Salesforce Apex Developer Best Practices

If you’re writing Apex code daily, following best practices isn’t optional—it’s essential. Whether you’re building logic-heavy processes or integrating with external systems, writing clean, efficient, and scalable Apex ensures your Salesforce org stays healthy and future-proof. Let’s walk through some of the most important best practices every Salesforce developer should follow.

No Hardcoded IDs
Avoid hardcoding record IDs. These values are unique to an org and won’t work across different environments. If you need reference values, query them dynamically from the schema or store them in Custom Metadata or Custom Labels. Hardcoded IDs are one of the most common causes of deployment failures.

Code Bulkification
Your code should be designed to handle multiple records at once. Whether it’s a trigger, a helper class, or a batch job, always code with bulk processing in mind. This not only aligns with Salesforce’s governor limits but also ensures your logic can scale as your data grows.

Avoid DML and SOQL Inside Loops
Placing SOQL queries or DML statements inside loops is a fast track to hitting governor limits. Instead, collect data in lists or maps outside the loop and execute your DML operations or queries in bulk after the loop completes. This small adjustment can dramatically improve performance.

Use Efficient Queries
Query only the fields you need. Apply filters that narrow down your results meaningfully. A well-filtered query improves speed and avoids unnecessary processing. Unfiltered queries can return large data sets and hurt performance.

Use Collections (Lists, Sets, Maps)
Collections make your code cleaner and faster. Use Map<Id, Record> structures to relate data easily, eliminate nested loops, and fetch records more efficiently. This is especially useful when working with parent-child relationships or performing cross-object logic.

One Trigger Per Object
Multiple triggers on a single object can lead to unpredictable results, as Salesforce doesn’t guarantee the execution order. Stick to one trigger per object and route logic based on trigger events using a handler or framework class.

Trigger Framework Usage
A good trigger framework helps you organize business logic cleanly. Keep the trigger itself lightweight and move logic into a handler class. Structure your framework so each method handles a specific context, such as onBeforeInsert or onAfterUpdate. This improves maintainability and readability.

Enhanced For Loops
Use enhanced for-loops when iterating through collections. They’re optimized for batch processing and help ensure your code is bulk-safe. Avoid traditional loops unless absolutely necessary.

Use Limits Methods
Salesforce provides methods like Limits.getQueries() and Limits.getDMLStatements() to check how close you are to hitting governor limits. Use these strategically in complex logic blocks or loops to catch performance issues before they crash your transaction.

Future Methods and Asynchronous Apex
Offload non-critical or time-consuming operations to asynchronous processes like @future, Queueable, or Batch Apex. This reduces load on your synchronous transaction and improves the user experience. Be mindful not to overuse async, as it also has limits.

Wrapping Up
Being a great Apex developer means balancing power with responsibility. Write code that’s clean, scalable, and mindful of the platform’s constraints. Stick to these best practices, and you’ll not only avoid errors and limits—you’ll build robust solutions that stand the test of time.