Admins / Users

6 Ways to Make Salesforce List Views Run Faster

By Christine Marshall

Keeping your Salesforce list views running smoothly is crucial for happy users and happy admins. Over time, it’s common for list views to slow down due to additional data or filters that simply don’t meet best practices. There’s nothing worse than waiting for a list view to load, except waiting for a list view to load in front of users or stakeholders! You can feel their eyes on you and the judgmental look that screams “You said Salesforce was easy and fast…liar!”

Don’t worry, I’ve got your back. Here are six ways to make your Salesforce list views run faster and more efficiently.

1. Develop an Archival Process

Data growth is inevitable. To manage it, develop an archival process. Regularly archive old or unused records to keep your active dataset lean. This helps maintain Salesforce list view performance and keeps your org tidy.

READ MORE: Salesforce Data Archiving: Your Solution for a Cleaner Org

2. Control What Records Your Users Can See

Not only does the amount of data in your Salesforce org impact list view performance, so does the number of records a user has access to. In an ideal world, you’re already using “Zero Trust” and the “Principle of Least Privilege”. These concepts are both super important to maintain the security of your Salesforce org, but by default, will also ensure your users don’t have access to too many records that may affect their list view speed. 

Zero Trust: Zero Trust is a cybersecurity approach centered on the belief that organizations shouldn’t automatically trust anything inside or outside their perimeter, instead verifying everything trying to connect to its systems before granting access. This means consistently authenticating and authorizing every device, user, and application, regardless of their location.

Principle of Least Privilege: The principle of least privilege is a cybersecurity concept that advocates granting users the minimum level of access or permissions required to perform their job functions, tasks, or roles.

3. Optimize Your Filters

Filters are the heart of list views. Specific filters perform better than broad ones. Here are some list view filter best practices:

  • Use the EQUALS operator instead of CONTAINS.
  • Favor the AND statement over OR.
  • Utilize start date, end date, and relative date filters to narrow down results.
  • Limit the scope of the filters to individuals or their teams.
  • Restrict record access to only the necessary users and profiles.

4. Display Only Necessary Fields

The number of fields displayed in a list view can slow the list view loading time. Reduce the number of fields and only show the essential fields needed for the task at hand. This minimizes load time and keeps the interface clean and user-friendly.

READ MORE: Creating Salesforce Custom List Views

5. Train Your Users

It’s all well and good for you, the admin, to learn tips to improve list view performance, but what about your users? Don’t forget to educate them so that they know how to create and use list views effectively. Perhaps create a list view cheat sheet with the best practice filters. 

6. Use Reports for Large Data Sets

OK, this last one isn’t exactly a way to make your list views run faster. If your list view returns over 2,000 records, consider using a report instead. List views are truncated at 2,000 records, so they may spend extra time querying records that won’t be displayed. Reports can handle larger datasets more efficiently.

READ MORE: 10 List Views for Every Salesforce Org

Summary

By implementing these tips and best practices, you’ll ensure that your Salesforce list views remain fast and efficient, making life easier for everyone in your organization. Happy optimizing!

The Author

Christine Marshall

Christine is the Courses Director at Salesforce Ben. She is an 11x certified Salesforce MVP and leads the Bristol Admin User Group.

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