SSP Application Overview

SuiteScript Server Pages (SSP) is the custom web application platform used to build applications for Commerce web stores. SSP applications are an iteration on the Suitelet, allowing customers to build frontend pages that execute server side SuiteScript to generate dynamic content. The technology emulates JSP, but uses SuiteScript as the underlying mechanism. Also, SSP applications can be bundled and distributed in full as SuiteApps, allowing for the easy sharing and sale of custom applications.

SSP applications consist of .ssp files and a library of JavaScript files. The SuiteScript Server Pages (.ssp files) make AJAX calls to backend services and support a clear delineation between frontend (website display) and backend (business) logic.

Every SSP application has entry points, which you can connect to different parts of your web store. The entry points for an SSP application differ based on the version of SuiteScript in which it is written. For SSP applications written in:

SuiteScript 1.0: The entry points (also known as touch points) are defined as Supported Touch Points on the SSP application record. Each touch point corresponds to different parts of the web store, for example, View Homepage, Log In, and Log Out. A user accessing a specific part of the web store, triggers the SSP application connected to it and dynamic content is generated for that part of the web store.
SuiteScript 2.0: The default SSP file selected on the SSP application record is the single entry point.

All files in an SSP application are grouped by author (application publisher), and stored together in the file cabinet in the Web Site Hosting files folder.

The SuiteScript Server Pages feature is available for both Site Builder and Commerce websites. This feature supports the packaging of Commerce website assets as SSP applications. You can create SSP applications and then link them to your website to customize it.

For more information, see Create and Use SSP Applications.

SSP Application Structure

SSP files (.ssp) represent user interface elements on a website. They can generate anything from a banner to an entire web page. A .ssp file includes the presentation logic for the web page it replaces. These .ssp files allow you to add HTML and generate dynamic content to be rendered in the browser.

An important function of .ssp files is to generate dynamic content for supported web store touch points. SSP applications written in SuiteScript 1.0 support several touch points and you can select a different .ssp file for each touch point. In SSP applications written in SuiteScript 2.0, the default .ssp file contains the logic of which .ssp file to use for what purpose.

Backend services are included in .ss files, typically one .ss file per service. Ajax calls from an .ssp file provide access to .ss file services. Note that in addition to the SuiteScript API, both .ssp and .ss files can use the Commerce API. For more information, see File Types for SSP Applications.

SSP Applications and Commerce web stores

Commerce web store is a commerce website and checkout solution delivered in a set of SSP applications, available as a SuiteApp that you can install in your account. Files associated with SSP applications can be modified, tested and debugged in your NetSuite account. This architecture enables you to manage multiple SSP applications that customize a single web store. SSP applications ensure that all assets are linked together. This architecture also supports access using named URLs.

SSP Application Structure

SSP Applications and Commerce web stores

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