In the rapidly evolving landscape of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), innovation is the compass guiding us forward. As technology ushers in new possibilities, ESRI’s ArcGIS suite stands at the forefront, offering transformative tools like Web App Builder and Experience Builder. If you’re ready to unleash the full potential of your GIS applications, here’s our comprehensive guide to effortlessly transit your applications from Web App Builder to the dynamic Experience Builder. 

Embracing Evolution for Exponential Growth 

In the ever-adapting world of GIS, staying stagnant is not an option. Begin by emphasizing the power of evolution and how transitioning from Web App Builder to Experience Builder is not just a step but a leap towards exponential growth in your application capabilities. As the digital landscape evolves, so do the tools at your disposal. Imagine a future where your GIS applications transcend the ordinary, offering a dynamic user experience that captivates, educates, and engages. This is the promise of Experience Builder, ESRI’s cutting-edge solution that takes your applications from functional to phenomenal.  

From Web App Builder to Experience Builder 

Nearly, all the functionality used in Web AppBuilder is available in Experience Builder, along with the additional functionality. The ready to use widgets can be directly implemented in Experience Builder which are used in Web App Builder. Though Experience Builder is different from Web AppBuilder in a variety of ways. Because of these differences, directly converting custom widgets and themes from WAB to Experience builder is not possible. There’s when we, GISKernel can elevate your experience to shift from WAB to Experience builder very seamlessly and intuitively. You can visit this link where ESRI has provided the functionality matrix between these two. Such implementation of built-in widgets can be done smoothly. Experience Builder, like Web AppBuilder, is a low-to-no-code tool for creating web apps that interact with ArcGIS data. One difference between them is their underlying technology: Experience Builder is built on ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript (Web AppBuilder was built on ArcGIS API for JavaScript). 

Why to choose Experience Builder 

Experience Builder offers a higher level of customization than Web AppBuilder. In Experience Builder, an experience is a web app that you build using drag-and-drop functionality to position maps, images, menus, and other widgets and tools on a page. The developer edition of WAB will be retired in July 2024. See below for some comparison between WAB and Experience Builder. 

• In WAB, user can opt either for 2D or 3D application to start with. While in Experience Builder, 2D and 3D content are supported in one app. When it comes to variety of templates to start with, Experience Builder offers wide range of options rather than WAB.  
• The most important feature of Experience Builder is that user can change the widget setting from docked window and visualize it in real-time on application. Whereas in WAB, the widget setting page comes with popup window which restricts the user to see changes while applying from the page. 

Experience Builder Widget Settings Page

Web App Builder Widget Settings Page 

• Experience builder supports integration of multipage apps for display on fixed or scrolling screens. That means a user can add an internal Page link button which will redirect the application to another page. The page can be map-centric or just the info page.  

• Experience builder can create interactions between widgets. Data actions provide an Actions button that end users can click in widgets at runtime and select from a list of actions to perform, such as exporting records to a file. Such implementations cannot be done in WAB.  

Challenges in shifting and how GISKernel can help you with it? 

The most important challenge to face while migrating from WAB to Experience Builder is the technology difference between these two. While WAB is built on ESRI JS API (3.x), Experience builder is developed using JavaScript SDK (4.x). Along with that, another major difference or we can say the advantage is React integration with Experience Builder. It is very important to stay up to date with recent innovations and developments. Such integration of React along with Redux is very helpful to carry out the advance level of custom widget development. That is where GIS Kernel can be very resourceful for such tasks. Transitioning from Web App Builder to Experience Builder is not a leap into the unknown—it’s a well-guided journey. We at GIS Kernel have experience in both WAB and Experience Builder custom development. Already many of the stakeholders have started shifting to Experience builder the major concerns come when developing a custom widget that has already been there in WAB. We have segmented the process of such custom widget development in Experience Builder which explain the step-by-step process for it.  

GISKernel helps you the shift from WAB to Experience Builder by implementing your WAB widgets and transforming them into the Experience Builder widgets with more efficient design. We can also help you with developing the out of the box custom widgets based on your requirement and integrate it to the Experience Builder Application. We can help you to design your application by developing the UI/UX theme for the application for the smooth user experience without any hassles. Experience builder comes with ready-to-use and advanced level widgets, but when it comes to develop the custom widget or enhance the default widgets, we can help you for such developments. Also, as we have learned above that we can add pages to the experience builder application, GISKernel can help you to design and develop such applications where user can navigate to multiple pages for more informative content.  

The journey from Web App Builder to Experience Builder is a transformative adventure—one that promises innovation, engagement, and growth. We are ready to take the next step in shaping the future of your GIS applications, are you? If yes, then sooner than better! Let’s dive into Experience Builder today and unlock a world of possibilities that will elevate your applications beyond imagination.