---
title: Commerce Connect rendering templates
slug: commerce-connect-14/docs/commerce-rendering-templates
docTags: 
createdAt: 2026-07-23T10:25:34.040Z
---

## Define content types

The rendering of products and other catalog information on the front-end site can be based on the Optimizely [content model.](https://world.optimizely.com/documentation/developer-guides/CMS/Content/) This provides out-of-the-box functionality also for Optimizely Commerce Connect content types such as products and variants implementing the `IContent` interface. The following example shows a simple content type for a product variant.

```csharp
using System;
    using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations;
    using EPiServer.Commerce.Catalog.ContentTypes;
    using EPiServer.Commerce.Catalog.DataAnnotations;
    using EPiServer.Core;
    using EPiServer.DataAbstraction;
    using EPiServer.DataAnnotations;
    using EPiServer.SpecializedProperties;
    
    namespace MyCommerceSite.Models.Catalog
      {
        [CatalogContentType(GUID = "8d664789-3e96-409e-b418-baf807241f7c", MetaClassName = "My_Variation")]
        public class MyVariation : VariationContent
          {
          }
      }
```

See [Catalog content](docId\:dtKmJXKkeJt_wlY1SGzKa)  for information about defining content types.

## Define rendering templates

You can display Commerce Connect catalog content on your website by creating a rendering template (MVC) in the same way you would for the Optimizely Content Management System (CMS) content (see [Rendering](https://world.optimizely.com/documentation/developer-guides/CMS/rendering/)). The following example shows a simple controller for a product variant.

```csharp
using System.Collections.Generic;
    using System.Linq;
    using System.Web.Mvc;
    using EPiServer;
    using EPiServer.Core;
    using EPiServer.Framework.DataAnnotations;
    using EPiServer.Web.Mvc;
    using MyCommerceSite.Models.Catalog;
    
    namespace MyCommerceSite.Controllers
      {
        public class MyVariationController : ContentController<MyVariation>
          {
            public ActionResult Index(MyVariation currentContent)
              {
                return View(currentContent);
              }
          }
      }
```

For the `currentPage` and `currentContent` properties, because the catalog is routed as a [partial route](https://world.optimizely.com/documentation/developer-guides/CMS/routing/partial-routing/) to the CMS route, the `currentPage` gives you the `PageData` that the route is registered under. Default for that is the start page of the site. However, for Commerce Connect content, `currentContent` is the requested catalog content.

For information about templating, see [Rendering](docId\:N9EhLwAoRUYvRy2ef0Rpr).

## Register routing

To use a renderer template, you need to register the catalog content routes. The recommended way is to do it is in an `EPiServer.Framework.IInitializableModule` using the `CatalogRouteHelper`. See [Routing](docId\:bTFdTtNiwm7fl7xF56e7l).