Session Abstract

Power Pages development changed shape this past year, and not in a small way. I have spent over a decade building websites, from Adxstudio to Power Apps portals to Power Pages. There has been more change in the last 12 months then the last 10 years. Gone are the days of clicking around the design studio or adding metadata to the management app. Both makers and developers are now building and configuring sites using agentic methods and pro-code tools. Server logic went generally available in April 2026, so JavaScript now runs on the server, hidden from the browser and secured by web roles and table permissions. Code sites let you push a React, Angular or Vue front end straight into a Power Pages site with PAC CLI. Microsoft ships a Power Pages plugin for Claude Code and GitHub Copilot CLI that scaffolds a site, sets up authentication, wires the Web API and deploys it. None of that removes the need to understand what you are building on. It just moves where you spend your time. This session walks the current toolchain end to end, across both kinds of site: traditional Power Pages with Liquid and web templates, and code-first single page application sites. I build live in both, using agentic tools to generate web templates, client JavaScript and Web API calls, then get into the parts the demos usually skip. Server logic is front and center. Where it belongs, how to call it from client script and from a Liquid template, and how to reach Dataverse custom APIs and functions so your business logic lives in Dataverse instead of the browser. Then the question nobody asks until the security review: why host any of this in the Power Platform at all? Entra and external identity providers, table permissions and web roles doing the actual enforcement, and the capacity and reliability you would otherwise be building yourself in Azure. That is the part of Power Pages that is hard to replace, and it matters more now that the front end is something an agent can generate in an afternoon. I will also be honest about the trade-offs. Code sites give up the pages workspace, the style workspace, Liquid and multi-language support. Sometimes that is the right call. Often it is not. Key takeaways -Generate web templates, client JavaScript and Web API calls with agentic tooling, and review what comes back -Move logic out of the browser with Power Pages server logic, secured by web roles and table permissions -Call Dataverse custom APIs and functions from server logic to keep business rules in Dataverse -Deploy and manage a code-based Power Pages sites with PAC CLI -Judge when a code site is worth losing Liquid, the pages workspace and multi-language support -Explain to a security reviewer what the Power Platform gives you for authentication, authorization and capacity Whether you are a seasoned pro or getting ready for that first Power Pages dropped on your lap, this session is not to be missed.

Nick Doelman

Nick is an independent Power Platform specialist, trainer and coach. Nick delivers presentations, workshops and collaborates on Power Platform, Power Pages, and Dynamics CRM/365 projects worldwide. From 2021 to 2023, Nick worked as a Senior Content Developer at Microsoft where he worked on documentation and learning content for Power Pages, Power Automate, and other parts of the Power Platform. Nick has been awarded the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) and is a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) since 2019. Nick is a cohost on the Power Platform BOOST podcast with MVP Ulrikke Akerbæk. Nick is also a competitive Powerlifter and is a member of Team Canada competing at various international events. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickdoelman/ https://bsky.app/profile/readyxrm.bsky.social