Understanding Salesforce Organisation Types and How to Log In

Posted by on | Featured

Salesforce, as one of the most robust customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, caters to a broad range of business needs with various organization types (often referred to as “orgs”). Each of these orgs is designed with a specific purpose in mind, such as live production environments, development and testing, or training. Whether you’re a large enterprise looking to manage day-to-day operations with live data, a developer working on a custom app, or a learner practicing Salesforce skills, Salesforce provides the right type of org to fit each scenario.

Understanding these org types is crucial because each one plays a specific role in helping teams build, test, and scale their solutions effectively, without risking live customer data or business processes. This flexibility ensures businesses can innovate, train employees, or troubleshoot in a controlled setting without impacting production environments. Additionally, Salesforce offers free and paid versions of these orgs, allowing users to explore the platform’s capabilities at various stages—from initial trials to fully operational environments.

1. Production Org

What it is:
The Production Org is the live environment used by businesses for real operations like managing customer interactions, sales, marketing, and service data. It contains all the critical, live business data.

How to log in:
To log in to a Production Org:

Who uses it:

  • Employees across departments (sales, service, marketing, etc.) for daily operational tasks.

How to create a Production Org:
A Production Org is created when you purchase a Salesforce license. After acquiring a Salesforce subscription, administrators receive login credentials and can configure access for other users.

2. Developer Org

What it is:
A Developer Org is a free Salesforce environment that allows developers and administrators to explore Salesforce features, build custom applications, and test configurations without affecting live data.

How to log in:
To access your Developer Org:

Who uses it:

  • Developers and admins for learning, building, and testing.

How to create a Developer Org:

  1. Visit https://developer.salesforce.com/signup.
  2. Fill out the signup form with your details (name, email, company, etc.).
  3. Check your email for a confirmation message.
  4. Follow the link in the email to set your password and log in.

3. Sandbox Orgs

What they are:
Sandbox Orgs are clones of Production Orgs used for development, testing, and training. Sandboxes ensure new features or updates are tested without affecting real data.

Salesforce offers several types of Sandboxes, each with different capabilities:

  • Developer Sandbox: Small, for coding and development.
  • Developer Pro Sandbox: Larger, with more storage for bigger projects.
  • Partial Copy Sandbox: Contains a subset of production data for realistic testing.
  • Full Sandbox: Complete replica of the Production Org, including all data and configurations.

How to log in:
To log in to a Sandbox Org:

  • URL: https://test.salesforce.com
  • Enter your username, usually in the format user@company.com.sandbox_name.
  • Enter your password and complete any additional verification.

Who uses it:

  • Development and QA teams, admins training employees, or working on testing new features.

How to create a Sandbox Org:

  1. Only available with certain Salesforce editions (Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited).
  2. In Salesforce, navigate to Setup > Sandboxes under Environments.
  3. Click Create Sandbox, choose the type (Developer, Developer Pro, Partial Copy, or Full), and follow the prompts.

4. Trial Orgs

What it is:
Trial Orgs are temporary environments that allow businesses to explore Salesforce’s features for a limited time (usually 30 days). They give companies a risk-free way to evaluate different Salesforce products before making a purchase decision. Trial orgs provide access to various functionalities based on the selected edition or product.

How to log in:
To log in to your Trial Org:

Who uses it:

  • Businesses evaluating Salesforce for the first time.
  • Teams testing a specific edition or feature of Salesforce before purchasing.

How to create a Trial Org:
While businesses can traditionally sign up for a trial directly from Salesforce, we recommend a tailored approach to ensure the environment aligns with your unique business needs.

To get started with a Salesforce Trial Org customized for your business, please fill out our form here with your company details, specific business requirements, and contact information. Our team will review your request and prepare a Trial Org that’s best suited for your evaluation.

By submitting the form, you’ll receive:

  • A customized trial org set up with the relevant features and data for your business.
  • Expert consultation on how to make the most of the trial period.
  • Access to resources for exploring key functionalities.

5. Others

Salesforce also provides other specialized organization types designed for specific use cases, such as development, training, and partnership environments. While not used as frequently as Production, Developer, or Sandbox Orgs, these can be critical for teams with advanced development needs or partner relationships.

  • Trailhead Playground Org: This is a specialized environment for learners engaging with Salesforce’s educational platform, Trailhead. It provides a safe space for users to practice new skills and complete hands-on challenges without impacting any live data.
  • Scratch Orgs: These are temporary, disposable environments used mainly for development in Salesforce DX (Developer Experience). Scratch Orgs allow developers to create agile, source-driven environments for specific projects.
  • Partner Org: Partner Orgs are used by Salesforce consulting firms, independent software vendors (ISVs), and app developers to build, customize, and test applications that are listed on the Salesforce AppExchange.

Try Salesforce

Trial Org

Contact us
Tags: ,
Comments are closed.