How to Use Google Sites With Google Workspace

Google Sites lets you and your team build simple websites without writing any code, and it comes with your Google Workspace plan from HostGator. Teams use it for project hubs, internal portals, onboarding pages, and knowledge bases.

Embed Docs, Sheets, and Slides in your pages, and they'll show the latest version of each file to visitors who have permission to view it. In this guide, you'll open Google Sites from your Customer Portal, then build, style, share, and publish your first site.

• What Is Google Sites? ⤵
• What You Need First ⤵
• Open Google Sites ⤵
• Create a New Site ⤵
• Build Your Site's Pages ⤵
• Put Content on Your Pages ⤵
• Style Your Site ⤵
• Preview and Collaborate ⤵
• Take Your Site Live ⤵
• Connect Your Own Subdomain (Optional) ⤵
• Frequently Asked Questions ⤵
• Related Articles ⤵

What Is Google Sites?

Google Sites is a drag-and-drop website builder inside Google Workspace. You place content on a page, and Sites adjusts the layout for computers, tablets, and phones. Your sites sit in Google Drive beside your other files. Edits save automatically, yet the public sees nothing until you publish.

These are the most popular ways to put it to work:

What You Need First

Open Google Sites

Either method below gets you into Google Sites.

From Your Customer Portal

1. Log in to your Customer Portal.
2. Click Email & Office in the left-side navigation menu.
3. Optional: If multiple Google Workspace subscriptions are listed, click Manage for the plan you want to access.

   
    

4. You’ll be automatically redirected to the Email Management page, where you can manage your email settings and subscriptions.
5. Click Log in to Workspace.

   
    

6. Enter your Google Workspace email and password if Google asks for them.

   
    

7. In Gmail, open the Google apps icon (nine dots) at the top right and pick Sites. Scroll the panel if Sites isn't listed.

   
    

Go to Google Sites Directly

1. Visit sites.google.com.
2. Sign in with your business email address.

   
    

Create a New Site

1. Go to Google Sites.
2. Under Start a new site, pick Blank for an empty site, or Template gallery to start from a template.

   
    

3. Type a file name in the box at the upper left and press Enter.

   
    

4. Click Enter site name in the header, type a title, and press Enter.

   
    

Every site carries three separate names. This table shows where each one appears:

Build Your Site's Pages

The tasks below shape your site's structure.

Create a Page

1. Open your site in Google Sites and click Pages in the right-hand panel.

   
    

2. Hover over Add (+) at the bottom right and choose New page.

   
    

3. Name the page, then click Done.

   
    

Nest a Subpage

1. Under Pages, click the three-dot icon beside the parent page and choose Add subpage.

   
    

2. Name the subpage, then click Done.

Subpages nest up to five levels deep. To rearrange your site, open Pages and drag a page to a new position.

Copy or Remove a Page

1. Under Pages, click the three-dot icon beside the page.
2. Choose Duplicate page to make a copy, or Delete to remove it.

   
    

Put Content on Your Pages

The Insert tab holds everything you can place on a page. This table maps content to menu items:

Insert Text or Headings

1. Open Insert in the right-hand panel and choose Text box.

   
    

2. Select a text, heading, or title style from the drop-down in the toolbar.

   
    

3. Type your text into the box.

Insert a Picture

1. Choose Insert > Images.

   
    

2. Decide where the picture comes from, such as your computer or Google Drive, then select it and click Open or Select.

Drop In a Section Layout

1. Open Insert and drag a layout from Content blocks onto your page.

   
    

2. Fill it with text, pictures, documents, or videos.

Embed Your Google Files

1. Open Insert and scroll to Docs, Slides, Sheets, Forms, or Charts. Pick the type you need.

   
    

2. Select your file and click Insert.

   
    

3. Resize the file by dragging the blue handles around it.

Style Your Site

Dress up your site with one of Google's themes, or design your own.

Use a Ready-Made Theme

1. Click Themes in the right-hand panel.

   
    

2. Pick any theme listed under Created by Google.

Design Your Own Theme

1. Go to Themes > Custom and select Create theme.

   
    

2. Name the theme and click Next. A logo and a banner image are optional extras.
3. Choose a color palette and click Next. For control over individual colors, select Customize colors.
4. Select your fonts, then click Create theme.

Preview and Collaborate

See how your site behaves on different screens, then bring in your team.

Check Your Site on Different Screens

1. Click the eye icon labeled Preview at the top of the editor.

   
    

2. Use the layout choices at the bottom right to preview a phone, tablet, or desktop view.

   
    

3. Click Exit at the bottom right when you want to keep editing.

Add Editors

1. Click the person-with-plus icon labeled Share with others at the top of the editor.

   
    

2. Type an email address under Share with people and groups.

   
    

3. Switch the role to Editor, then click Done.

   
    

Anyone with a Google account can open and edit your draft once you add them as an editor. Someone without a Google account can read the draft after they enter a verification code that Google emails them, but they can't make changes.

Take Your Site Live

Publishing puts your site online, and the sharing settings decide who gets to see it.

Publish Your First Version

1. Click Publish at the top right of the editor.

   
    

2. Type a name for your site's URL under Web address.

   
    

3. Click Publish, then open the address to check that the site loads.

With a Google Workspace account, your site's address looks like sites.google.com/yourdomain.com/sitename, and sitename is the name you typed.

Set Your Site's Audience

1. Click Share with others at the top of the editor.
2. Open the drop-down beside Published site and pick a visibility option, then click Save or Done.
3. For Restricted, add each person or group by name or email address, select Published viewer, and click Send. Check Notify people if you'd like them to get an email.

Make Changes After Publishing

Sites saves each edit as you work, but the live version doesn't change until you publish again. After editing, click Publish at the top right.

To change the end of your site's URL:

1. Click the arrow beside Publish and select Publish settings.
2. Type the new URL under Web address, then click Save.

Connect Your Own Subdomain (Optional)

Using your own address takes two steps: one in the Google Admin console and one in your Customer Portal.

Step 1: Register the Custom URL in the Admin Console

1. Open the Google Admin console and sign in as an admin.
2. Choose Menu > Apps > Google Workspace > Sites.

   
    

3. Follow the prompts to add a custom URL. When Google asks for the current site address, type it without https://, such as sites.google.com/yourdomain.com/sitename, and click Continue.
4. Select your verified domain, type the custom URL you want, and click Continue.
5. Click Add Custom URL.

Step 2: Point Your Subdomain to Google With a CNAME Record

When HostGator manages your domain's DNS, add a CNAME record that sends your subdomain to Google.

1. Log in to your Customer Portal.
2. Click Domains on the left-side menu.

   
    

   • If you have a single domain in your account, you will be redirected to the domains panel right away.
   • If you have multiple domains, a list will appear. Click the domain you want to manage.

     List view:

     
      

     Card view:

     
      

3. Open the DNS tab.

   
    

4. Under Manage Advanced DNS Records, click + Add Record.

   
    

5. Select Single record.

   
    

6. Set the type to CNAME and fill in the values from the table below.

   Field	Value
   Type	CNAME
   Name (host)	Only the subdomain, for example team for team.yourdomain.com
   Refers to (target)	ghs.googlehosted.com
   TTL	Keep the default

   
    

7. Click Add to save it.

Expect DNS changes to update within a few hours, though they can take up to 48. Google supplies a domain-validated SSL certificate for your custom URL, and it may need a little while to activate. For more on records, see Manage DNS Records with HostGator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Articles

• Google Workspace Admin Help: Map a New URL to a Site in Google Sites
• Google Workspace (Formerly G Suite) Setup Part 1
• Google Workspace (Formerly G Suite) Tools Overview
• How to Get Started with Google Meet in Google Workspace
• Manage DNS Records with HostGator
• What is Google Workspace (Formerly G Suite)?