Details of a Netsuite Customization Project


One of the projects I’ve been working on lately has gone live, and I like to annouce these things when relevant. In particular, this project highlights a number of lesser-known Netsuite customizations and techniques that the do-it-yourselfer might find interesting.


DNA Worlwide: DNA and Paternity Testing


DNA Worldwide provides a number of DNA tests, including paternity and other forms of relation testing. They also offer a security register service, that will track your DNA and other personal information safely and provide a bracelet and ID card to facilitate fast communication in the event something bad happens to the wearer.

The Initial Project


As is true for many web sites, a number of people were involved each with their own responsibilities. Much of the branding, colors, overall design concepts and the like were already prepared when I was brought in. This can be good and bad, as it saves me work but can sometimes require reworking to fit within Netsuite’s framework (or other goals, like SEO and usability).

My responsibilities basically broke down to:

  1. Helping them organize their content for optimal usability and SEO (information architecture)

  2. Implementing the photoshop layouts provided by the designer

  3. Setting up default items and information items to be used as templates

  4. Finish implementation and improve the appearance of their custom kit registration process

Information Architecture


The first step we took was to build a site map in excel that would define how we built the site. Using the process I discuss in my guide to information architecture, we made a list of all the content that would be on the site (including near future content) and set about organizing it. Their particular situation was interesting, in that they have 3 brands and wanted to have 3 different domains under one umbrella. Unfortunately we can’t do that in Netsuite without web services, so we settled on a compromise. The extra domains would still exist, but would redirect to tabs on the new web site, which would all be under the one master domain. This way he could do offline advertising efforts geared towards these separate brands, but they would all end up in one place.

Implementing photoshop layouts


Working with the manager and graphics person, we took the initial layouts and made a few changes to better fit into the Netsuite framework. We settled on a look that would change slightly when a user was in different tabs, but would have enough consistency in the look that users wouldn’t be confused moving between sections. It’s actually really tough to build the HTML template to match an image, and then make sure it looks good in all major browsers. Once the first template was built, it was simple to modify it for the different colors and graphics in the various tabs.

Template setup & custom registration


Working within the Netsuite web themes system, I created example templates for items, articles and a site map that allowed them to quickly flesh out the site with data while maintaining a consistent look & feel. The custom kit registration process was initially set up by Netsuite’s services department, but it wasn’t quite ready to go. We picked up where they left off, and made it a workable system. Now with version 11 and Suitescript, I expect we will be able to customize it further and make it easier to use.

That’s about it for the initial project – now that the site’s live we’ll be focusing more on driving traffic and improving our SEO results, among other things.