Migrating Classic Sites

Note: The content is this page has been curated mainly from https://support.google.com/sites

Classic Sites transition

Starting September 1, 2021, classic sites will no longer be viewable by anyone. If you want your websites to continue to be viewable, you must convert and publish them to the new Google Sites experience before September 1, 2021.

At a glance

This video is for Classic Google Site owners that are thinking about converting to the New Google Sites. Have a quick look at the process before you start your conversion.

What to expect when you convert a site

Will Everything Transfer?

In theory, most content should transfer pretty well to the new Google Sites. However, your site won’t necessarily look the same as it did before, and that’s kind of the nature of the beast here. Pages and navigation will be the same, but you may need to tweak your layout, and the fonts and colors will have been modified so that they are in line with the theme options in the new Google Sites.

Widgets, iFrames and custom HTML will likely not transfer well to the new Google Sites, but File Cabinet pages, attachments, embedded Google documents, and YouTube videos should make the transition as expected, albeit with some minor changes. For instance, File Cabinet pages will be converted to an embedded Google Drive folder with all the files you previously uploaded.

A full comparison of what you will see when you convert your old Google Site to the new Google Site can be found on Google’s help page, What to Expect When You Convert a Site.

To get detailed information about what happens when you convert a site, explore the charts provided by Google (click on the image).

How do I do it?

Convert your site in Classic Sites Manager

On your computer, go to classic Sites.
On the left panel, click Classic Sites Manager.
On the right panel, click Conversion tool.
To keep the same site permissions, check the box next to "Share with the same people."
Click Start.
- It may take several minutes to convert large Sites.
- After conversion, changes you make to your original Site won't transfer to the new one.
Click Continue.
To review your Site, click Review draft.
- Optional: If you plan to publish your new Site to another address, click Advanced Disconnect.
To publish your Site, at the top right, click Publish.
Enter a web address for your new Site.
- Optional: To change who can view your Site, click Manage.
Click Publish.

Convert your Site in classic Sites settings

On your computer, go to classic Google Sites.
In the top right corner, click Settings .
Click Manage site.
In the left menu, click Convert to new Sites.
To keep the same site permissions, check the box next to "Share with the same people."
Click Start.
- It may take several minutes to convert large sites.
- After conversion, changes you make to your original site won't transfer to the new one.
Click Continue.
To review your site, click Review draft.
- Optional: If you plan to publish your new site to another address, click Advanced Disconnect.
To publish your site, at the top right, click Publish.
Enter a web address for your new site.
- Optional: To change who can view your site, click Manage.
Click Publish.

Copy your classic Site to new Sites

On your computer, open new Google Sites.
At the top, under "Start a new site," select a template.
On the right, click Pages.
Click Add .
Copy and paste content from your classic site to your new site.
Repeat steps 4 and 5 as necessary.
To publish your site, at the top right, click Publish.
Enter a web address for your new site.
- Optional: To change who can view your site, click Manage.
Click Publish.

Tip: Add a link on your classic Site to send people to your new Site

What will happen if I don’t convert my classic site to a new site?

Starting September 1, 2021, classic sites will no longer be viewable by anyone. If you want your websites to continue to be viewable by others, you must convert and publish them to the new Google Sites experience before September 1, 2021.

If you take no action, starting September 1, 2021, your classic sites will be automatically:

Downloaded as a Takeout archive and saved to your Google Drive.
Replaced with a draft in the new Google Sites experience for you to review and publish.
Moved to “Deleted Sites” in classic Sites and permanently deleted after 30 days.

Your site will remain accessible (but not editable) until we begin the automatic migration process for your site, which may be anytime after September 1, 2021. We expect it will take up to 90 days to complete the automatic migration for all remaining classic sites.

Note: The latest version of your classic site will be automatically converted to a new site, even if you previously converted your classic site. During an automatic migration, you will not be able to convert your classic site, delete your classic site, or cancel an in-progress conversion of your classic site.

What will happen after automatic migration

Your classic site will be converted to a draft new site shared by all owners and editors of the classic site. Your draft site will be unpublished by default, but you can publish it when you are ready so other site viewers can view it. Your classic site will also be archived as a Takeout export, which will be downloaded to each site owner’s Google Drive. Then, your classic site will be deleted.

You will need to publish the new site after it is converted to make it accessible to site viewers.
If your classic site has a custom domain, it will transfer to the new site. But, the new site will not resolve to the custom domain until you publish it.
The archived version of your classic site will be a Takeout export downloaded to each site owner’s Google Drive. The exported site will not count toward Google account storage limits. If one owner deletes their version of the export, other owners’ versions will remain unchanged.
The original classic site will appear in “Deleted Sites” on the classic Sites homepage. It will indicate that it was deleted by Google. You will be able to permanently delete your classic site. If you do not permanently delete it before 30 days, your classic site will be permanently deleted automatically.

Is there a preferred style for Maclean Sites?

The rationale behind the use of Macleans Sites is that Faculties use their specific Macleans Site as a repository of curated resources that reflect their course structure.

The main purpose of the Maclean Sites design is to facilitate students’ navigation and access to key material, by creating horizontal coherence across the Faculties, as well as serving as a template of the material to be made available to students.

A template site can be found in the Macleans Template Gallery https://sites.google.com/new