🔥Get Awesome Google Sites Templates!
Need a domain first? Search and buy available domain names ↗
Google Sites™ is the no code free website builder by Google. The primary mission of Google Sites is to allows users to "effortlessly create impactful team sites." Anyone can use Google Sites to easily create and host simple business websites for free. Google Workspace customers can utilize Google Sites to develop secure and engaging intranet sites for users.
Check out some of the best websites users have made with Google Sites. It may be a free simple tool, but there are amazing sites all around web built on the platform. Consider this a free resource for inspiration on your next stunning website project or go ahead and purchase a template.
There are 50+ templates available to buy and use with Google Sites from the online store.
Quite simply, Google Sites is a free web building platform by Google. It is purposed for both public websites, company intranets and private portals. It is included within the Google Workspace business productivity suite of applications, but is also available through standalone Google or Gmail accounts. Users can collaborate simultaneously to build webpages to form a wiki.
We've created this handy table showing a comparison table of features in Google Sites, Wix, GoDaddy, Wordpress and Squarespace. We also review other free site builders and what limitations they have.
Google Sites are free to build, host, and maintain with a Google or Gmail account. There are no web hosting fees. If, however, you are using Google Sites in conjunction with Google Workspace, the cost is rolled into the user license fee of all plans.
There is no HTML or CSS coding required to work well with Google Sites. Writing, editing, and inserting images are all very easy tasks. It is similar to using a word processor like Google Docs. If you want, there are advanced options available for editing the code directly. You can embed HTML, CSS, JavaScript and deploy Apps Script using "embed from the web".
Yes. Connect a domain you already own or purchase one through a domain registrar. In your domain's DNS settings, you can handle the custom web address mapping and forward to your naked domain. Please note that, on average, domains cost about $15 per year. For technical support, you can assign us delegate access to manage your DNS records and ensure your website is live.
Informational websites are best-suited for Google Sites. Google Sites really excels at intranet applications because of the easy integration with apps like Google Drive, Google Calendar, etc. There is limited capability for shopping websites since Google Sites does not operate with PHP and other database-driven languages. There is currently no feature for a log-in, register, member's only type experience. So here's some examples of the types of sites you can design:
Blogs for your news, reviews and articles
Bio Sites to compliment your personal brand on social media
Portfolios to attract new customers with your work
Websites that you manage yourself without the need for a web developer
The lack of a proper CMS makes the prospect of managing a large ecommerce site on Google Sites impractical. However, templates have been made which utilize Pay Now buttons and simple storefronts.
We encourage clients to have or create a Google Workspace account for their Google Site. This Workspace domain provide greater security, stability, backup and live support options. We will transfer a design to that account and it's under your ownership.
Under Google Apps, Classic Google Sites has 10GB of storage space. That far exceeds most website's needs. On a free Google account, 100MB per site is available, which often is adequate for a small website.
Update: New Google Sites uses no storage space in Google Drive or Google Workspace.
Yes, we can create slideshows, RSS feeds, mouse-over buttons, facebook badges, twitter feeds, and much more. Please check out our intranet gadget gallery for some examples of our Google Sites plugins.
You can use HTML5, CSS3, Javascript, jQuery, Google Apps Script and other code through the use of custom Google Sites gadgets. These modules can host this code and display it directly on the page content. On the actual page content, only HTML and CSS can be used.
This is a common question. We all want to get to the top of Google or the search engine and be on page one. Although Classic Google Sites used to support entry of meta data like meta descriptions, New Google Sites has been simplified. It allows:
Site Title
Page Title
Heading Tags
Image Alt Tags
In addition, Google Analytics and Google Search Console (formerly Webmaster Tools) can track and make sure your website is in good SEO form. For more information on SEO, please see the videos of Matt Cutts, Google Webmaster Tools representative or read our complete SEO guide for New Google Sites.
There is nothing preventing Google Sites from performing well in search. We've provided some tips to help Google Sites users with SEO.
Google Sites connects with many Google products like Google Analytics, Google Webmaster Tools (Google Search Console), Google Plus (deprecated), Google Groups for Business & Google Currents (now Google Spaces), and other Google Apps for Workspace using Google Apps Script.
There are many talented designers of Google Sites, but we recommend our own templates marketplace. You can pay what you want for access to about 30 templates.
There are also premium themes available for a professional head start on your site.
There are multiple ways to sign in to Google Sites.
Google Workspace account app launcher
It's a huge benefit to have your website, email and documents all managed in the same ecosystem. Google Sites is another application in the Google Apps environment, so you have the same intuitive controls, settings, and no additional cost. Hosting is free and it’s easy to manage straight from your browser. Google Workspace administrators can manage site creation and editing, custom URLs and template galleries.
It’s easy to tap into the other Google Apps like embedding documents, calendars, and spreadsheets. Achieve even more customization with Google Apps Scripts or by creating your own HTML or JavaScript gadgets for your site.
You can embed code directly into your Google Site for your favorite apps.
We design our Google Sites to look beautiful, so we design custom for every organization the look and feel. We build a clear structure so you can maintain the site without writing a single line of code. It's as easy as writing a document.
Google Sites lets you set different access lists for different pages of each site. You could use this to let a partner or vendor see only the relevant part of your project site or to built an entire intranet for your company with the right access for each division.
Add collaborators to your website just like sharing a doc and watch them edit in real time.
Google Sites comes with loads of storage. Your company gets a quota of 10GB + 500MB for each user at your company for attaching files. Documents, calendars and videos embedded from Google Docs don’t count against this quota.
Update: Google Sites doesn't even factor into Google Drive storage now, so we went from big storage to infinite storage.
Google Sites is designed for security and reliability with features like encrypted connections to Google’s servers, real-time file save, simultaneous replicated storage for your sites, built-in disaster recovery and fine-grained sharing controls that let you share your work with the right people. Google Sites has the same level of security attributed to other Google Drive files (docs, sheets, slides).
Google Sites is very customizable when it comes to matching a company brand. We design our Google Sites from scratch so that we can create an intranet or website that is uniquely yours, inspired by your branding guidelines, logo, or website.
There are many ways to insert dynamic content into a Google Sites through the use of “gadgets.” These modules allow us to use Javascript, jQuery and Apps Script to embed RSS feeds, display a photo gallery, create a ticket support system, and infinite other options.
For examples of Google Sites gadgets like org charts, directories, news and folders refer to Google Sites developer gadget library.
User experience, it means that we approach our projects with a sense of making everything clear, simple, and easy for the visitor to find exactly what they need. Layout and navigation help us create a good flow to a Google Sites project.
If you started a small business or side hustle and need a free website, check out if Google Sites will meet your requirements. Browse business website examples for inspiration.
An e-portfolio is a personal website which can showcase your achievements in a specific field of study. They can also be used to promote an individual's skills, achievements and example work, similar to an online resume. For more information, read our tutorial on how to design an eportfolio with Google Sites.
Eportfolios have a special appeal for students who use the website's online platform to display examples of their projects, work assignments, goals and outcomes. Otherwise, Google Sites is a great way to build an eportfolio which promote your personal and professional growth. More and more, people are developing businesses around a personal brand, such as a solo entrepreneur. The benefit of a full portfolio website, as opposed to a simple bio, is that it provides more content and context around a particular subject.
Here are some reasons why Google Sites is great for creating eportfolios:
Zero code makes updating a portfolio a breeze
Google Drive access means you can upload and links your project documents without hassle
Take your portfolio further by adding Google Calendar, appointment scheduling and even paid appointments with Stripe with Google Workspace accounts
A Google Sites template is a predesigned site with one or more sample webpages. There are several ways to use templates:
Use the sites.google.com template gallery, which displays a dozen templates by Google
Copy one of your other Google Sites
Google Sites is the no code Google site builder, and as such it is rather easy to get a simple site up and running. Start with this link (sites.new) to create a new Google Site. There are a few essential parts of the editor that you should become familiar with:
Site and Publish Settings
Insert Options for Adding Content
Pages for managing the organization and navigation of your Site
Themes for custom style of colors, text, images, navigation, components and spacing
Text editing with the toolbar
It all boils down to these elements and how you use them to create content for your Site.
Check out small business websites available on our website. There are stunning examples of the best Sites for all kinds of companies, non-profits and solopreneurs and consultants.
Kirksville Web Design has a gallery of a dozen or so unique company intranet examples built with Google Sites.
Yes. Google Sites is responsive "intelligently optimizes" for all devices and viewport sizes. The 12 grid layout method for content blocks allows for seamless breakpoints. Editors can preview their site at any time for desktop, tablet and mobile views.
Google Sites is free because it one of Google's free productivity apps. Other free apps include Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive.
Hosting is free because the site builder is relatively lightweight. Users are not permitted to upload or host files on the site, so storage requirements are low.
Sites takes up no storage space in Google Drive whatsoever. You cannot host non-Google Sites on Google hosting servers, ghs.googlehosted.com, only Google Sites.
Google Sites can be published for free with a subdomain web address prefix of sites.google.com. Google does not register free custom domains. Click here for more information about Google domains and domain registrars.
Here are the kind of sites you can create:
Small business websites
Club, Group and Team sites
Committees and Associations portals
Wiki and Note Taking sites
Online Portfolios
15,000,000 characters per page
40,000,000 characters per site
10,000 web pages per site
15,000 images per site
Most of these ceilings are quite difficult to even approach. Amongst Google Sites designers there is generally a feeling of limitless content creation.
There is no set storage maximum for Google Sites websites other than the above parameters for characters, pages and images. If your image is too large to upload to Google Sites you will receive an error. However, even quite large images will be compressed and stored in Google Drive, but without affecting user storage limits. That's right, Google Sites doesn't count against Drive memory storage!
Large ecommerce websites are not usually a suitable use case for Google Sites. On the other hand, single page landing page websites look really nice. Unlike other site builders, you can add pages and grow your website without encounter tier pricing. Here are other website ideas:
lawn care service websites
home cleaning professional listing
websites to connect to Google Business Profiles
fundraising or app launch websites
support wiki pages
student, teacher, parent profiles
Yes. There are different avenues of support for Google Sites:
Google Workspace support (Google Workspace customers)
Google Workspace Partners
You can also submit feedback directly from your site editor options to help Sites improve.
Access to site code: You cannot freely access the HTML, CSS or Javascript code or libraries on a Google Sites file. Custom code and gadgets are limited to fixed embedded blocks. That also means you can't embed gadgets for sticky, floating, or pop-up elements. The only sticky or pinned components are the navigation bar and announcement bar if enabled. This may be a deal breaker if you require a chat or ai helper app installed on your webpages.
Desktop editing: You can only edit a Google Site on a desktop computer or a mobile device switched to desktop mode via your browser settings.
Google only: You need a Google account to create, edit or own a site. Private sites can only be shared with Google users' email addresses in permissions settings.
Beyond these notes, you can do anything your creativity leads you. There is no paywall for more features because Google Sites isn't a freemium type product.
No. Google Sites has not been discontinued. Neither has it been schedule for sunset, retired or killed off by Google. The misconception may have stemmed from Google My Business Profile sites being turned off in March, 2024. Google Sites is actually recommended for creating a new website using other tools.
So New Google Sites so alive and receives updates, development and bug fixes on a regular basis. It took a lot of effort to move from Classic to New Sites. Millions of sites were migrated between 2019-2023.
For intranet use, Google Sites is typically viewed as the alternative to Microsoft Sharepoint. Google Sites is also a cheaper, subscription and license free alternative to software like Happeo, Lumapps and Igloo.
For building websites, Google Sites is like a free alternative to Wix, Squarespace and GoDaddy. Compared to easy site builders like Notion Sites, Github Sites or Carrd, Google Sites is free from limitations to design and development of a professional website.
Google Sites is the only official website builder tool provided by Google. In the past, users were creative with business profile landing pages and Google Drive but those have been phased out. So Google Sites has been the key application for simple and free website publishing for nearly 20 years.
According to a study by HTTP archive, Google Sites is one of the most accessible site builders on the market, placed in the top three with a 90% of input elements coverage. This makes it a great platform to meet governmental, educational and other requirements of website software. Google also publishes support articles to help web designers and content managers learn how to make an accessible website. You can follow tips for making your website readable by everyone, including people with disabilities.
Google Sites is hugely popular tool in the edtech, Google Classroom and edu communities at large. Many school districts embrace the platform for its free availability, ease of use for publishing and fun visual medium. Teachers can demonstrate web development and UX/UI principles through interactive activities using devices like Chromebooks. However, that doesn't mean Google Sites is just designed for student portfolios or teacher profile sites. Get creative with how your school district can utilize Google Sites for all sorts of teams.
Last Updated: 1/30/2025