Looking to build a new website? Google Sites let you quickly create and customize websites with an accessible and easy-to-use platform.
Building a new website seems like an impossibly hard task, something that’d take a few hours at best and a few weeks or months at worst.
You could, however. With the newly redesigned Google Sites—one of Google’s best yet least known apps—you can build a full website for free in minutes.
It’s one of the best-hidden features in your new G Suite account, and a simple way to build a modern intranet for your company.
Step-by-Step guide for how to make a website for free on Google
- Open Google Sites.
- Name your Google Site.
- Title your first web page.
- Choose your Site layout.
- Create additional pages.
- Expand your Site content.
- Choose and add a theme.
- Publish your Google Site.
- Choose your web address and set viewing rights.
- Incorporate your own URL.
1. Open Google Sites
Ready to build your first site? Just go to sites.google.com/new to start building a new website. Click on the multicolored “+” button or you can choose one of the templates from the Template Gallery.
2. Name your Google Site
Click Enter Site Name and choose a name for your new website. You can also add a logo by clicking the Add Logo.
3. Title your first web page
Click on Your Page Title and enter a title for your page. You can change the font size, add bold or italic text, and include links.
You can also change the Background image and Header Type.
4. Choose your Site layout
On the sidebar, under the Insert tab, you’ll see multiple options for page layouts including single images with text, multiple images, and more. Click on the layout you prefer or drag-and-drop it into your new website.
5. Create additional pages
You can create more web pages, by clicking on the “+” button under the Pages tab. This brings up a New Page pop-up that lets you create the page name.
6. Expand your Site content
Add additional context and content using the menu on the bottom-right of the screen under the Insert tab in the sidebar. Here, you’ll find options to include collapsible text menus, tables of contents, image carousels, buttons, and many more.
7. Choose and add a theme
Click the Themes tab in the sidebar and choose any from six available free themes with multiple color schemes and font style.
8. Publish your Google Site
When you’re happy and ok with your site’s layout and content, click the Publish button in the upper-right-hand corner. You can see a pop-up window to do your settings and publish.
9. Choose your web address and viewing rights
In the pop-up Publish window, you can select a web address that you want to publish or you can set if you have custom URLs like www.yourdomain.com. You can also select viewing or editing rights for your site under “Who can view my site“.
10. Incorporate your own URL
If you prefer to use a URL you already own, visit this Google Support page and follow the steps listed — you’ll need to verify you own the URL, point your URL to your Google Site through your hosting provider’s platform, and then directly assign your custom URL.