Mastering the Odoo 18 Website Form: A Step-by-Step Guide to Seamless Backend Record Creation

Are you looking to streamline your data collection processes and empower your website visitors to directly interact with your Odoo backend? Look no further! The Odoo 18 Website Form is a powerful, intuitive tool that allows you to create dynamic web forms, capturing information directly into your Odoo database without any complex coding.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through creating an effective website form in Odoo 18, demonstrating how submitted data automatically generates records in your Odoo backend. We’ll use a “Contact Us” form as our prime example, showing you how to capture leads, inquiries, or any other vital information with ease.

This tutorial is based on the insights from the following helpful video: Create Website Form to Save Backend Records in Odoo 18 ｜ Example： Contact Form with Required Fields

Why Leverage the Odoo 18 Website Form?

In today’s digital landscape, a website is more than just an online brochure; it’s a dynamic hub for interaction and data capture. Integrating a robust web form directly with your ERP system, like Odoo, offers a multitude of benefits:

• Efficiency & Automation: Say goodbye to manual data entry! When a visitor submits an Odoo 18 Website Form, the information automatically populates the relevant module (e.g., CRM, Contacts, Sales, Helpdesk). This automation saves valuable time, reduces human error, and ensures your team can focus on higher-value tasks.
• Enhanced Data Accuracy: By directly capturing data from the source, you minimize the risk of transcription errors that often occur during manual input.
• Improved User Experience: Providing a simple, direct way for users to submit inquiries, apply for jobs, or register for events enhances their experience and encourages engagement.
• Scalability: As your business grows, the ability to effortlessly manage increasing volumes of online submissions becomes critical. The Odoo 18 Website Form is designed to scale with your needs.
• Streamlined Workflows: Incoming form submissions can trigger automated actions within Odoo, such as assigning a lead to a sales representative, sending a confirmation email, or creating a task for a support agent. This seamless integration transforms passive inquiries into actionable business processes.
• Centralized Information: All your critical customer and lead data resides within your Odoo system, providing a 360-degree view of your interactions and preventing data silos.

Whether you’re looking to generate new leads, facilitate customer service requests, manage event registrations, or collect feedback, mastering the Odoo 18 Website Form is an invaluable skill for any Odoo user or administrator.

Prerequisites for Building Your Odoo 18 Website Form

Before we dive into the step-by-step process, ensure you have the following in place:

• Odoo 18 Installation: Access to an Odoo 18 instance (Community or Enterprise).
• Developer Mode Activated: This is crucial for accessing the “Technical” settings and enabling model options. You can activate it by going to Settings > Activate the developer mode (usually found at the bottom right of the settings page).

Step-by-Step Tutorial: Creating a Contact Form with Odoo 18 Website Form

Our goal is to create a “Contact Us” page with a form that, upon submission, automatically creates a new contact record in your Odoo backend’s Contacts application.

1. Enabling the Model for Your Odoo 18 Website Form

The first critical step is to ensure that the Odoo model you intend to populate via the form is configured to accept website submissions. For our contact form example, we’ll use the partner model, which corresponds to the “Contacts” application.

• Navigate to Settings.
• With Developer Mode activated, click on Technical in the main menu.
• Scroll down to the “Database Structure” section and click on Models.
• In the search bar, type partner and select the “Partner” model (often labeled res.partner).
• Once on the Partner model’s details page, scroll down to the Website Form section.
• Ensure the “Allowed to Use Form” checkbox is checked. This setting is vital; it tells Odoo that this specific model can be interacted with directly through website forms. If it’s not checked, your form won’t be able to create records for this model.
• Click Save.

This foundational step prepares your Odoo backend to receive data from an Odoo 18 Website Form.

2. Creating or Editing Your Web Page in Odoo 18

Now, let’s turn our attention to the frontend – your Odoo website. We need a page where your Odoo 18 Website Form will live.

• Go to the Website application from your Odoo dashboard.
• You can either edit an existing page or create a new one. For this example, let’s create a new page for our contact form. Click on the “New” button (or the plus icon) in the top right corner and select “Page.”
• Give your new page a title, for instance, “Create Contact” or “Contact Us.”
• Click “Create.”

You will now be in the website editor, ready to design your page and add the form.

3. Adding the Odoo 18 Website Form Building Block

Odoo’s website builder is incredibly user-friendly, utilizing a drag-and-drop interface.

• While in the website editor, you’ll see a panel of “Building Blocks” on the left side of your screen.
• Scroll down or search for the “Form” building block.
• Drag and Drop the “Form” block onto your newly created page. You can place it anywhere you like, perhaps within a “Structure” block for better layout.

Once dropped, a default form will appear, typically with fields like “Your Name,” “Email,” and “Phone Number.” This is the base for your Odoo 18 Website Form.

4. Configuring Your Form Action for Backend Creation

After adding the form, click on it directly on your website page. This will open the customization options panel, usually on the right side of the editor. This is where you define what happens when someone submits the form.

• In the “Form” options panel, locate the “Form Action” dropdown.
• Select “Create Customer.” This action specifically tells Odoo to create a new record in the res.partner (Contact) model, treating the submission as a new customer lead. Other options, like “Apply for Job” or “Create Opportunity,” would link to different Odoo models and functionalities. Choosing the correct form action is paramount for your Odoo 18 Website Form to function as intended.

5. Customizing and Adding Fields to Your Odoo 18 Website Form

The default form provides a good starting point, but you’ll likely want to customize existing fields and add new ones relevant to your needs.

• Editing Existing Fields:
  • Click on a field on the form (e.g., “Your Name”).
  • In the right-hand options panel, you can:
    • Change the Label: Edit “Your Name” to something more specific like “Full Name” or “Write Your Name.”
    • Set as Required: Check the “Required” box. This makes the field mandatory for submission, ensuring you collect essential information. For a contact form, it’s highly recommended to make “Name” and “Email” required fields.
• Adding New Fields:
  • Click the “Add a Field” button within the form configuration options.
  • A pop-up will appear asking for the field type. Choose “Existing Field” as we want to map this directly to an Odoo model field.
  • From the “Existing Field” dropdown, select the desired field from the res.partner model. For instance, you might want to add “Company Name” or “Website Link.”
  • If you select “Website Link,” you can then also mark it as “Required” if you deem it necessary for your contact form.
  • Click “Save” to add the field to your form.

You can rearrange fields by dragging them within the form, making your Odoo 18 Website Form intuitive and aesthetically pleasing.

6. Saving and Testing Your Odoo 18 Website Form

Once you’re satisfied with your form’s design and field configurations, it’s time to save and test it.

• In the top right corner of the website editor, click the “Save” button. This will publish your changes and make your new Odoo 18 Website Form live on your website.
• Now, navigate to the page where you’ve embedded the form (e.g., your “Contact Us” page).
• Fill out the form with some test data. Be creative! For example:
  • Name: “Test Customer Form”
  • Email: “test@example.com”
  • Phone Number: “123-456-7890”
  • Website Link: “www.testwebsite.com”
  • Company Name: “Test Company Inc.”
• Click the “Submit” button.

Upon successful submission, Odoo typically displays a confirmation message, often a simple “Thank You!” This indicates the data has been sent to your Odoo backend.

7. Verifying the Backend Records Created by Your Odoo 18 Website Form

The final step is to confirm that your Odoo 18 Website Form has successfully created a record in your Odoo database.

• Go back to your Odoo dashboard.
• Navigate to the Contacts application.
• In the search bar, type the name you used in your test submission (e.g., “Test Customer Form”).
• You should see a new contact record populated with all the information you entered through the web form: the name, email, phone number, company, and website link.

This successful verification confirms that your Odoo 18 Website Form is fully functional, seamlessly bridging your website’s frontend with your Odoo backend.

Beyond the Basics: Advanced Tips for Your Odoo 18 Website Form

The possibilities with the Odoo 18 Website Form extend far beyond a simple contact form. Consider these advanced tips to maximize its potential:

• Customizing Form Appearance: While the functional aspects are critical, the form’s aesthetics contribute to user experience. Odoo’s website builder allows you to extensively customize the form’s styling (colors, fonts, spacing) using the standard building blocks and design tools. You can wrap your form in different layout blocks, add backgrounds, and align elements to match your brand.
• Automating Responses and Workflows: After a form submission, you can configure automated actions within Odoo. For example, using Odoo’s Marketing Automation or CRM rules, you can:
  • Send an automatic “Thank You” email to the submitter.
  • Assign the new contact as a “Lead” to a specific sales team or user.
  • Create a follow-up task for your team.
  • Trigger an SMS notification.
  • Link to external CRM systems or other marketing tools for lead nurturing.
• Other Use Cases: Think beyond just contacts!
  • Job Application Forms: Create forms that populate the hr.applicant model (Recruitment module).
  • Event Registration Forms: Link to the event.registration model (Events module).
  • Support Ticket Forms: Populate the helpdesk.ticket model (Helpdesk module).
  • Product Inquiry Forms: Capture specific product-related questions directly into a sales opportunity.
  • Survey Forms: While Odoo has a dedicated “Surveys” app, you can use the website form builder for simpler feedback forms that save data to a custom model.
• Data Validation and Security: Odoo handles basic data validation (e.g., email format). For more complex validation or to prevent spam, consider integrating CAPTCHA (though Odoo’s default forms often have some spam protection) or implementing custom server-side validation if you delve into Odoo’s developer capabilities. Always be mindful of data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR) when collecting personal information.
• Creating Custom Fields: If the standard Odoo model doesn’t have a field for the specific data you need to capture, you can easily create a Custom Field directly on the model via Developer Mode. Once created, it will appear in the “Existing Field” dropdown when configuring your Odoo 18 Website Form.

Troubleshooting Common Issues with Your Odoo 18 Website Form

While Odoo’s form builder is robust, you might encounter minor hiccups. Here are some common issues and their solutions:

• Form Not Appearing or Not Submitting:
  • Check Developer Mode: Ensure Developer Mode is still active.
  • Verify “Allowed to Use Form”: Double-check the model (e.g., res.partner) in Technical > Models to confirm “Allowed to Use Form” is checked.
  • Save the Page: Make sure you clicked “Save” in the website editor after adding and configuring the form.
  • Form Action: Ensure you’ve selected a valid “Form Action” (e.g., “Create Customer”).
• Data Not Appearing in Backend:
  • Incorrect Field Mapping: Check that the fields on your form are correctly mapped to “Existing Fields” in Odoo’s model. If you created a custom field, ensure its technical name matches.
  • Required Fields Not Filled: If a required field on the form was left blank, the submission might fail without a clear error message on the frontend. Test by filling all required fields.
  • Permissions: Ensure the user submitting the form (public user) has the necessary access rights to create records in the target model. This is usually handled automatically for standard form actions, but custom models might require configuration.
• Form Looks Broken/Styling Issues:
  • CSS Conflicts: If you’ve added custom CSS or other building blocks, they might interfere. Try isolating the form on a new, blank page to see if the issue persists.
  • Clear Browser Cache: Sometimes, old cached files can cause display issues.

For more complex issues, consulting the Odoo documentation or the active Odoo community forums can provide valuable insights and solutions.

Conclusion: Empower Your Website with Odoo 18 Website Form

The Odoo 18 Website Form is an incredibly powerful feature that empowers businesses to capture essential data directly from their website visitors, seamlessly integrating it with their Odoo backend. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can quickly set up sophisticated web forms that automate data entry, improve accuracy, and streamline your business processes.

Whether you’re collecting leads, handling customer inquiries, or managing registrations, leveraging the Odoo 18 Website Form will significantly enhance your online presence and operational efficiency. Start building your custom forms today and unlock the full potential of your Odoo system!

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Further Reading & Resources:

• Odoo Official Website: Explore more about Odoo’s capabilities and modules.
• Odoo Documentation: Dive deeper into specific Odoo features and technical guides.
• Odoo CRM Module: Learn how to manage your customer relationships effectively.
• Odoo Sales Module: Discover how to automate your sales processes.

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