Why is google sites free

Additionally, Google handles your security issues…since it is one and the same as your email account. Like security, Google handles your speed considerations. Now — there are plenty of negatives with Google Sites. Well, Google Sites has plenty of negatives. But the summary is that Google Sites is very feature-limited and not really meant for long-term website projects hence the simplicity.

I like to use real estate as an analogy. Your template limits exactly what you can and cannot edit. And — you have very few templates to choose from in the first place. You cannot add or edit CSS and add any kind of interactivity. The text box is super-basic.

The design features on offer are simple and straightforward — but they are all Google Drive related design tools. The templates create responsive websites that look good on all devices but impose strict limits on everything to make this feature happen.

As a professional marketer , this negative is particularly glaring. Now — if you get all your traffic from offline methods, direct web referrals , or word of mouth then these tools may not matter. However, since marketing data is only as useful as the amount of historical data you have — if you ever have plans to grow or use other marketing channels , then Google Sites will not be a good option. Unlike Classic Google Sites, there is no option to add a custom domain name.

The feature might be coming since Google rolled out custom domains to the new Google Sites for G Suite subscribers only. Either way — this is a major downside for Google Sites as a business or even a personal website. While not strictly necessary for a successful website, a domain name is fundamental for any long-term project. Google is notorious for killing off products — including really popular ones.

If you are running a business or even a personal site on Google Sites, you should be aware that it could go away at some point in the future and you should have a plan for that.

Google Sites is a good product that serves a purpose — but how does it compare directly with other products in the website builder world? I reviewed Squarespace. If you have a small, temporary project, then Google Sites will be the fit. Squarespace is pricey and has its own learning curve. But — if you have a long-term business or personal project and you value well-done templates that display high-quality photography, then Squarespace will be a better fit.

It's modern-looking, clean and unencumbered. The only ones who don't like are web-techies and websites like this who can't earn income from it. The web isn't all about business and income, so website building should be judged against those criteria. If you are service- or people-oriented, if you want to pass on information in a simple, clean way OR if you are your own web techie, then Google Sites is ideal.

Good insight, however, you have mentioned that on Google Sites it is easy to use Google Adsense. What I read on Google Sites terms and conditions that no advertising is allowed on their platform. Google Adsense can only be used for websites deployed on Google Cloud, which is a paid platform. Funny how you guys show the "Get a Wix website" pop-up. Seems biased to me :D and this is just the option that gives you the highest commission. As stated above, google Sites does the job for a simple website without many features.

You can use it to write blogs, present your services and products not sell them though and have your virtual business card in place.

Why spend money on more if you don't need more? I use Google sites for fun, and it meets my needs The problem is that there's no way to put a comment in there. Basically, I have to create a Google form, copy the link, and then create a button on my site and put the link in it! I have to check my email all the time for comment forms, and then manually put the comment on my website! It's exhausting, and unlike other websites, the comment won't be there immediately!

But besides that, and no blogging tools, I like Google sites. My business use Google Sites and I'm happy. To evaluate a product, you need criteria. Can I find a better solution? Yes, absolutely. But, it will require more efforts I'm very disappointed, My old site was simple and looked good. Now you can't select the typeface you have to go with a Theme with less choice. The conversion has done all sorts of nasty things to my site. It's an archive for an old art project space I ran and I don't want to have to redesign the whole site a fresh.

It reflected the time it was designed. The atmosphere of my old site has been destroyed. Google still offers a great user experience, and it lives up to its reputation of connecting all your work across Google apps and tools. Is Google Sites really free? Google Sites is an app that you can access for free, so long as you have a Google account. Since there are no paid plans, all features are available by default. That said, these features are fairly limited, which makes it particularly difficult to built a blog, an online store, or any other more complex website.

Most of our top 10 website builders for have free plans with access to more templates and built-in functionality. Ask questions, share your knowledge, and get inspired by other Zapier users. Video courses designed to help you become a better Zapier user. Learn about automation anytime, anywhere with our on-demand webinar library.

Share and collaborate on work with your team in Zapier. Manage multiple teams with advanced administrative controls in Zapier. Building a new website seems like an impossibly hard task, something that'd take a few hours at best and a few weeks or months at worst.

You'd never make a new website just to share a couple reports or write about a project you're working on. You could, however. With the newly redesigned Google Sites—one of Google's best yet least known apps—you can build a full website for free in minutes. It's one of the best hidden features in your new G Suite account, and a simple way to build a modern intranet for your company.

Google Sites has been part of Google's suite of apps since , when it was launched as a simple website builder. The original version looked very similar to Google Docs—and the resulting websites looked a bit like documents with a search bar at the top.

You could format text, embed images, documents, or videos, and even insert your own HTML code if you wanted to add more features. Everything was laid out in tables, so you could have a single or multiple-column layout for your content.

Then, in late , Google revamped Google Sites, giving it a design quite similar to the new Google Forms. It uses a one-column design like many modern websites, and it makes it easier than ever to lay out your site, with all the tools organized into a sidebar or a popover menu that appears when you select text on your site. Both app versions are still available—you can choose which editor you'd like to use when creating a new site.

The newer one includes a cleaner design, and is easier to use, while the older version includes a few extra features including an option to track changes to the page so you can go back to a previous version. Either way, they're a great way to quickly build a website or intranet for your team. Tip: The new Google Sites doesn't include version control, so you can't undo changes others made to your site.

For that and other more wiki-like features, you might want to keep using the older Google Sites editor for now. Maybe you want to make a detailed site with pages and pages of info, as Mary Fran did with details about Google apps. Perhaps you've built an online course, and would like to share it with the world as Photoweb did with the older Google Sites. And, it's free. With just a standard Google account, you can make as many Google Sites as you want for free. The new Google Sites uses your Google Drive account to store images and files you share on your site, so you can even store up to 15GB of files for your sites for free, shared with your other Google apps.

The only catch is that by default, your site will be on Google's domain, with an address like sites. Want a site on your own domain? Tip: Check out our in-depth guide on setting up a G Suite account in chapter 1 of this book to make a Google account for your domain. Ready to build your first site? Just go to sites. That'll drop you directly into the site editor. Now it's time to build your site. We'll try re-creating part of Zapier's About page in Google Sites as an example—you can follow along, or start building your own site.

First, add a title in the top left corner of the editor—that's the name you'll see inside the Google Sites app when you go to edit your site. This builder tool is most definitely not ideal for a public website. But if your goal is to publish a usable site to the web and generate revenue and business from it, you may want to pursue other site builder options.

Read Why Now. Written by Brenda Barron Updated September 28, There are Two Versions of Google Sites That said, the fact that there are two builder tools introduces some serious issues. A screen grab from the new Google Sites promotional video. The company promises migration to the new Google Sites will be available sometime in As of press, some sites were able to migrate, but not all.

Here is what you need to know about Classic Google Sites: Domain and Hosting Hosting of your website with Google is no different than the hosting of your files on Google Drive. It will look like this: sites. Pricing Google Sites is free to use, up to a point. How to Sign Up If you already have a Google account, there is no sign up needed. Themes In Classic Google Sites, there are two types of design choices users get to make.

Ease of Use Now, the aesthetics of the themes and templates is obviously an issue. Features This is one of the areas where Classic outshines New, and I think Google is aware of this and is one of the reasons why they are keeping Classic alive for now, at least. For instance: Add text boxes Customize text using header formats, stylization, fonts, etc. Mobile Sites designed with Classic are not automatically responsive.

What about the new version? Google Sites is a quick way to create business presentations, especially since it integrates with Google Sheets and Google Docs.

How Do I Sign Up? Templates: DIY There are currently no templates available in this site builder. There are Some Issues Though The one note I want to mention about this is that, while the drag-and-drop is convenient, the results are not great.

Here are some of the features included in New Sites: The Pages menu is where you can create new pages, duplicate them, and create sub-levels in your menu. The Insert menu contains all of the features where you can add text, images, content from a URL, a dividing line, Google documents, YouTube videos, an entire Google calendar, and more.

A logo can be added to the top of the website. Navigation can sit in the top-right as a horizontal bar or as a hamburger menu in the top-left. The background image can be customized in the header and a readability layer can be added so that the title text is easier to read. A favicon can be added that is the little icon you see in the tab of your browser from certain sites. For Digital.