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Clicks before code: when not to write Apex

Clicks before code

Salesforce has a famous motto: clicks, not code. As a developer, your first job is often working out that you don't need code at all.

The declarative toolbox

Need	Declarative tool
Calculated value	Formula field
Sum or count of child records	Roll-up summary field
Block bad data	Validation rule
Automate on save, send emails, guide users	Flow
Control access	Permission sets, sharing rules

These are metadata, not code. They need no tests, and admins can maintain them.

When code wins

Reach for Apex when you need:

• Complex logic that would turn into an unreadable Flow
• Large data volumes and fine control over limits
• Integrations: callouts, custom APIs, complex JSON
• Reusable, unit-tested business logic

Reach for LWC when the standard UI and screen flows can't deliver the experience you need.

The professional answer

Good Salesforce developers are fluent in both and choose on purpose. Plenty of PD1 exam questions are scenarios that ask exactly this: "What's the best way to…?" Often the answer is the declarative one.

🦝 Quill's rule: if an admin can maintain it, let an admin maintain it.