Why branding and deployment tools matter
PL
Parker Lin · Product Lead
"We're white-labeling SmartLite for our own customers." (White-labeling means reselling a product under your own brand, so it looks like you built it.) "It needs to look like our product from the very first login — not a generic template with somebody else's logo in the corner."
Here's a separate problem: once you get one org's setup just right, rebuilding those same objects, fields, and rules by hand in every new environment is slow. It's also easy to get wrong.
What this means for you
Each customer gets a fully on-brand experience. Plus, you can build a setup once and roll it out to new orgs in minutes, instead of rebuilding it by hand every time.Four admin-only tools
| Tool | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Branding | Your logo, main color, and display name — shown in the sidebar and email headers, and it takes effect the moment you save |
| Deployment → Export/Import | Exports your organization's setup — objects, fields, layouts, validation rules, workflow rules, record types, custom scripts — as a single downloadable file (JSON format). It never includes your actual record data, and you can load that file into another org |
| Deployment → Marketplace | Browse ready-made app templates by industry. Templates built from a real org's exported setup can be installed right away. AI-prompt templates instead open the AI App Generator, already set up for that industry |
| Media Library | Stores images and PDFs for your organization, so templates and page layouts can use them |
Safe to import more than once
If you import the same package again, it updates existing objects and fields (matched by name) and creates anything new. It's safe to run more than once — for example, to sync a sandbox (a safe testing copy) back up to match production (the live version).1 Brand your org and export its configuration
Open BrandingGo to Settings, then Branding.
Upload a logo and pick a colorSave, then refresh the page and confirm the sidebar updates right away.
Export your configurationGo to Settings → Deployment → Export Package. This downloads a snapshot (a JSON file) of your objects, fields, and rules.
Upload a media assetGo to Settings → Media Library, upload an image, then copy its URL to use in an email template.
(Optional) Import elsewhereIf you have a second org or sandbox, import the file you exported and confirm the same objects and fields show up.
Browse the MarketplaceGo to Settings → Deployment → Marketplace tab, then pick an industry card. If it's badged "Ready to Install," click Install and it lands as a new app right away. If it's badged "AI-Assisted," click Generate with AI and confirm it drops you into the AI App Generator with that industry already selected.
Day-to-day: product/brand owners
Keep branding currentUpdate the logo or color whenever your company's brand refreshes — it takes effect immediately.
Day-to-day: admins rolling out new environments
Export before a big changeSnapshot your configuration before major setup changes, so you have a known-good version to fall back to.
Reuse a package across orgsImport the same exported package into a new customer's org or a sandbox instead of rebuilding from scratch.
What to try next
Look at the AI Generate App trail — the Marketplace's "AI-Assisted" templates open directly into that same tool.Test what you learned
1. Does a Deployment export include an org's actual record data?
Yes, every record is included
No — only configuration: objects, fields, layouts, and rules
2. What happens if you import the same Deployment package twice into the same org?
It errors out — duplicate objects aren't allowed
It's safe — existing objects/fields are updated by name, nothing is duplicated
3. In the Marketplace tab, what does an "AI-Assisted" badge on a template mean?
The template installs itself automatically using AI, with no admin review
There's no ready-to-install package yet — clicking it opens the AI App Generator with that industry pre-selected so you can generate one