Web Tab
A Salesforce tab type that displays an external web page within the Salesforce interface using an iframe, allowing users to access third-party websites or applications without leaving Salesforce.
Definition
A Salesforce tab type that displays an external web page within the Salesforce interface using an iframe, allowing users to access third-party websites or applications without leaving Salesforce.
In plain English
“A Web Tab in Salesforce displays an external web page within the Salesforce interface using an iframe. It lets users access third-party websites or applications from a Salesforce tab without leaving the platform.”
Worked example
The admin at Stillwater Engineering creates a Web Tab in Salesforce called "Project Tracker" that points at the company's external Jira instance. Users clicking the tab see Jira embedded inside Salesforce via an iframe - they can search issues, create tickets, browse the project boards without leaving the Salesforce browser tab. A second Web Tab points at the company's BI dashboard hosted on Tableau; a third at a custom internal documentation portal. Web Tabs are the lightweight integration option for read-only display of an external web app - when full integration isn't needed and the external app is already web-based.
Why Web Tab matters
A Web Tab is a Salesforce tab type that displays an external web page within the Salesforce interface using an iframe, allowing users to access third-party websites or applications without leaving Salesforce. It's one of several tab types alongside Object Tabs, Visualforce Tabs, and Lightning Component Tabs.
Web Tabs are useful for providing quick access to external resources that users need alongside their Salesforce work. They're simple to configure but have limitations: the embedded page runs in an iframe which may have security restrictions, and some external sites block iframe embedding.
How to set up Web Tab
Web Tabs are the simplest custom tabs — they embed an external URL in an iframe inside Salesforce. Useful for surfacing internal tools, dashboards from other systems, or third-party SaaS pages without building an integration. The catch: the embedded site must allow iframing (most don't, by default).
- Open Setup → Tabs
Setup gear → Quick Find: Tabs → Tabs.
- Scroll to Web Tabs section → click New
Web Tabs are a separate section from Custom Object Tabs and Visualforce Tabs.
- Pick the layout (Full-page or Sidebar)
Full-page = whole-page iframe. Sidebar = compact iframe in the right rail.
- Set Tab Type, Label, Name, and Tab Style
Style is the icon used in the App Launcher. Name is the API name.
- Set Button or Link URL
The URL the tab embeds. Must be HTTPS for production. URL parameters can include merge fields (e.g., {!$User.Email}).
- Set Splash Page (optional)
Custom welcome content shown before the iframe loads. Useful for instructional intros.
- Pick which Profiles can see the tab
Profile assignment grid — tick which profiles get the tab in their App Launcher.
- Add to a Lightning App
Setup → App Manager → edit the App → drag the Web Tab into Navigation Items. Without this, the tab exists but isn't in the app.
Full-page (whole window iframe) / Sidebar (compact iframe). Full-page is standard.
External URL to embed. HTTPS required for production. Supports merge fields.
Custom welcome shown before the iframe loads.
Which profiles see the tab.
Which Apps include the tab in navigation.
- Many sites block iframing via X-Frame-Options or CSP frame-ancestors. If the embedded site refuses to render, you need the site's admin to allow Salesforce to iframe — most public sites don't, so Web Tabs work best for internal tools you control.
- Web Tabs respect Salesforce's CSP. Beyond X-Frame-Options on the embedded site, the URL must be in Trusted URLs (Setup → Trusted URLs) with frame-src directive enabled.
- Merge fields in the URL can leak data. Hardcoding {!$User.Email} into a third-party URL sends the email to that site — only do this with trusted destinations.
How organizations use Web Tab
Uses Web Tabs for frequently-accessed external tools like their internal wiki.
Provides Web Tab access to partner portals from within Salesforce.
Tests iframe compatibility before configuring Web Tabs for external sites.
Trust & references
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Web Tab.
- Create Web TabsSalesforce Help
Test your knowledge
Q1. What is a Web Tab?
Q2. What's a limitation?
Q3. When should you use them?
Discussion
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