Important Note: This article does not compare which solution (Flow or Dynamic Components) is "better." Avonni Dynamic Components and Avonni Components for Flows are powerful components toolkit designed to complement each other.

This guide explains their key differences to help you choose the right solution for your specific Salesforce needs.

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At Avonni, our approach to building custom user interfaces in Salesforce is no-code. We offer two robust, distinct no-code solutions: Avonni Dynamic Components and Avonni Components for Flows. Both empower you to create engaging experiences, but they're optimized for different environments and tasks.

Understanding the difference is key to choosing the right tool for your project.

Let's break it down.

The Fundamental Difference: Where Are You Building?

The most important distinction lies in where you build and deploy these components.

• Avonni Dynamic Components are your toolkit for creating custom, reusable UI elements directly on your main Salesforce Lightning Pages (App, Record, Home) using the standard Lightning App Builder. Think of them for customizing the persistent interfaces your users interact with daily.
• Avonni Components for Flows provides tools to enrich your Salesforce Flow screens. These components are integrated directly into Flow Builder, enabling you to create more user-friendly and efficient data entry steps and design more engaging guided processes or wizards.

When to Choose Avonni Dynamic Components (for Lightning Pages)

Avonni Dynamic Components shine when your primary goal is to customize the core Salesforce page experience deeply, extending it beyond what's possible with standard configurations, and when you're working outside of a specific Flow process.

Think of situations like these:

• Highly customized Record Page layouts: You want to go beyond the standard layout options to create a truly tailored view for your users.
• Interactive dashboards on Home or App Pages: To provide at-a-glance insights, you need to embed charts, tables, and filters directly on your Home or App Pages.
• Reusable UI components: You're looking to build components (like enhanced related lists or information panels) that can be deployed across multiple pages, saving time and ensuring consistency.
• Fine-grained layout control: You need pixel-perfect control over your page's layout, using columns, containers, and nested elements.
• Performance-critical pages: You require the best possible performance and fast loading times for your Lightning Pages.
• Native, visual reactivity: You want components to update instantly and visually in response to changes in other page elements without relying on complex formulas

Example: Building a custom "Account 360" view on the Account Record Page, combining key details, interactive charts showing related Opportunity data, and a custom list of recent Cases – all updating reactively.

When to Choose Avonni Components for Flows (for Flow Screens)

Avonni Components for Flows are your go-to choice when you're working directly within the Flow Builder environment and need to elevate the user interface of your Flow screens.

Consider these scenarios:

• Building guided, multi-step wizards: You're creating a Flow that walks users through a process, like onboarding, data collection, or a service request.
• Enhancing Flow screen visuals: You want to make your Flow screens more appealing and interactive using components like sliders, visual pickers, and progress bars.
• Collecting complex user input: You need to gather detailed or intricate information from users within the structured framework of a Flow.
• Tightly integrating UI with Flow logic: You need UI elements that directly interact with Flow variables, decisions, and loops, ensuring a seamless user experience.

Example: Creating a screen Flow for submitting support requests, using Avonni components for dependent picklists and a progress indicator, all within the guided Flow steps.

Key Differences Summarized

Using Them Together: A Powerful Combination

The true strength of Avonni lies in how Dynamic Components and Components for Flows work together. You can create seamless workflows by triggering Flows (enhanced with Flow Components) from actions within Dynamic Components. Interactions like "Open Flow Dialog/Panel" or "Execute Flow" simplify this integration.

Here's a practical way to combine the Avonni Dynamic and Flow Components:

1. Start Strong: Use a Dynamic Component on an Account page for a fast-loading, visually appealing summary.
2. Embed Action: Place a button directly within that component.
3. Launch a Guided, Visually Rich Flow: Connect that button to a Screen Flow designed to expertly guide users through creating that custom, multi-step Service Agreement. The flow presents information sequentially, using components to gather input at each stage.

• For the basic data capture, you'll use standard components (Text, Date, Picklists, Lookups, etc.).
• But to enhance the user experience and visual design, you integrate Avonni Components for Flow. These components specifically provide more sophisticated visual options for your flow screens. Imagine including:
• Avonni Progress Indicator: to show users how far they've progressed.
• Avonni Data Table: Offers a more prosperous way to display and interact with agreement line items.
• Avonni Input Pen: Embeds signature capture directly into the process step.
• Avonni Map: Visually pinpoint and confirm service locations if needed.

Essentially, Avonni Components help transform a standard data entry flow into a more professional, visually intuitive, and user-friendly guided experience, especially crucial for complex multi-step processes like service agreements.

Conclusion

Choosing the right Avonni tool is simple when considering where you need the custom UI. To enhance Lightning Pages, leverage the performance, reusability, and native reactivity of Avonni Dynamic Components. To improve the screens inside your Flows, use Avonni Components for Flows. Both empower you to build exceptional Salesforce experiences faster and without code.