sf-b2c-isml

sf-b2c-isml

Build ISML (Internet Store Markup Language) templates for Salesforce B2C Commerce storefronts.

Before Writing Code

Fetch live documentation FIRST:

• Search: "Salesforce B2C Commerce ISML reference 2026"
• Search: "B2C Commerce template best practices encoding modes"
• WebFetch: Official ISML tag reference from Salesforce docs
• WebFetch: Template best practices and encoding guidelines

Why: ISML syntax, tag attributes, encoding modes, and localization patterns evolve with each B2C Commerce release. Always verify current specs before generating template code.

Conceptual Architecture

ISML Key Tags

Tag	Purpose	Key Attributes
<isprint>	Output with encoding	value, encoding (required for XSS safety)
<isif> / <iselseif> / <iselse>	Conditional rendering	condition
<isloop>	Iteration	items, var, status, begin, end, step
<isset>	Variable assignment	name, value, scope (page/request/session)
<isinclude>	Include partial template	template (path) or url (controller action)
<isdecorate>	Decorator/layout wrapper	template (decorator path)
<isreplace>	Insertion point in decorator	(no attributes)
<isslot>	Content slot	id, context (category/folder/global), description
<iscache>	Template-level caching	type, hour, varyby
<isscript>	Inline server-side JS	(use sparingly -- prefer controllers)
<iscontent>	Set content type/charset	type, charset
<isstatus>	Set HTTP status code	code
<isredirect>	Server-side redirect	location
<iscomment>	Server-side comment	(not rendered to client)

Encoding Modes for <isprint>

Mode	Context	When to Use
htmlcontent	HTML body text	Default for most output (de facto SFRA standard)
htmlsinglequote	Single-quoted HTML attributes	<div title='...'>
htmldoublequote	Double-quoted HTML attributes	<div title="...">
htmlunquote	Unquoted HTML attributes	Rarely needed; prefer quoted attributes
jshtml	JavaScript strings in HTML	<script>var x = '...';</script>
jsattribute	JS in HTML event attributes	onclick="..."
jsonvalue	JSON values	JSON data output
uricomponent	URL query parameters	Query string values
uristrict	Full URI encoding	Path segments
xmlcontent	XML body content	XML/RSS feeds
off	No encoding	Trusted content ONLY -- avoid in production

Always specify encoding. Choose based on output context. Never use raw ${variable} for user-controlled data without encoding.

Expression Syntax

Pipeline Dictionary (pdict):

• ${pdict.variableName} -- access controller-passed data (SFRA: from res.render())
• In SFRA, pdict contains only what the controller explicitly passed
• Legacy SiteGenesis globals (CurrentSession, CurrentRequest, etc.) are NOT available in SFRA controllers

Object Navigation:

• ${pdict.product.name} -- dot notation for nested properties
• ${pdict.basket.totalGrossPrice.value} -- deep property access
• Null-safe: always check for null/undefined before accessing nested properties

Operators: Arithmetic (+, -, *, /, %), comparison (==, !=, <, >), logical (&&, ||, !), ternary (${cond ? a : b}).

<isloop> Status Object

Property	Type	Description
first	Boolean	True on first iteration
last	Boolean	True on last iteration
count	Number	Current iteration (1-based)
index	Number	Current iteration (0-based)

Access via the status attribute: <isloop items="${list}" var="item" status="loopstate">, then use ${loopstate.first}, ${loopstate.index}, etc.

<isset> Scope Rules

Scope	Lifetime	Use Case
page	Current template render	Temporary computation within a template
request	Current HTTP request	Share data across included templates
session	Current user session	Persist across requests (use sparingly)

Default scope is session -- always specify scope explicitly to avoid unintended session pollution.

Localization (Resource Bundles)

${Resource.msg('key', 'bundleName', 'Default')}
${Resource.msgf('key', 'bundle', 'Default {0}', param)}

Common bundles: forms, common, error, product. Always provide meaningful default values. Resource bundles are .properties files in templates/resources/.

Decorator Pattern (Template Inheritance)

Decorators wrap child content via <isdecorate> and <isreplace>:

<!-- Child template -->
<isdecorate template="common/layout/page">
    <h1>Page Content</h1>
    <!-- replaces <isreplace /> in decorator -->
</isdecorate>

The decorator template defines shared layout (header, footer, <head>) and uses <isreplace /> to mark where child content is inserted. Nested decorators are supported.

Common Patterns

<!-- Pattern: product loop skeleton -->
<!-- Fetch live docs for loopstate properties -->
<isloop items="${pdict.products}" var="product" status="loopstate">
    <isprint value="${product.name}" encoding="htmlcontent" />
</isloop>

<!-- Pattern: URL generation -->
<a href="${URLUtils.url('Product-Show', 'pid', product.ID)}">
    <isprint value="${product.name}" encoding="htmlcontent" />
</a>

URL Generation Helpers

Method	Purpose
URLUtils.url()	Generate absolute URL for controller action
URLUtils.https()	Force HTTPS URL
URLUtils.staticURL()	URL to static asset in cartridge
URLUtils.absURL()	Absolute URL with full domain
URLUtils.home()	Homepage URL
URLUtils.continueURL()	Current request URL for form returns

Content Slots

Configured in Business Manager. Slots support HTML, products, categories, or content assets. Use descriptive IDs (home-banner-top, category-promo-sidebar) and set appropriate context (global, category, folder). Slot rendering can be cached separately from template caching.

Platform Warnings

• <isscript> executes on the server and can access the full SFCC API -- keep logic minimal and move heavy processing to controllers or scripts.
• <isset scope="session"> persists across requests -- avoid session bloat by defaulting to page scope.
• SFRA templates do NOT support SiteGenesis pipeline dictionary globals; only data from res.render() is available.
• Template-level <iscache> is separate from CDN caching; both must be configured correctly.

Best Practices

Security

• Always encode output with the correct mode for context.
• Never use encoding="off" unless input is fully trusted.
• Use CSRF tokens on all state-changing forms.
• Validate user input in controllers before passing to templates.

Performance

• Minimize <isscript> blocks -- move logic to controllers or scripts.
• Use <isset> to compute expensive values once and reuse.
• Avoid deeply nested loops and conditionals.
• Use <iscache> for templates that do not change per request.

Maintainability

• Use decorators for consistent page layout across templates.
• Extract reusable components into separate templates with <isinclude>.
• Externalize all user-facing strings to resource bundles for i18n.
• Follow naming convention: lowercase-hyphenated template names.

Template Organization

Directory	Contents
common/layout/	Decorators (page, checkout, account)
components/	Shared partials (header, footer, navigation)
product/	Product display templates
search/	Search results templates
account/	Customer account templates
cart/	Cart and mini-cart templates
checkout/	Checkout flow templates

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Fetch the ISML tag reference, encoding mode documentation, and resource bundle guide for exact tag attributes, encoding behaviors, and localization APIs before implementing.