Choose Who Can See Your Site
Choose Who Can See Your Site
Before you "Go Live," it is important to understand who has permission to view your content. Sharing settings work differently depending on whether you are using a personal account or a School District account.
At the top of your Google Sites editor, click the "Share with others" icon (the person icon with a plus sign $+$).
Most districts have a "Walled Garden" policy for Law 2-d compliance. You will see two options under Published Site:
Restricted: Only specific people you add by email can see the site. (Similar to Google Docs, you type in the email addresses of specific students or colleagues in your district.)
[Your District Name]: Only teachers and students logged into their district accounts can see the site. This is the safest choice for internal class materials.
Public: Anyone on the internet can see the site. Note: Some districts disable this option. If you need your site to be public for parents and don't see this option, you must contact your IT Department.
Groups: Some districts set up groups you can click on also. Or, you may have made a group in your Contacts. (Note: Your district must have "Contact Sharing" enabled. Some districts use the "Google Classroom Sync." If your district uses it, there is ofren a pre-made Group for every class you teach.
Domain Only: Instead of inviting individuals, some districts prefer you use the "Target Audience" setting.
"Anyone in [District Name] can find and open."
This is the easiest way to "share with students" without typing 150 names. It ensures parents or the public can't see it, but any student with a district account can.
You have more direct control, but you must be careful with privacy:
Restricted: Only people you invite via email.
Public: Your site can be found by anyone and may appear in Google Search results. This is ideal for professional portfolios or hobby sites.
Step 4: How to Change Your Settings
In the "Share with others" box, look at the bottom section labeled Links.
Click Change.
Set your Published Site to the desired level of privacy.
Click Done.
Important: You must click the blue Publish button at the top of your site for these sharing changes to take effect!
Step 5: The "Sharing Permission" Double-Check
The Action: Click the "Share with others" (Person +) icon.
The Goal: Make sure the Draft is restricted to you, but the Published Site is set to "Public" or "Your District" depending on your goal.
Tip For Teachers:
By using a checklist, it prevents 99% of the students saying, "Teacher, I can't see the homework (or resource links)" emails you get later.
If you change a signel word on your website, it does not change for the public/viewers until you hit "Publish" button again.
If you've chosen to review changes before you publish a page, check the "Review Changes" box that pops up to see your before and after edits side-by-side. (You can disable this feature).
Before you hit the blue button and share your site with the world (or your district), you can run through these five quick checks to ensure a professional and secure experience.
The Action: Open your site URL in a Private or Incognito window.
The Goal: Can you see the calendar? Can you see the images? If you are asked to log in, your parents will be too! This is the only way to know for sure what the "outside world" sees.
The Action: Click the Preview icon (laptop/phone icon) at the top of the editor and select the Phone view.
The Goal: Make sure your text isn't cut off and your images aren't overlapping. Most parents will check your site from their phones while waiting in a car-line!
The Action: Click every button and every blue link on your page.
The Goal: Ensure you don't have any "dead ends." If you linked to a Google Doc, make sure the Doc itself is set to "Anyone with the link can view."
Step 4: The "Privacy & PII" Audit
The Action: Scan your pages for Student Data.
The Goal: According to NYS Law 2-d, avoid posting student last names, grades, or personal identifying information. If you have photos of students, ensure you have a signed "Media Release" on file with the district.
Tip For Teachers:
If you want parents to see your site, but your district keeps it "Restricted," do not share the URL to your site. Instead, check if your district allows "Public" publishing or ask if you can host the "Parent Portal" on a site that doesn't contain sensitive student PII (Personally Identifiable Information).
Publishing is a two-step process. Step one is choosing your audience in the Share menu. Step two is hitting the blue Publish button. If you don't do both, your website won't be on the WEB.
Always test your site's visibility by opening it in an 'Incognito' or 'Private' browser window. Or open another browser without signing in.
If you can see it there without logging in, the whole world can see it. If, instead, you get a request to login screen, your parents/guardians will see that too, and they will not see your website!
Google Sites does not have a button to unpublish a single page while keeping the rest of the site live. If you hit "Unpublish" under the main Publish button, it takes down your entire website.
If you need to take your website offline so it is no longer visible to the public or your district, follow these steps. This will NOT delete your work; it simply takes the "Live" version off the internet.
Open your site in Google Sites editor.
Locate the blue Publish button at the top right of the screen.
Click the Down Arrow (▼) directly to the right of the Publish button.
From the dropdown menu, select Unpublish.
A confirmation box will appear. Click Unpublish again to confirm.
What happens next?
Your site is now a Draft only.
Anyone who tries to visit your web address (URL) will see a "404 Not Found" or a "Site Not Found" error.
You can still see, edit, and work on your site privately.
To make it visible again, simply click the blue Publish button.
"Think of 'Unpublishing' as turning off the lights in your classroom and locking the door. Everything inside—your posters, your books, your desks—is still exactly where you left it. You just aren't letting anyone in until you're ready to turn the lights back on!"