Create Google Site

How to Create a Basic Website with Google Sites

Getting Started

Go to https://sites.google.com.
Create a new site:

Hit this first

Then this

First Things to Update

Change your page title by clicking to edit.
Change your site title (upper left).

Change the Logo and Site name

Click the upper left corner to edit the site name, which will appear on every page.

Then click "Add logo" and upload an image to be displayed on your nav bar.

Do you want a little icon next to your website what it's in a browser tab? This is the Favicon - upload an image and it will appear as a tiny logo in the browser window/tab.

Add Content

Just like a Google Document, you can add text and images. You can also show PDF's and documents from your Google Drive.

Text

You can change the style, font, etc...

Add links with Ctrl-K (or Command-K on Mac)

Images

Upload images, or select from your Google Drive.

Embed

If you want to add random HTML or Javascript, more advanced...

Drive

Embed files from your Google Drive, such as PDF, document.

PITFALL! Google Drive embedded files will not show up for most people accessing your site from a government computer.

Content Blocks

There are many other things you can add to your page. Experiment and have fun!

Alternatively, double click anywhere on the page and get this pop-up menu with most commonly added items.

The menu on the right lets you scroll through things that can be added to the page.

Publish Your Site

Once it's ready, you can publish to the web.

Make sure the site is Public

Ensure Google Drive Files are Public

Easy way to do this is to create a folder on your Google Drive, and make the entire folder Public for all viewers.

The below screenshots are from Google Drive, showing how to make a public folder. Everything you drag into this folder is viewable publically. To add a file to your website, first copy it to this folder. Then, back at your site editor, add the file ensuring you pick the version stored in this public folder.

Make a new folder.

Click Share.

Share the folder with anybody who has the link. Now any file you add to this filder is viewable by the entire world. So if you want to post something on your site, just include it here, and then add a link or Google Embed it on your page.

Add More Pages

New pages are automatically added to the menu.

Add an outside page to the menu by adding a "New link."

Made a Mistake?

You can revert!

Access previous versions of you page with "Version history," and revert if needed.

Other Things To Try

Customize your headers, including the header size and a custom image.
Change the template to dress up you site.
Add a footer that displays on every page.
Get a custom URL and feel a surge of dot-com adrenaline.
Add analytics to find out what kind of people visit your page.
Preview your page, including how it will look on a cell phone.
Unpublish your site if you need to take a break.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse