Can you really build a free website?

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Can you really create a great looking website and get it hosted for free? Well, the Squarespace site says no, it's going to cost you $14 a month. The Wix website says no, as well, and even if you do pay this smaller amount, you're going to get ads on top of your site. And Weebly says it's free to use, but wait a minute, we can't even connect a custom domain to that account, that means you're going to have this somewhere in your URL. But don't fret, if you want a 100% free website builder with free hosting and a free custom domain in your first year, I've got the solution for you. Odoo is a website builder specifically designed for businesses, and yes, it is 100% free, including hosting and domain,

Getting started with Odoo

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so let's get started. All you need to do is travel to the Odoo website and we're going to select create your website. And what I love about the Odoo process is that all we need to do is give a little bit of information and then we're off to the races, we can create our website in a matter of minutes. So all I need to do is just fill in some basic information and hit that Start Now button. Now, you've probably familiar with other website builders which give you a number of templates to choose from, but you can tell that Odoo is designed specifically for businesses, because we're going to get right to the core of it, we're going to get right to your business or your needs in just a few steps. I'm going to select let's do it, and the first thing is, what kind of website are we looking for? Because remember, a business website is a little bit different than an online store, versus a blog or an event, or if you're hosting a number of courses.

Now, the great thing about Odoo is that we can layer these things on, but let's start with that business website. And all you need to do in the next step is start to type in,

are you maybe a pet store or a pet grooming business, something along those lines,

maybe I'm a consultant, I mean, I am a consultant, so why don't we go with that? I'm going to be a consultant business in this case. And what is my main objective?

Because again, different websites have different purposes. In this case, I'm going to say that it is to get leads, so I'm going to select that option here. I can choose from one of the pre-made palettes, one of the color palettes here, I'm going to go with, kind of like this color scheme here,

Adding pages and features

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but this is where I think things really stand apart from many other website builders.

I'm going to add the pages that I want or that I need, but nothing more, nothing less. Yes, I want an About Us page, a Services, and maybe I want to add a Live Chat feature, as well. I can continue to layer and add other things, but not only does this get me to my destination of creating my website that much faster, it's going to allow me to customize my website that much easier. So I'm going to say, build my website,

and on the very next screen, I get to choose my theme. Now I've got three different ones to choose from, which is ideal. I don't have time to sift through 100 or 200 different templates, these are very different and distinct. I kind of like the way that things are going on here, but I also like these diagonal blocks that we have here.

So I'm going to pick that middle one here. And it may take a few seconds, it may take up to a minute, depending on how many pages, how many different things that we selected previously, but it's going to take all of that information. Yes, it's a business website, yes, I'm a consulting business and I'm wanting to gain more leads and build me my own custom website that I can start editing immediately. And before you know it, you've got your website ready for you to fill in all of those additional details.

Editing blocks and content

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So everything from the fonts, the layout, even many of the images you see here are going to be very suitable for a business consulting business. Look at even these three pictures here, this is going to fit very well for my business. Now I can edit, and I probably will edit a number of these things, but if you want to quickly create a great looking website, this is a great place to start. Almost everything is editable just by clicking on any field. So if I want to change the title here and say, let's get started, something like that, something to get them enticed, get them ready to work with me.

But on the right hand side of the screen, this is where I think things get really special

with features that you won't find in other website builders, including such things as Squarespace and Wix, is the number of building blocks that we can add to our page.

Yeah, you're going to find a few common things, such as an image gallery, for example, or text, or heading, but what if I want something that looks a little more special? What if I want something that has something like maybe a comparisons?

All I need to do is drag that onto the left hand side of the screen, and look at this great pricing model that is just ready for me to start changing the titles. No, it's not $65, I increase that to $75, and I can start adding and editing those details right here.

Some of my other favorite blocks that I love to use, down below, for example, if I want to make a comparison of items, let's say I am selling something on my website,  I can use this items block, just going to drag it in over here, perfect. So I can have my different services listed here, as well.

Advanced editing features

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Now, another great feature of Odoo is that even when you are bringing in your building blocks and elements into your website, are the number of customizations

in which you can change when it comes to those blocks. So for example, maybe I think that this image is a little doll, so I'm going to select it in this case, and I'm going to come over here and select Shape. Now what I can do is I can pick something

that maybe jazzes things up just a little bit, right? Things that just sort of change it up

in some way, shape, or form, but I can even go one step further and change the animation of this image, as well. So for example, maybe I want it to slide down or fade in from the left when someone scrolls to this part of the website, well.

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So unlike many other free or popular website builders, which don't give you this level of customization, you can do so right here within Odoo. And don't forget, because we selected those additional pages when we first set up our website, they're here and ready for us to start digging in. So I already have an About Us page, just waiting for me to start and edit and fill in this information with things that are relevant to my company. But what if I want more than just this? What if I need some more advanced features? Well, the great thing about Odoo is that you can add on as you go.

Adding e-commerce and cart to website

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So here in the top left hand corner, I'm going to select this little app icon, you can see this little grid here in the top left hand of the page. And what that's going to do is open up the other things that are not only available to me, such as the live chat, you may remember that I said I wanted to enable a live chat for my website, but if I go over here and select Apps, I now have access to all of the Odoo apps that are available to me. Now this may be a lengthy list for you to get through, but trust me, if you're a business owner, you're going to want to work through this. Why? Because Odoo is more than just a website builder. It can be a complete solution for your business, including things such as point of sale,or subscriptions, or invoicing, or almost anything that you could use for your business. Now, in this case, I might want to filter my results to just a website in this case. So yeah, I want to add some eCommerce to my website. All I need to do is hit the Install button, and in just a few seconds, it will apply that to my account. And yes, eCommerce is absolutely free when you create a website with Odoo. That's certainly one of the nice advantages

of using a system like this, rather than getting lost with all of the many different options and having a service try to get you to install or try and get you to engage

with things you really don't need, you can only bring in those components as you need to. So for example, I haven't created any products here, so all I need to do is select New in the top right hand corner of the screen. And in this case, we're not adding a new page to our website, we're going to be adding a new product.

Let's call this product A Cool T-shirt, the type of t-shirt that every single person on the planet wants to buy. So immediately, I can start and upload my image here on the left hand side, change my pricing and how pricing is displayed, and everything from the theme. Maybe I want a different button color on my cart, then something else. I have many of the same blocks and structures and features available to me here on the right hand side, but now I have a fully functioning cart, and eCommerce suite as a part of my website.

Adding business apps to your website

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But remember, you always have access to the full app library. So for example, if I'm focusing on sales, maybe I want to add a CRM system directly as a part of my website. So when someone signs up within my website, I don't have to create some type of connection or API to another system, I can do it right here. Maybe I want to set up a subscription service or manage rentals right here from within my website, right within my Odoo account, I can do so here, as well.

Odoo support and history

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Now, if you're worried that this sounds a little too good to be true, or that you've never heard of Odoo before, don't be. Odoo has been in business for more than 17 years with more than 1,700 employees and 7 million users. That's a lot of sevens, but seven is a lucky number, and here is your lucky number. 100% free website builde with free website hosting and a free custom domain. To take advantage of this, be sure to click the link in the description down below. And if you're wanting to create a free mobile app for your business, be sure to check out this video and playlist next.

Remember, being productive does not need to be difficult. In fact, it's very simple.