Read my high level overview of the process you need to go through to set up your Google Sites website
Ever wonderd what's involved in creating and publishing a website using Google Sites? Here's my end to end view of what you need to do, some useful links and a couple of 'watch outs' too.
Got questions? Contact me.
If you want your website to be on the Internet with your own domain name, e.g., mybusiness.com - you need a domain. Here's how you get one:
Choose a Domain Registrar: Go to a domain registrar like Google Domains, GoDaddy, or Namecheap.
Search for a Domain: Enter the name you want for your website (e.g., www.yourwebsite.com).
Purchase the Domain: Follow the checkout process to purchase your domain. You may also choose privacy protection (to hide your personal details) and auto-renewal options.
Tip: I use Porkbun and they work well with Google Sites.
Your Google Sites website will 'live' in your Google drive, which you can access from your PC. Dedicated website hosting isn't required, so you can access your website whenever you want to, direct from your PC.
Sign Up: Go to accounts.google.com and create an account if you don't have one.
Sign In: If you already have a Google account, sign in.
Now let's actually fire up the Google Sites software.
Access Google Sites: Visit sites.google.com and sign in with your Google account.
Create a New Site: Click on the "Blank" template or choose a pre-designed template to start building your site. This opens the 'site editor' where you can insert your content.
Now you can build your website. Use the drag and drop editor to create pages, insert the sections, and add the words and images as you require.
Add Pages: Click on the "Pages" tab and create new pages as needed (e.g., Home, About, Contact).
Add Content: Use the "Insert" tab to add text, images, videos, and other content blocks to your pages.
Customise the look and feel: Use the "Themes" tab to choose a theme and customise the look of your site (colors, fonts, etc.).
Tip: If you don't want to use one of the standard themes you could one of my ready-made free or premium templates.
You can see how the world will see your website by using the 'preview' mode, so you can check it looks awesome on all screen sizes.
Preview: Click on the "Preview" button (eye icon) to see how your site will look on different devices (desktop, tablet, mobile).
Make Adjustments: Go back and make any changes if needed based on the preview.
Now make your site available on the Internet. It will still live in your Google Drive, but a copy of it will be uploaded to Google's servers and made visible on the Internet. Cool huh?
Click "Publish": When you're ready, click the "Publish" button in the top-right corner.
Choose a Web Address: Google will ask you to choose a web address. Use a Google Sites subdomain (e.g., sites.google.com/view/yourwebsite) or proceed to connect your custom domain.
Connecting your website to a domain gives your visitor a professional, branded experience.
Open Settings: After publishing, click on the "Settings" gear icon in Google Sites.
Custom Domains: Select "Custom domains" and click on "Start setup."
Verify Domain Ownership: Follow the prompts to verify ownership of your domain, which usually involves signing in to your domain registrar and adding a TXT or CNAME record.
Connect the Domain: After verification, Google Sites will guide you through connecting your domain. This may take a few minutes to a few hours to fully propagate.
In Google Sites you can restrict who sees your website. Make sure it's set to 'public' if you want the world to see it.
Choose Who Can View: In the "Publish" settings, you can decide if your site is public (visible to everyone) or restricted (only visible to specific people).
Unpublish If Needed: If you want to take your site offline temporarily, you can "Unpublish" it from the same settings menu.
You're typically using your website to promote your product, service or brand. Check for typos, poor grammar, low quality images, poor user experience etc and fix it before someone else points it out to you.
Visit Your Domain: After the domain connection is complete, visit your domain (e.g., www.yourwebsite.com) to ensure everything is working correctly.
Fix Any Issues: If something doesn’t look right, go back into Google Sites and adjust your settings or content.
Google likes updated content. Keep your website fresh and up to date.
Regular Updates: Keep your content fresh by regularly updating your website.
Renew Domain: Ensure your domain is set to auto-renew to avoid losing it.
You now have a fully functioning Google Sites website connected to your custom domain.
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