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Nirav Parmar
Nirav Parmar

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How to Leverage Odoo Theming To Customize the Appearance of Your ERP Interface?

If you are an active and successful business owner, driving your business to great profits and continually seeking ways to improve, Odoo ERP software should be on your consideration list. Numerous features make it a better choice for managing business than its competitors, but the highlights are its scalability and customization capabilities.

The software with its in-built tool gives the users and business owners the freedom of customizing the consumer interface and supports the business in every possible way. The customization also includes the management software, which they think suits their business needs and approach the best. You can change the setting themes with Odoo, make the visibility of the ERP gadget better, and emphasize the uniqueness of your brand’s identity.

We will take this explanation further and talk about the importance of Odoo theming, which will help you in creating a custom theme with various ERP offerings.

Significance of Odoo Custom Themes

If you have finally decided to go for the Odoo themes to power your business, you must explore their significance and contribution to your business. Let’s explore:

User-Experience

When you prioritize your customers and users, you will know how much they appreciate a properly designed theme that is easy to navigate. Odoo offers this, and you can design a theme that improves the usability of the ERP system, making it user-friendly.

Brand Consistency

With custom themes, you can make your business retain its unique identity all over the platform, including the ERP gadget. Consistency plays well for your brand recognition while strengthening the image.

Uniqueness

The digital world is filled with similar services and niches, and the only thing that can separate you from the lot is your uniqueness. The option of custom themes helps you by giving your brand a unique appearance and sets you apart from others while ensuring the identity represents your brand’s true value.

Adaptability

One of the best uses of Odoo theming is its adaptability to satisfy all diverse needs of the UI and business strategies by customizing the ERP system. The customization doesn’t take a lot of time and easily adapts to your workforce and operations.

Steps To Create a Custom Odoo Theme

Of course, it does take a few steps to create the customization for the Odoo interface, right from the design to implementation. Here are the steps for the successful creation of a custom theme:

Selection of Active Theme

The first step involves you going to a new page and applying or changing the theme. Once you have selected the “Activate” button.

To apply the theme, select “Choose Your Favorite Theme.” Next, you will be redirected to the website editor view, from there you can select from diverse snippet blocks, themes, and styles.

These are the set of specific requirements you must follow next:

  • Collecting Requirements: This step requires you to understand the needs of your business, branding suggestions, and user satisfaction.
  • Design Mockups: In this, you can create mockup layouts and samples; select the colored scheme, visual elements, fonts, and the format.
  • Feedback and Repetition: After you have selected everything to create a mockup sample, you can gather feedback on the same from the members and rework on the designs until it meets your idea and vision.

Once you have achieved your final results, discuss the theme installation and application on the Odoo 17 website, and here are the steps involved to create a customized Odoo theme module.

Install the Important Files

Image description

The above image shows the important files that are required to create a custom theme. Ensure that all the theme names start with ‘theme’ along with a unique name.

The content of the manifest file uses these supplied codes:

{
‘name’: ‘My Theme,’
‘version’: ‘17.0.1.0.0’,
‘category’: ‘Theme/sub_category’,
‘summary’: ‘Theme summary,’
‘description’: ‘Detailed theme description,’
‘depends’: [‘website’],
‘data’: [
‘views/theme_views.xml’
],
‘assets’: {
‘web.assets_frontend’: [],
},
}

Set Up The Development Ambiance

Post-encoding the theme, delve into the improvement and installation of the critical setup. These are the factors that you must consider for improvement.

Install Odoo: Obviously, you need to install Odoo and ensure that it is configured on your main server.

Tools: Next, go on with installing the improvement tools consisting of (IDE) Integrated Development Environment, Odoo’s Developer Mode, and Version Control System.

Develop The Theme

The developing theme requires coding of the templates based on the designs:

Create a New Module: You can create templates as custom modules in Odoo with the help of the scaffold command and even generate a new module from the same.

Directory Structure: You can set up the module directory, shape, and folder for static documents (JavaScript, Images, and CSS) perspectives, and templates.

Modify Templates: You have the liberty to customize the XML templates for the outline of the layout, along with the shape of the UI factors.

Styling: You get to write custom CSS to style the UI stability with the design features. You can also use LESS or Sass for a feasible CSS module.

JavaScript: You can add JavaScript to improve the connection and competence of the UI components.

Integrate the Theme

Now that you have performed all the steps to integrate the custom theme into the Odoo system, next you must hop on to modify the appearance of the module, including templates, static files, and other dependencies.

You also have a choice to install the custom Odoo theme modules via the Apps menu or the command line. Once you are past this, go on with activating the template and ensure that every crucial thing related to the theme, like templates and others, is also applied.

Testing for Quality Assurance

Ensure that all the changes and modifications are implemented successfully and working just fine; testing is mandatory. Tests will show up if there is any malfunction or failure in implementation, and there are different tests you can run to be certain.

Responsive Design: To ensure that the theme is working and responding not just on the web, but on different gadgets like tablets and smartphones, responsive testing is the solution.

Cross-Browser Testing: Put the theme to test on different browsers to see if all of them support the versions.

User-Testing: User-testing is the most important as a real person conducts the test to see if the theme is user-friendly and can share the feedback with you to make the necessary changes.

Deployment and Maintenance

After implementing and modifying everything required, your theme will be ready to be deployed on different operations and all recent gadgets. Put model operations in use for a smooth deployment.

Things and technicalities may get a bit tricky at this stage for you so it is best to reach out to an Odoo partner. They will help you by educating employers and users about the new interface and by guiding them on how to navigate through it. Based on the need or your choice, you can also keep on updating the theme regularly to ensure integration with evolving variations.

Role of Odoo Development Company

The task of creating and implementing a theme in Odoo can be a difficult task, and the process involved has a lot of complexities. You may have to seek an expert with a deep understanding of the design, development, modification, technicalities, and Odoo’s framework. For reliable services with a 100 percent success rate, hire an Odoo development company.

An Odoo development company specializes in offering custom solutions, including themes. The rest of their role includes:

Technical Knowledge: Technical knowledge is not a bonus but is the backbone of the Odoo framework. An Odoo expert from a verified company is well-learned and has technical knowledge in and out. They can customize themes, templates, JavaScript, and CSS, and provide smooth integration.

Project Management: The experts are also proficient in managing projects and assigning tasks to dedicated teams. They ensure the deployment, testing, and shipping of the products without any delay.

Designing: Experts are also creative when it comes to creating a design that represents your brand perfectly and is visually attractive. They integrate the theme that aligns with your brand’s motive.

Odoo ERP Services

Odoo ERP services come with plenty of services that help you and your business customize a solution that aligns perfectly. These services help the implementation process in a great deal, and some of those effective services are:

Consultation and Strategy: The first step for a successful Odoo implementation is consultation and deciding on the strategies that will help your business, like theme customization, adding third-party apps, and others.

Successful Implementation: Not only will you be guided through the correct features, but you also get assistance with the implementation and configuration for custom themes and others.

User-Training: It is ensured that the employees and customers get educated about using and navigating through the new interface and address any issues.

After Implementation Support and Maintenance: Even after the successful implementation of themes and other features, support and maintenance are offered to eliminate struggles and ensure successful adaptation of the new themes.

Conclusion

Theming in Odoo is a great option to give your business a new identity while retaining the essence. The new and easy appearance can boost your business to gain more sales and popularity. It offers brand reliability, adaptability, and customer satisfaction. A new look, different from others, can help your business become a prominent face.

However, getting confused on your to get started with it is normal, and you can reach out Odoo ERP services right away to get assisted. Make your move today!

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