configured branding during initial Lightning rollout; the platform feels integrated from day one.

BlueRiver Health

Refresh after rebrand updated header and loading; users noticed the change immediately.

§

Trust & references

Official documentation

Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Themes and Branding.

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Test your knowledge

Q1. Can a Salesforce admin configure Themes and Branding without writing code?

Q2. In which area of Salesforce would you typically find Themes and Branding?

Q3. What is the primary benefit of Themes and Branding for Salesforce administrators?

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