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Google Sites: How to use Google’s website builder

Google Sites: How to use Google'due south website builder

Google Chrome logo displayed on a smartphone screen
(Image credit: Rafapress/Shutterstock)

Google Sites is the website builder Google includes as part of its free web-based office suite, Google Docs. It'southward a website creation tool with existent-time collaboration features and support for responsive designs, which ways your site will display well on all mobile devices and desktop computers.

If you remember that Google Sites could be one of the all-time website builders for your project, in this article we'll give yous an impression of what's possible, and go over how to become started with this gratuitous tool.

Best paid alternative to Google Sites

How to use Google Sites: Preparation

Google Sites' user interface

Google Sites is a simple and free website-building tool (Image credit: Google Sites)

Earlier starting with Google Sites, you should recognize its pros and cons. Offset, it's free to use. 2nd, it's easy to build a consummate website in no time. Third, Google Sites integrates well with the rest of the Google app family, so if you lot utilise other Google tools, such as Google Bulldoze and Google Maps, you tin can easily utilise your existing content on your Google Sites website.

However, the simplicity of Google Sites can also be a problem. You can simply create basic websites, for case. In that location'due south too no support for ecommerce, and the amount of bachelor customization falls far behind some of the all-time website builders available today.

In November 2020, Google retired the Classic Sites version of the software. Now yous tin can just build using the new Google Sites website builder. Information technology'due south certainly more than streamlined and easier to use, simply information technology lacks a few scripting features that were bachelor in the erstwhile version.

Therefore, Google Sites remains a tool best suited for small hobby websites. If this is all you require, using Google Sites can exist a quick style to go your website online. Let's look at how to get started.

Stride ane: Create a Google account

Google sign in pop up

You need a Google account to use Google Sites (Prototype credit: Google Sites)

Google Sites requires a Google account to use the service, and then if you don't accept i even so or you'd rather create a new account for your website, you'll exist prompted to practise and then on the first page.

To create a new account, y'all must supply your name and e-mail address or create a new Gmail accost equally function of the sign-upwards process. You can optionally supply a telephone number and recovery e-mail address, so that y'all can recover your account if you get locked out of information technology.

Step ii: Choose a template

Google Sites' templates gallery

Google Sites has a modest list of bones templates from which to cull (Image credit: Google Sites)

You start your Google Sites website by choosing a template. There are 13 templates to choose from across the categories of work, small business, education, and personal. You lot can employ these templates equally a base of operations to start from, or instead choose the Blank template to begin from scratch.

Footstep three: Select a theme

Google Sites' website builder in use

Google Sites offers a elementary way to change the style and color of your unabridged website in simply a few clicks (Prototype credit: Google Sites)

Now that your website is loaded in the editor, all the primary tools are available in menus to the right of the screen. The Insert menu is used for adding elements to the currently displayed folio. The Pages menu is used to add together, edit, and remove new spider web pages to your website. The Themes menu is used to change the look and experience of your entire website.

Click on Themes, and select from the curt list of theme options. Besides choosing an overall theme, you can set the dominant colour of the website and cull from 3 pre-selected font styles.

Pace four: Edit on-page text and images

Google Sites' website builder interface in use

Past clicking on text, you lot tin can edit its formatting and replace it with your own (Image credit: Google sites)

Every chemical element on your web pages can be edited past clicking on information technology, and a context-sensitive menu will pop up. A different menu will display if yous click on text versus an paradigm, for instance.

Get started past changing all the text and prototype elements of your primary folio. You can cull bones formatting, such equally bold, italic, and underlining, and arrange text in lists. Y'all can as well add together hyperlinks and edit the layout of your text sections. When yous click on images, y'all tin change the prototype, caption, and link.

Step five: Alter layouts and backgrounds

Google Sites' website builder interface editor in use

Past clicking on the menu to the left of a section, yous tin alter groundwork settings (Epitome credit: Google Sites)

You're not stuck with the initial layout of the template. By clicking on a card to the left of each page section, you'll find options for rearranging, duplicating, and deleting sections. You can select from alternative background options to give accent to sure sections, and even set an epitome as the groundwork.

Step six: Add together page widgets

Google Sites' Google Maps widget in use

You can add together a map to your website using the Google Maps widget tool (Prototype credit: Google Sites)

In the Insert carte, yous'll notice a list of 14 preset widgets that you can use on your pages. These range from buttons and dividers to charts and forms. To add a new widget to your webpage, click on information technology and a new section volition exist added. For most widgets, yous'll be presented with a few setup options that dictate how the widget volition look and behave.

Step seven: Add more pages

Google Sites' pages menu within the website builder interface

Click on the Pages carte du jour to add together and remove pages on your website (Paradigm credit: Google Sites)

You can add new pages to your website by clicking on the big Plus push on the Pages bill of fare. Pages that y'all add will exist automatically added to the website navigation menu. If you right-click on a page in the list, you can choose to set the page as the homepage, indistinguishable the page, add sub-pages, hide it from the navigation menu, or delete it birthday.

Step 8: Publish your website

Google Sites' publication pop up

Y'all need to select a unique proper name for your website that hasn't been used by anyone else (Paradigm credit: Google Sites)

Up to this point, your website hasn't been attainable to the public. To publish your Google Sites website, click on the bluish Publish button at the top correct of the interface. Yous'll be asked for a unique binder name, where your website will be bachelor - for example, if you set the web address to mymathproject, your website would be available at sites.google.com/view/mymathproject.

You can choose to buy your own meridian-level website domain that points to your Google Sites website. Later buying a domain through a domain name registrar, such every bit Google Domains or GoDaddy, you will need to point the domain proper noun to ghs.googlehosted.com on the registrar website.

An interesting feature of Google Sites is the option to continue your Google Sites website private and only share it with specific people.

Summary

With Google Sites, it'south possible to make a professional-looking free website, but its limitations restrict it to hobby or school project sites.


Further reading on website builders

To find a more than powerful costless website creation tool, consider our listing of the best free web hosting services, many of which come with a gratis website-building tool. If you're willing to pay a subscription, the best website builders have many more features than Google Sites, while the all-time web hosting services offer more secure and reliable hosting.

Richard brings over 20 years of website development, SEO, and marketing to the table. A graduate in Information science, Richard has lectured in Coffee programming and has built software for companies including Samsung and ASDA. At present, he writes for TechRadar, Tom'southward Guide, PC Gamer, and Creative Bloq.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/features/google-sites-how-to-use-googles-website-builder

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