Customizing the store

Customize your storefront assets or store functionality by changing the Store server configuration, or by modifying or extending your store JavaServer Pages (JSP files) or Spring-based model-view-controller (MVC).

About this task

Store customizaiton flow

Pages on the storefront are generated by JSP files. JSP files are returned by Spring views based on user interactions on the storefront as interpreted by Spring action and view controllers on the Store server.

  • Spring action controllers interface with the Transaction server and Search server through REST services based on the REST template.
  • Spring view controllers forward to Spring views.
  • Spring views return JSP files.
  • JSP files render content to be returned to the browser.

To modify business logic, apply customizations on the Customization server. Apply any changes on your Store server that are required to transmit or display these customizations. These required changes could include modifying the REST template, Spring controllers, and storefront assets.

To modify how the storefront is presented to users, JSP files can be created or customized from the default JSP files provided. JSP file dependencies must also be considered, and can be included by packaging them alongside the custom JSP within the custom store web archive, or by pointing to their location within the IBM stores web archive.

In these tasks, you modify your store files to change the behavior, appearance, and functionality of your storefront. This customization is done by modifying, or adding and extending existing store files into the store assets WAR (crs-web.war). Once tested, built, and deployed, these changes appear and function on your production store environment.

Customization of the store might include:
  • Expansion or modification of the Spring MVC configuration and REST template to extend storefront customization beyond the Store server.
  • Creation or modification of store pages, in support of a larger customization project, or to suit individual business requirements:
    • Creation of new or modified page and widget JSP files.
    • Creation or customization of Spring views that are used to modify the security properties of store pages and return standard or custom store JSP files.

Procedure