Sharing and Collaboration
Sharing and Collaboration
How To Invite Partners/Collaborators To Help You Build Your Website
Click the "Share with others" Icon (The person with the +).
Add Your Partners/Collaborators: Type the email addresses of co-teachers in the top box.
Assign Roles:
Editor: They can change everything, including themes and pages.
Published Viewer: A "VIP Pass." They can see the live site even if it’s locked to the public. (Great for a Principal’s "sneak peek").
The "Draft" Setting (Bottom): You will see a setting for "Draft."
The Advice: Leave this on Restricted. You only want the people you specifically invited at the top to see your messy work-in-progress.
Adding Individuals: Start typing a name (e.g., "Sarah...") and the district directory will suggest the correct email. (
This is if the tech admin has enabled this "complete the name" feature.
If not, you will need to type out the names of both staff and students.
Most districts have enabled this feature.
Adding Groups: Try typing a department or subject (e.g., "English Dept" or "5th Grade"). If your Admin has created Contact Groups, they will appear here. This adds everyone in that group at once! The Admin has created the groups in advance, and the names will populate for you.
Expiration Dates: Use this feature if you want to have an ending date for people to edit or view your website. This is useful when you want access to be limited. It saves you from having to go back and remove access later on.
Click the dropdown next to a name to "Add Expiration."
This is perfect for when you end a unit, have student teachers, or have temporary guests.
General Access (Bottom): You may see your District Name here.
Even if you work for a district, keep the Draft set to Restricted.
It’s the safest way to ensure students don't see your site before it's ready.
Publishing Your Website For Others To See
Build your site.
Share with co-teachers (if any).
Publish to make it a website.
Can publish it for anyone in the World to see
Can limit it for your co-editors only or people with access
Can limit to your school district
Can limit to groups in your school district (if school admin has enabled Contact Groups)
Click the Purple "Publish" Button.
The Web Address: Choose a short, appropriate name.
Individual: sites.google.com/view/YOUR-NAME
District: sites.google.com/DOMAIN/YOUR-NAME (The District name is automatically "tucked in" to show it’s an official resource).
Search Settings: Check the box "Request public search engines to not display my site" if you want parents to have the link, but you don't want the site appearing in a random Google search.
This is where you decide who can see the "Live" site. Go to Publish > Manage.
Individual Account Choices:
Restricted: Only the people on your "list" at the top can see it. This would be your co-editors or chosen viewers.
Public: Anyone with the link can see it.
Choose this for anyone in the World to be able to see your site.
You would use this for parents/guardians of students to be able to see your site too
District Account Choices (The Extra Tiers):
Entire District: Only people logged into their school accounts. (Safe for students, but parents will be blocked!)
Faculty & Staff: Allows other teachers and staff members in the district to view your site.
Public: Anyone in the world can see it.
Tip: If parents are emailing you saying "I can't see the site," it’s almost always because this is set to "District" instead of "Public."
Before you click the final "Publish," use the down-arrow next to the button and select "Review changes and publish."
Left Side: The current site (the "Old" version).
Right Side: Your new draft (the "New" version).
The Benefit: This is your final proofread. If you accidentally deleted a page or left a typo, you can catch it here before a single student sees it!
Option 1: The "Express" Publish (Fastest)
If you are confident in your changes and want them live immediately without a second look:
Click the Purple "Publish" Button once.
If the "Review Changes" screen pops up, simply click the "Publish" button again in the top right corner of that screen.
Result: Your site is updated instantly.
Option 2: The "Review" Publish (Safest)
Use this if you want to double-check your work before the world sees it:
Click the small down-arrow (▾) next to the Publish button.
Select "Review changes and publish."
Compare your Draft (Right) to your Currently Published site (Left).
If everything looks good, click Publish in the top right.
Note: If you don't want to use the Review changes and publish feature (split screen view to see your page before and after the changes), you can deselect this option. When you are ready to update your site, you don't always have to use the side-by-side comparison screen. You can choose the method that fits your workflow.
How to Enable "One-Click" Publishing (The Fast Way)
If you want your changes to go live the moment you hit the button without seeing the comparison screen:
Click the down-arrow (▾) next to the Publish button.
Select Publish settings.
Uncheck the box that says: "Show review changes before publishing."
Click Save.
From now on: Whenever you click the purple Publish button, your site updates instantly. No extra windows, no extra clicks!
How to get the "Split Screen" back (The Review Way)
If you ever decide you want to see that side-by-side comparison again for a big project:
Click the down-arrow (▾) next to the Publish button.
Select Publish settings.
Check the box: "Show review changes before publishing."
Click Save.
Draft vs. Published: The Draft saves automatically as you type (like a Doc), but the Published site only changes when you complete the "Publish" steps.
The "Wait" Period: Sometimes it takes about 2-5 minutes for the "Public" setting to update across the internet. If it doesn't work instantly, and you don't see the changes you made (and published) refresh your browser!
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!
Troubleshooting Your Site Launch:
Problem: "Access Denied" (Sign-in screen)
The Cause: Published Site is set to "Restricted" or "District Name."
The Fix: Go to Share > General Access (Bottom). Change Published Site to Public.
Problem: "404 Error" (Page doesn't exist)
The Cause: You changed the Web Address (URL) after sending the link.
The Fix: Send the new URL or change the name back in Publish Settings.
Problem: "I see the old version!"
The Cause: You haven't clicked the Publish button since making changes.
The Fix: Hit Publish to push your Draft changes to the Live site.
Problem: "Invisible Images or Docs" (Gray boxes)
The Cause: The original file in Google Drive isn't shared correctly.
The Fix: In Google Drive, right-click the file and set sharing to "Anyone with the link can view."
Problem: "The link is too long/ugly"
The Cause: You are sending the "Editing" link instead of the "Published" link.
The Fix: Click the Link Icon (next to the Preview eye) to copy the official Published Site Link.
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!"