Experience Cloud: Related List Does Not Display When No Records Exist (Tabs + Visualforce Template)

Why the Related List Is Hidden

In Salesforce, related lists are displayed on a record's detail page when the related list contains records or when the user has permissions to create new records in the related list. In an Experience Cloud site using the Salesforce Tabs + Visualforce template, if a related list has no records and the user does not have the Create permission on the related object, the related list is hidden from the page layout entirely. No empty state or "No records to show" message is displayed.

How to Show the Related List

• The related list contains at least one record visible to the user, OR
• The user's profile includes the Create permission for the related object. When the Create permission is granted, the related list remains visible on the page even when no records exist, allowing the user to create a new record from that context.

Template Behavior Differences: Builder vs. Tabs + Visualforce

This behavior applies only to Experience Sites using the Salesforce Tabs + Visualforce template. Experience Builder sites display the related list regardless of whether the list contains records. If your site uses the Experience Builder template and you are still not seeing the related list, review the component configuration and page layout assignments in Experience Builder.
This is also similar to the scenario where a user does not have access to the fields in a related list — in that case, the related list will not display empty; it will be removed from the layout completely.