Website Builder Bootcamp
Learn to Build Websites in Odoo
In this Odoo course we explore the powerful and easy-to-use Odoo Website Builder application. Over 90 minutes long, this Odoo website builder 'bootcamp' will get you started making websites with Odoo right away.
Why Should I use Odoo Website Builder?
What are the advantages and disadvantages to using Odoo for your Website / CMS
Beginning with Odoo version 8, Odoo has included an easy to use website building application. In this article we will look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of using Odoo for your website or content management system (CMS).
Advantages of using Odoo for your website
Let's discuss a few of the main advantages of using Odoo for your website
The Odoo website builder is very easy to use. One area that Odoo's website builder really excels is that it is very easy to use. Even compared to extremely popular content managers such as Word Press, Odoo is remarkably easy to get started with building good looking web pages. You edit the pages in place and don't have to go to specialized forms or screens to edit content on your site. On a scale of 1 to 10. Odoo's website builder in my opinion deserve a 9 or 10. Most importantly, content is well displayed and it's not hard to have a good looking website with a little bit of effort.
Great Integration with Other Odoo applications. Another big advantage of using Odoo as your website builder is the integration with Odoo's backend application such as sales, e-commerce, and accounting and finance. When a user creates a shopping cart it appears as a draft order in sales. Even if they never checkout the data is there for you to see shopping patterns on your website. When the user makes a purchase the sales order is confirmed and the payment details are saved right there in the sales order. While other content managers are scrambling to bolt on accounting and finance features, Odoo already has a robust set of applications you can integrate with.
The framework is customizable and extendable. Like other Odoo applications, Odoo's web framework can be customized and extended with additional modules. Using the qWeb template language, you can create dynamic templates that integrate with Odoo models and actions. Just like developing for traditional Odoo applications, you can create new features and applications without modifying any of the base Odoo source code.
Disadvantages of using Odoo for your website
Unfortunately there are some downsides in using Odoo for your website. Here are a few of the most important to consider in your decision.
It is difficult to find Odoo website designers. Compared to platforms like WordPress, it can be a challenge to find designers that have worked with Odoo's web framework. This may not be a problem if you are happy with the themes that are available and you have very simple website requirements. However if you want a cutting edge website with the latest dynamic features and a great custom theme, you may have more options with another website framework. Also, if something goes wrong and you are getting a vague Internal Server Error, it is going to be more difficult to find a capable Odoo developer/server expert that can step in and give you assistance as compared to more popular website builders.
There are few themes available and most are expensive. Largely because of the lack of website designers for the Odoo website application there is also a lack of quality themes. On top of that, even with a small number of themes they also tend to be very expensive compared to themes in other content managers. If you can find the theme you like it maybe well worth the $100-$300 for a quality Odoo theme. But if you are on a budget and/or you can't find a theme you like you may need to look at alternative website builders.
It is difficult to upgrade to new versions without enterprise. Unlike many platforms, Odoo does not provide direct upgrades from one version to the next unless you pay for an enterprise license. Even if you do pay for an enterprise license, it can be weeks if not months of waiting for them to upgrade your database to the next version. As I'm writing this article I'm aware of an enterprise customer that has been waiting nearly six months to have their database migrated from Odoo version 10 to Odoo version 11. If you have the community edition, upgrading from Odoo 10 to Odoo 11 is all your responsibility. It is also extremely challenging and can only be attempted by those with advanced technical expertise in the Odoo framework.
What is in this course?
This course walks you through how to use the Odoo website builder from the very beginning. We cover each and every tool and block to make sure you have a complete understanding of all your options. Throughout the course we reference real-world examples and how you can use the Odoo website builder to create a website for your company.
Your Instructor
Greg Moss started working with personal computers at 12 years old. At age 15, he wrote his first paid business application, a loan management application for First American Acceptance Corporation. A few months later Greg developed a statistical application to process surveys for John A Logan College. Now more than 30 years later, Greg has produced hundreds of commercial applications and training courses, and has been involved in numerous enterprise application projects.
In addition to completing degrees in Business Administration and Information Systems Design, Greg is a Certified Information Systems Auditor, a Six Sigma Black Belt, and holds an Information Assurance Certification from Carnegie Mellon University. In addition to his successful consulting practice, Greg has worked in positions as a Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and excels in delivering technology-enabled growth to companies. He is an experienced digital marketer and focuses on real-world results and solutions.
Greg is the founder of First Class Ventures, LLC and OdooClass.com. Over the past 8 years Greg has produced over 200 video courses covering business application development and game design.
Greg is the author of Working with Odoo, Working with Odoo 10, Working with Odoo 11, Working with Odoo 12, and Learn Odoo.