Development · LessonBy Neelima, ServiceNow Architect · Published · ServiceNow · all levels
UI Builder & Now Experience
Build workspace and portal pages with components, data resources and client state.
Quick answer
Build workspace and portal pages with components, data resources and client state.
Key takeaways
- Pages are built from components plus data resources
- Client state parameters carry values between components
- Workspaces are the primary use case today
- Custom components need the Now CLI and developer tooling
What UI Builder is
UI Builder assembles pages from Now Experience components. A page has variants, a data layer of data resources such as Look Up Records, and client state parameters that components read and write. It is configuration driven rather than Angular templating.
Data and events
Data resources fetch records or call scripted APIs. Components dispatch events, and event mappings turn an event into an action such as navigating, opening a modal or setting a client state parameter.
When to use it
Match the tool to the audience.
- Workspace experiences for agents and fulfillers belong in UI Builder
- Employee facing portals today still commonly use Service Portal
- Custom components require the Now CLI and a build pipeline, plan for that skill
- Keep pages simple, deeply nested repeaters are hard to debug
Practice challenge
+0 XPStreak ×0
Question 1 of 2
What fetches records for a UI Builder page?
Frequently asked questions
Does UI Builder replace Service Portal?
Not yet for employee portals. It is the direction of travel and already the standard for workspaces.
Can we reuse widgets in UI Builder?
No. Service Portal widgets and Now Experience components are different technologies.