I am a die-hard Google lover and anyone who knows me will tell you that I am a "Google-holic". I have kept up to date on all things Google almost as fast as they change things around. I haven't minded Google changing things up as many people have because I think that change leads to improvements. Well, not so much in the case of the new Google Sites. I am a Google Map Contributor and sign up for any option that Google offers as "beta testers". Unfortunately, this is the one time that I have not been impressed by the power of Google. My hopes are that Google takes feedback given seriously and makes MAJOR advancements to the new Google Sites.

I have spent over a week working with the new Google Sites from very early morning to late into the night. I have used every imaginative part of my brain about how to incorporate even rudimentary parts of a web page such as share buttons. Unless you know all of Google's products such as Drive, YouTube, Calendar, Map, Docs, Slides, Sheets, Forms, and Charts, you will have a long road ahead of you if you plan on using the new Google Sites. You cannot use much else on the new Google Sites interface except Word documents, PDF's, and images from your computer.

I have left this website in its fundamental look to show how the new Google Sites looks out of the box. I also have included the pages with print screens to show how to create, edit, preview, share, publish and manage the new Google Sites. If you design websites or have used ANY CMS system, you will agree that the new Google Sites is about as bland as they come.

Let me start with what I enjoyed about the past week working within the new Google Sites interface. I like the simplicity of adding "boxes" to the page that you can add an image or a style to with minimal ease. It is quite easy to trash a section of the web page without interfering with any other part of the web page. If you are proficient in Google docs, forms, and slides, it is easy to add that media to the website as well. When you add an element, it is easy to drag the element around the section you are working in to adjust it's height and width. Given the themes offered, you can create a fairly professionally looking website without knowing much about color, style, and type font. You can add "alt tags" to images you place on the website which is great for SEO and other accessibility issues. I learned how to create a Google map with added parts of the world with different colored icons (which have nothing to do with the new Google Sites). Creating the interactive Google map was a bonus that I stumbled upon as I tried to make my test site attractive and one that people would not leave in a few seconds.

What is lacking in the new Google Sites? First, the inability to add HTML of any kind was the most frustrating part of the whole week. I could not add share buttons, or any other additional features from third party websites. There are no bells and whistles allowed on the new Google Sites in this area. There is no "footer" section which added significant amounts of time for me to add material I wanted on every page individually. There is no where to add meta data for pages or blog posts (which was another dilemma). There is no format for creating a blog on the new Google Sites.

I had to get very creative in making a "blog page" by only using the new Google Sites interface and individual Google docs linked to the page. You cannot add tags anywhere on the site to help with usability or SEO. You have to be very specific in how you set up your Google Drive. Once you create a doc, slide, sheet, or form, you cannot move it from that folder or the link is broken. This makes the early stages of developing a website on the new Google Sites of UTMOST importance if you want to save yourself a bunch of headache not to mention a useless website. The worst part of the entire experience for me was making sure that I was "sharing" the docs, forms, sheets, and website with the appropriate people and with the appropriate ability to "edit" or "view" each section. My privacy is very important plus what website designer wants to accidentally publish a website that can be edited by anyone (either within their company or the public).

The new Google Sites will work well within a given company when used with Google Apps for Business or Education but as far as a stand alone website builder, the new Google Sites has a LONG way to go.

I will update this post as I think of anything new and/or new developments happen so check back frequently. I would love to be able to have you share my critique of the early release of the new Google Sites but unfortunately, adding "sharing buttons" is beyond the new Google Sites capabilities. In the meantime, please see the website I did eventually publish using the new Google Sites - Recipes For Empowerhouse. It is a site close to my heart raising awareness and donations for domestic violence victims and the nonprofit Empowerhouse who has played a pivotal role in my son and my life.

Regards,

~ Holley Jacobs