ArcGIS Web App Builder is retiring, and we want to share the retirement timelines and details with you. While your ArcGIS Web AppBuilder apps that you have built will continue to work, Esri’s recommended path for taking advantage of new capabilities in ArcGIS as well as for staying abreast of the changes in browser technology is to migrate applications to ArcGIS Experience Builder. Here are the timelines and details:
Developer Edition
The developer edition will retire in July 2024, coinciding with the retirement of ArcGIS API for JavaScript version 3.x.
ArcGIS Web AppBuilder in ArcGIS Enterprise
ArcGIS Web AppBuilder as part of ArcGIS Enterprise is considered deprecated as of this announcement. ArcGIS Web AppBuilder will continue to be a part of ArcGIS Enterprise until the first half of 2025 at which point it will be retired and no longer released in new versions of ArcGIS Enterprise. Existing versions of ArcGIS Enterprise will continue to be supported in accordance with the ArcGIS Enterprise product lifecycle.
ArcGIS Web AppBuilder in ArcGIS Online
ArcGIS Web AppBuilder in ArcGIS Online will retire in the fourth quarter of 2025.
ArcGIS Web AppBuilder was first released in 2014 and since that time we have seen amazing web apps created by our users to solve challenging problems for enterprise organizations and the public. ArcGIS Web AppBuilder leverages Esri’s legacy ArcGIS API for JavaScript (3.x), which will be retired in July 2024. As the underlying technology of ArcGIS Web AppBuilder retires, ArcGIS Web AppBuilder will also retire in ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Enterprise, and in the ArcGIS Developer subscription.
Over the past few years, Esri’s web technologies have evolved and modernized. ArcGIS Experience Builder is built on Esri latest web mapping technology, ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript. Thus, it offers optimized performance, and enables an extensive suite of capabilities far beyond what ArcGIS Web AppBuilder provides, such as mobile optimization, 2D and 3D in one app, flexible design, streamline workflows, and integration with other ArcGIS apps. ArcGIS Experience Builder is now at the point where it includes the bulk of the functionality that ArcGIS Web AppBuilder has so you can start to transition your apps. We highly recommend you migrate your Web AppBuilder apps to Experience Builder as updates to browsers could introduce functional or security issues which will not be addressed by Esri. So, move as you can.
See the Functionality Matrix between Web AppBuilder and Experience Builder.
FAQ
Will my apps continue to work after retirement?
Developer edition: Yes. However, there will be no further bug fixes or enhancements. Updates to browsers could introduce functional or security issues which will not be addressed by Esri. In addition, technical support from Esri will no longer be available.
ArcGIS Enterprise: Yes. ArcGIS Web AppBuilder continues to be fully supported and will continue to be supported in accordance with the ArcGIS Enterprise product lifecycle. However, it will only receive critical bug fixes, such as security updates, and is otherwise in maintenance mode with no functional enhancements being planned.
ArcGIS Online: Yes. The existing ArcGIS Web AppBuilder apps that you have built will continue to work. However, you will not be able to create new apps or edit existing apps after retirement. There will be no further bug fixes or enhancements. Updates to browsers could introduce functional or security issues which will not be addressed by Esri. In addition, technical support from Esri will no longer be available.
Please refer to the Product Lifecycle Support Policy.
What action should I take to mitigate the impact of this retirement?
The ArcGIS Web AppBuilder apps can be migrated to ArcGIS Experience Builder. For ArcGIS Web AppBuilder in ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise, watch this migration video. For custom apps including custom widgets and themes that are created with the developer edition, visit this topic for tips, techniques, and recommended best practices for rebuilding widgets and themes in the developer edition of ArcGIS Experience Builder.
Please note that some ArcGIS Web AppBuilder widgets will not be literally migrated to ArcGIS Experience Builder because their functionality can be found in other equivalent Experience Builder Widgets. In other cases, the functionality available in the ArcGIS Web AppBuilder widget is now available as a foundational capability of ArcGIS, for example, clustering on feature layers, and is therefore available for use in Experience Builder without the need for a special widget. In a few cases, Esri has decided that the functionality included in ArcGIS Web AppBuilder was highly specialized and is best realized via a dedicated ArcGIS Instant App that is available for customers to configure and use. These details can be found in the Functionality Matrix between Web AppBuilder and Experience Builder.
In addition, you may consider migrating ArcGIS Web AppBuilder apps to other ArcGIS apps such as ArcGIS Instant Apps, ArcGIS Dashboards, and ArcGIS StoryMaps, when you see fit.
Will I be able to add custom widgets to ArcGIS Enterprise?
Starting with ArcGIS Enterprise 11.0, you can add Experience Builder custom widgets to ArcGIS Enterprise like you did for ArcGIS Web AppBuilder. We highly recommend migrating your ArcGIS Web AppBuilder custom widgets to ArcGIS Experience Builder. The feature of adding Web AppBuilder custom widgets to ArcGIS Enterprise is deprecated and relies on an unsupported developer edition version of ArcGIS Web AppBuilder.
Will I be able to continue to download the developer edition after retirement?
You will be able to download existing versions of the ArcGIS Web AppBuilder developer edition from the ArcGIS Developers website after retirement. The developer edition pages on the ArcGIS Developers website will be updated to reflect its status as retired technology.
Migration Resources
ArcGIS Experience Builder provides a new way to build modern map centric or non-map centric web apps and web pages. Since it is architected differently from ArcGIS Web AppBuilder, migration means an application re-configure or re-write. We are aware of the challenges you may face, so we are sharing the retirement plan to help you make decisions about migration strategies and share available resources to start transitioning.
ArcGIS Experience Builder 2023 Roadmap
Functionality Matrix between Web AppBuilder and Experience Builder
Modernize Your ArcGIS Web AppBuilder Apps Using Experience Builder
A full list of helpful resources to get you started on Experience Builder
Please reach out to us by contacting Esri Support and posting on Esri Community. We are here to support you!
Thank you,
The ArcGIS Web AppBuilder & ArcGIS Experience Builder Team
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