Question : CLONE the ESC or Customize the OOTB?

[Hugh 111]

Hi everyone,

I’m currently implementing ESC for one of our clients.

I’d like to ask Is it a best practice to CLONE the ESC  and use the cloned version for customization,
or should we Customize the OOTB one and only clone like theme , taxonomy as needed?

We’re considering the clone approach to:

• Keep the original portal untouched for future upgrades

• Customize navigation, branding, and layout for specific departments

However, I’m also concerned about potential upgrade and maintenance impacts if we go with a fully cloned portal.

If anyone has practical experience or official guidance on this,
please share your insights!

Best Regards,

Hugh

#ESC

#Employee Center

[Ankur Bawiskar]

@Hugh 111 

My thoughts

-> recommended approach is to customize the Out-of-the-Box (OOTB) ESC portal using configuration and theming capabilities, and only clone specific components—such as themes, taxonomy, or widgets—when department-specific branding or navigation is required

links for reference

FAQs on Employee Center adoption and deployment 

Customization vs configuration | FAQ and guidelines 

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[Ankur Bawiskar]

@Hugh 111 

Thank you for marking my response as helpful.

💡 If my response helped, please mark it as correct ✅ and close the thread 🔒— this helps future readers find the solution faster! 🙏

[Hugh 111]

Hi @Ankur Bawiskar 

Thanks for your response!

It looks like we both agree not to clone the OOTB portal records,
since they have complex references across several components.

[Ankur Bawiskar]

@Hugh 111 

that's correct.

💡 If my response helped, please mark it as correct ✅ and close the thread 🔒— this helps future readers find the solution faster! 🙏