The quick answer
Edit the item and open its Web Store subtab. Check Display in Web Store, enter the Web Store Display Name shoppers should see, add product copy in Detailed Description, and put extra search words in Search Keywords. Pick an Out Of Stock Behavior: Disallow back orders but display out-of-stock message keeps the item listed and searchable while hiding Add to Cart until stock arrives. Save, then check the Shop page, the site search, and the product page.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and company names are fictional, and the storefront screens are a rebuilt example SuiteCommerce site. Use your own items, site, and values when following the steps.
Before you start
This example puts a new inventory item, WL-520 Magnetic LED Work Light, on Larkspur Industrial Supply's SuiteCommerce site. The item already exists in NetSuite, but its first shipment hasn't arrived.
Display in Web Store makes an item eligible for the site. It isn't enough on its own. The item also has to be active, available to the website's subsidiary, stocked at a location the web store uses (a location with Make Inventory Available in Web Store checked), and priced at the price level the site shows shoppers. Here that's an Online Price of 64.00. Category pages only list items assigned to that commerce category; the Shop page in this example is the site's all-products listing.
Storefront changes can take a few minutes to show up because of caching and search indexing. You need a role that can edit items.
01. Check the storefront first
Open the web store and click Shop. The page lists 7 Products, and none of them is the work light.
Click the search icon and type jobsite in Search for products. The typeahead shows No Results.
02. Check the item's stock and settings
In NetSuite, type WL-520 in the global Search box and open the Item result. On the Purchasing/Inventory subtab, the Locations sublist shows Main Warehouse with Quantity On Hand 0, Quantity Available 0, and Quantity On Order 40. The stock is on order but not received, so the out-of-stock setting will matter from day one.
Open the Web Store subtab. Display in Web Store isn't checked, Web Store Display Name and Search Keywords are empty, and Out Of Stock Behavior is - Default -.
03. Set the web store fields
Click Edit and open the Web Store subtab. Then set these:
- Check Display in Web Store.
- In Web Store Display Name, enter
WL-520 Magnetic LED Work Light. This is the product name shoppers see. Leave it blank and the site usually falls back to Display Name/Code, then Item Name/Number. - In Detailed Description, enter the product copy: Rechargeable 1,200-lumen work light with a magnetic base and a 270-degree swivel hook. In this site the product page shows Detailed Description under Details; which description field shows where depends on your site's product details configuration and theme.
- Open Out Of Stock Behavior. It has five choices: - Default - (use the website's setting), Disallow back orders but display out-of-stock message, Allow back orders but display out-of-stock message, Remove item when out-of-stock, and Allow back orders with no out-of-stock message. Choose Disallow back orders but display out-of-stock message.
- In Out Of Stock Message, enter
Back in stock soon. Leave it blank and the wording comes from the site and theme. - In Search Keywords, enter
shop light, jobsite lamp, magnetic lamp. These are comma-separated words shoppers might search for that aren't in the item name.
Click Save. The item opens in view mode, and the Web Store subtab shows Display in Web Store checked with the new values.
Why not Remove item when out-of-stock? It takes the item off listings and search while it has no stock, and its product page stops being available through the store, so saved links and search results can lead shoppers to a missing page. Use it rarely.
04. Find it on the Shop page
Back on the web store, click Shop. The page now lists 8 Products. The new card shows WL-520 Magnetic LED Work Light, $64.00, and the message Back in stock soon.
05. Search and open the product page
Click the search icon and type jobsite. The typeahead now suggests WL-520 Magnetic LED Work Light. "Jobsite" isn't in the item's name or description, so the match comes from Search Keywords. That only works when Search Keywords is one of the website's search fields, and after the search index picks up the change.
Click the suggestion. The product page shows the heading WL-520 Magnetic LED Work Light, SKU: WL-520, $64.00, and the Detailed Description under Details.
Check the result
- The Shop page lists 8 Products, including the work light at $64.00 with Back in stock soon.
- Searching jobsite suggests WL-520 Magnetic LED Work Light.
- The product page shows the display name, SKU WL-520, the price, and the description under Details.
- There's no Add to Cart button, because the item has no stock and back orders aren't allowed.
Add to Wishlist and Add to Quote show up because those features are on for this site. When the shipment is received at a web store location, Add to Cart comes back without another change to the item, once the site's cache and index catch up. If your changes don't show right away, give it a few minutes; a cache invalidation request under Commerce > Content Management > Cache Invalidation Requests > New refreshes cached pages sooner, but it doesn't rebuild the search index.
Common questions
Why doesn't my item show up on the web store?
Display in Web Store is only the first check. The item also has to be active, available to the website's subsidiary, stocked at a location the web store uses, and priced at the site's price level. Category pages only show items assigned to that category, and caching or search indexing can delay a change by a few minutes.
What's the difference between Web Store Display Name and Page Title?
Web Store Display Name is the product name shoppers see on cards and the product page. Page Title sets the title in the browser tab for the product page. Setting one doesn't change the other.
What does Out Of Stock Behavior do?
It decides what the site does when the item has no stock, and it overrides the website's default for that item. The disallow and allow back order options keep the item listed with a message, one blocking orders and one taking them, while Remove item when out-of-stock hides it. Here, Disallow back orders but display out-of-stock message keeps WL-520 visible with Back in stock soon.
Should I use Remove item when out-of-stock?
Rarely. The item drops out of listings and search while it has no stock, and links to its product page stop leading to the product. Keeping it visible with a message holds on to the page and tells shoppers why they can't buy it yet.
Why is there no Add to Cart button on my product page?
If the item has no available stock and its Out Of Stock Behavior disallows back orders, the site hides Add to Cart but still shows the name, price, and message. It comes back once stock is received at a web store location.
How do I make the site search find an item by a word that isn't in its name?
Add the word to Search Keywords on the Web Store subtab, separated by commas, like shop light, jobsite lamp, magnetic lamp. It only works when Search Keywords is one of the website's search fields, and after the search index picks up the change.