Google Sites: Help and Instructions to Customize Your Site

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  • Add Recent Entries list You can easily add a gadget on your page that automatically updates with recent entries on an announcement, list, or file cabinet style page.  You can see a sample of ...
    Posted Aug 8, 2015, 11:45 AM by Julie Sharma
  • Comment form/board Though Google Sites allow for comments, only those who can edit the site can use  FAQMy form doesn't seem to work. Check to be sure that your form ...
    Posted Aug 8, 2015, 11:54 AM by Julie Sharma
  • Link to iTunes To create a link to specific content on iTunes, see my Link to iTunes how to  -top-View Related PostsAdd an Mp3 (player and music)
    Posted Aug 8, 2015, 12:00 PM by Julie Sharma
  • Add an Mp3 (player and music) to webpage You can easily add an mp3 player to your website to allow website visitors with Flash to hear the music/sounds. You can store the music files within your website ...
    Posted Aug 8, 2015, 11:43 AM by Julie Sharma
  • Add a (Google) map You can easily add a Google map to your site.Create a Map Go to Google Maps and create a map* of your locations/routes and any information about the ...
    Posted Aug 8, 2015, 11:35 AM by Julie Sharma
Showing posts 1 - 5 of 8. View more »

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Add Recent Entries list

posted Sep 2, 2012, 6:06 PM by Julie Sharma   [ updated Aug 8, 2015, 11:45 AM ]


recent posts
You can easily add a gadget on your page that automatically updates with recent entries on an announcement, list, or file cabinet style page.  You can see a sample of these gadgets in at the bottom this template (the assignments box shows recent posts, homework shows recent list items, and materials shows recently updated files).  First, set up the webpage, and then add the gadget.

Set up webpage

  1. sign in to your website
  2. click on  to create a new page
  3. type the name for your page 
  4. under Select a template to use, choose either
    1. Announcements (works like blog entries)
    2. file cabinet (allows your to upload/store files and links and webpages)
    3. list (allows you to add items to a list with customizable and sortable columns/header options, has a URL link option)
  5. click Create
learn how to include this new page in your navigation with this tutorial

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Add the gadget

  1. go to the page where you like to have the gadget (for example, you can add the gadget to your home page)
  2. click on the pencil edit page to edit the page
  3. put your cursor in the place where you'd like to have the gadget
  4. click Insert (top left corner)
  5. click either 
    1. Recent posts (if you created an announcements-style page above)
    2. Recently updated files (if you created an  file cabinet-style page above)
    3. Recent list items (if you created an  list-style page above)
  6. in the window that opens, for Show posts from, choose the page you created above
  7. select how many posts you want to show
  8. depending on the page type you created above, you may see additional options:
    1. for recent posts (announcements style), choose if you want to show short snippet, medium snippet, or full post
    2. for recent list items (list style), choose which columns you want to include and how you want them sorted.
  9. remove the check in the checkboxes below if you do not want a border and/or if you do not want a title above the gadget
  10.  (if you do want a title, change the words in the title box to reflect the title you want to display)
  11. click  Save   
  12. click  Save  to save and view changes
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Comment form/board

posted Jun 30, 2012, 7:54 AM by Julie Sharma   [ updated Aug 8, 2015, 11:54 AM ]


contact
Though Google Sites allow for comments, only those who can edit the site can use 

FAQ

My form doesn't seem to work.
Check to be sure that your form is accepting responses. See steps 2-3 under Initial Setup to learn how.
I don't have the option to make a copy of the spreadsheet.
Before trying to copy the spreadsheet, be sure you are signed in to your Google Account.
this function.  If you want to allow visitors to comment on your site, you can using Google Docs.  This method has vistors add name, email, and comment to a form on a website, but only the name and comment (along with a timestamp) are published on the website (see sample).  Once the basic form and board are in place, you can modify the form/board if you desire.You need to create and set up two items:
  • Comment Form
  • Comment Board

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Initial Set Up

  1. Open this spreadsheet and make a copy of it. To copy the spreadsheet
    1. be sure you are signed in to Google Docs
    2. in the spreadsheet you opened, click on File
    3. in the File drop-down menu, click on Make a copy
    4. in the Enter a new document name, give the spreadsheet copy a name, i.e., Website Comments
    5. click  OK 
  2. click on Form forms
  3. be sure there is a check mark next to Accepting responses; if not, click Accepting responses to add check mark (you can then click on form again to assure that the check mark is there)
  4. click on File
  5. in the File drop-down menu, click on Publish to the Web
  6. in the Sheets to publish drop-down menu, select publish
  7. click  Start publishing 
  8. click Close
  9. copy only the spreadsheet key from the URL (in this example, the key is green highlighted): 

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuxBu1exGwJYdGxVMWhhVkJfa0poS2g0di1XY0JaYVE#gid=0

  10. in the spreadsheet worksheet "Info," paste the key (copied in step 9) into the the C6 cell (where it says "replace this with spreadsheet key (for example 0AuxBu1exGwJYdGxVMWhhVkJfa0poS2g0di1XY0JaYVE)")

Comment Form (where visitors will add their comments):

  1. be sure you are signed in to your Google Site
  2. in the website page where you want the comment form, click on the pencil edit screen pencil to edit the page (top right)
  3. click on Insert (top, left)
  4. in the Insert drop-down menu, click Spreadsheet form
  5. from the list of forms, click on the form from Initial Set Up (the form has the same name as the copy of the spreadsheet from Initial Set Up, i.e., Website Comments)
  6. click   Select   
  7. in the Insert Google Spreadsheet Form window that opens next, you can choose whether to have a border or title on the form, and height and width (note: you can modify these options later by, while in edit-mode, clicking on the spreadsheet form gadget and clicking on the properties gear)
  8. click  SAVE  
  9. click  Save  to save and view changes of webpage

Comment Board (where visitors' comments display):

  1. be sure you are signed in to your Google Site
  2. in the website page where you want the comment form, click on the pencil edit screen pencil to edit the page (top right)
  3. click on Insert (top, left)
  4. in the Insert drop-down menu, click Spreadsheet
  5. from the list of spreadsheets, click on the spreadsheet from Initial Set Up, i.e., Website Comments
  6. click   Select   
  7. in the Insert Google Spreadsheet window that opens next, in the View as: drop down menu, select Spreadsheet (Published) (you can also choose whether to have a border or title on the form, and height and width--note: you can modify these options later by, while in edit-mode, clicking on the Google spreadsheet gadget and clicking on the properties gear)
  8. click  SAVE  
  9. click  Save  to save and view changes of webpage

Related Posts

Sample Comment Form/Board

Sample Comment Form

Sample Comment Board

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Link to iTunes

posted Apr 7, 2012, 7:22 AM by Julie Sharma   [ updated Aug 8, 2015, 12:00 PM ]


iTunes download button
To create a link to specific content on iTunes, see my Link to iTunes how to 

The gadget spec URL could not be found

View Related Posts


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Add an Mp3 (player and music) to webpage

posted Mar 26, 2012, 8:59 PM by Julie Sharma   [ updated Aug 8, 2015, 11:43 AM ]


music
You can easily add an mp3 player to your website to allow website visitors with Flash to hear the music/sounds. You can store the music files within your website or elsewhere. View an example of the player.

If you are replacing an mp3 on an existing player on your website, skip to #10.  

  1. be sure your website/template has the "FMP3.swf" as an attachment (see steps 1-3 below to access your website's Attachments)--if not, download the player here (this link directs to an auto download of the player) and upload it to "Attachments."  To access attachments and upload the file
    1. click on more button button (top right)
    2. click on "Manage Site" 
    3. click on "Attachments" (on the left side)
    4. click on "Upload"
    5. click on "Choose File"
    6. find the FMP3.swf file you just downloaded
    7. click "Upload"
       
  2. in your attachments, find the "FMP3.swf" then right-click (or secondary-click for Mac) on the word "download" and then select "copy link address" (or "Copy link location") to copy the URL link of your "FMP3.swf" (you will need this URL link in step 9)

    The gadget spec URL could not be found

  3. on the page you want the mp3 player, click on the pencil edit screen pencil to edit the page (top, near-center) 
  4. select "Insert" and select then "more gadgets"
  5. click on "Public" (left side, top)
  6. in the box marked "Search Templates," type "flash wrapper"
  7. click on "Flash Wrapper" 
  8. click "Select"
  9. in the first box, marked "Flash/SWF URL," paste the URL of your "FMP3.swf"  (copied in step 2, above)--after you paste it, remove any part of link address after the .swf  (so in this example, you would paste the section in blue, but remove the section in red: https://sites.google.com/site/websitename/files/FMP3.swf?attredirects=0&d=1 )
  10. upload an mp3 of your music to the attachments.
  11. To access attachments and upload a music file
    1. click on more button button (top right)
    2. click on "Manage Site" 
    3. click on "Attachments" (on the left side)
    4. click on "Upload"
    5. click on "Choose File"
    6. find the mp3 file you want to upload
    7. click "Upload"
  12. in the attachments, right-click (or secondary-click for Mac) on the word "download" next to the mp3 you uploaded in step 10/11
  13. click "copy link address" (or "Copy link location") to get the website URL
  14. go to Google URL shortener (you need to make a shortened URL for the mp3 player to work correctly)
  15. on the URL shortener page, paste the URL (web address you copied in step 12) of the mp3 into the box 
  16. click "Shorten"
  17. copy the shortened address (ctrl c (PC)  or  command c (MAC))
  18. return to your google site 
  19. click on the pencil edit screen pencil to edit the page (top, near-center)
  20. click on the Google Gadget player
  21. click on the gear icon to change settings properties gear
  22. in the box marked "FlashVars," paste the following: mp3=http://goo.gl/ut0hq&action=stop&title=Replace
    withyourtitle&color=FFFFFF&loop=no&lma=yes&textcolor=000000
  23. replace the web address between the = and &, (in red in this example) with the shortened web address of your mp3 (mp3=http://goo.gl/ut0hq&action=stop&title=Replace
    withyourtitle    &color=FFFFFF&loop=no&lma=yes&textcolor=000000)
  24. to change the title that is displayed within the gadget, change "Replacewithyourtitle" (in blue text above) to the desired title 
  25. to change the title that is shown above the gadget on the site, be sure the box next to "display title on gadget" is checked, and then change the text in the box to your desired display title 
  26. to add more MP3s, copy the Google Gadget (while in edit mode), and paste where you want. Then, repeat the steps 10-25.
*note: Google URL shortener is a great tool for many reasons, one of which is keeping track of how many people visit your link. If you use a Google-shortened URL, you can always return to the URL shortener to see the statistics for how many have visited that link--pretty cool!

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FAQs

My music player is auto playing when visitors access the site. How can I change that setting? 
You simply need to change the FlashVars action setting. Learn how

Add a (Google) map

posted Mar 26, 2012, 8:55 PM by Julie Sharma   [ updated Aug 8, 2015, 11:35 AM ]


You can easily add a Google map to your site.

Create a Map

  1. Go to Google Maps and create a map* of your locations/routes and any information about the locations.
  2. Share your map with the same audience you've shared your Google Site with (for example, make the map public if your Google SItes is shared publically on the web).
More information on Google My Maps

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Add Map to Your Google Site

  1. click on the pencil (top, near-center) to edit the page 
  2. place cursor where you want the map 
  3. click on Insert (top left) 
  4. click on Map 
  5. click on My Maps 
  6. select the map you created in Google My Maps (in step 1) 
  7. click Select 
  8. in the box that appears next, you can change title of map and other settings. Do so and then click Save 
  9. click Save to save and view changes
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Remove a gadget

posted Mar 26, 2012, 8:45 PM by Julie Sharma   [ updated Aug 8, 2015, 12:01 PM ]


  1. click on to edit the page 
  2. click on the gadget (usually appear as a gray box with a label like "Google Calendar" or "Page listing" or other title) 
  3. on the toolbar that pops up, click the to remove the gadget 
  4. click "Save" to save and view changes

The gadget spec URL could not be found

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Add a calendar

posted Mar 26, 2012, 8:40 PM by Julie Sharma   [ updated Aug 8, 2015, 11:38 AM ]


You can easily add a Google Calendar to your Google Site.
  1. go to Google Calendar and create a calendar for your group with events you want to publicize 
  2. *important* if you want all visitors to be able to view calendar content, be sure to set the calendar's privacy setting to "Make this calendar public" 
  3. click on the pencil to edit the page (top, near-center) 
  4. place cursor where you want the calendar 
  5. click on "Insert" (top left) 
  6. click on "Calendar" 
  7. choose the calendar you created 
  8. click "Select" 
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Change Calendar Options

  1. click on the pencil to edit the page (top, near-center) 
  2. click on the box marked "Google Calendar" 
  3. click on the gear image (left side)
  4. change options such as size, title, view, etc. 
  5. click "Save" 
Changes you make to events etc. in Google Calendar will automatically update to the website, saving you time from having to publish information twice!

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Add a contact form

posted Mar 26, 2012, 8:35 PM by Julie Sharma   [ updated Apr 22, 2021, 1:30 PM ]


Using Google Sites Spreadsheets and Forms, you can add a contact form to your Google Site (see an example). 


Contact Forms in New Google Sites 

In New Google Sites, you can add in a Google Form to act as a Contact Form. First, create the form, and then insert the form on your site.

Create the Contact Form

  1. Go to this form, click "use this template" (top left) and edit the form as you wish (you can add and remove questions, change the background, edit confirmation, etc.)* 
  2. The form is now saved as a form/spreadsheet in your Google Drive and user responses will be saved in that form/spreadsheet 

Insert the Form on your Website

  1. Go to your New Google Site and the page where you want the form and click on the right Insert > Forms. Select the form you just created and click Insert.
  2. Click and drag on the ⋮⋮ to the left of the form to move it to another location on the page or use the blue dots on the form border to resize it

View Responses

  1. Go to your Google Drive and open the contact form you created above. At the top, click Responses 
  2. Your responses will be displayed in spreadsheet format here 
  3. Receive an email when someone submits a form*:
  4. In your Google Drive, open the contact form 
  5. Click on "Tools" 
  6. Click on "Notification Rules" 
  7. Choose 1) when you want to be notified, and how (email daily or immediately) 
  8. Click "Save"
    *note you will not be notified of form updates unless you complete these steps. When you want to see your responses, open the form and click Responses or click to the form from the notification.

Create Contact Form in Classic Google Sites

  1. Create the form as described in Create the Contact Form, above
  2. Go to the classic Google Sites page where you want the form and click on the pencil to edit the page (top, near-center) 
  3. Place cursor where you want the form 
  4. Click on "Insert" (top left)
  5. Click on "Spreadsheet form" 
  6. Click on the form you just created 
  7. Click "Select" 
  8. Click "Save"
    *note you can use other form templates by browsing options here or create your own through Google Drive.

View Responses:

  1. See above steps for New Google Sites

Receive an email when someone submits a form*: 

  1. See above steps for New Google Sites

The gadget spec URL could not be found

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