A review of Google Sites, a website builder
Google has a very simple website builder to build the simplest of websites, it is called Google Sites.
What's so good about it?
It is quick to use. There is no coding. I think that if you have only ever used Ebay to upload images and type things into a page, you will be able to use this.
It is FREE, fast, responsive to different sized screens and the URL is secure. But the website address includes sites.google.com eg https://sites.google.com/yourwebsitename.
You need to have a Google Account and go to “Google Sites” and then you can set up a website.
I would say that it is easier to set up a Google sites website than a free Wordpress site as there are less functions to choose from. Setting up the menu for example is very simple.
You also have the use of loads of Google products like Drive, Forms, Sheets, YouTube, and maps. So easy enough to embed your location map, or your YouTube videos. As it is a Google product, you can share it with your colleagues so long as they have Google accounts and they can edit the site too.
What are the drawbacks?
However, it is a limited product. There are few templates, or fonts to choose from, so it won’t look that pretty. There is no access to the code so you are limited in how you can tailor this to your business. If you wanted an ecommerce site, this is not the solution for you.
Also, without access to the code I could not a cookie consent notice for the GDPR.
I looked this up, and because this is a Google product, it is covered by Google the privacy, cookie, terms & condition policies. So if you have ever ticked OK for any of those and it is recorded in the cookie cache on your web browser you have consented to cookies from Google on all of their sites and products. I still set up a privacy and cookies policy page.
Example
I set up a site for a local club in about an hour. You can see it’s a site which is in Welsh and English but I cannot set it up an official bilingual site as you can see. However, as a way of getting more information online about the club, it is useful.
https://sites.google.com/view/cyd-llandysul/
Conclusion
If you just want couple of pages to show your contact details and some photos and a link to your social media page, I think it’s great.
Customers who do not want to be on or use social media can find you and it is another digital platform for search engines to find you too.
It might be very useful if you are starting a business and just need something quick to get a presence online.
Be warned though that if a product does not work for Google, it can be taken down very quickly. However, if it works, they will keep updating it and improving it.
Can we help you?
If you think that having a Google Sites website is for you but you feel that you need some help setting it up, contact The Solutions Factory with what you want, and we will contact you with a reasonable quote.
Telephone: 01559 363979 or E-mail: enquiries@solutions-factory.co.uk.
What's so good about it?
It is quick to use. There is no coding. I think that if you have only ever used Ebay to upload images and type things into a page, you will be able to use this.
It is FREE, fast, responsive to different sized screens and the URL is secure. But the website address includes sites.google.com eg https://sites.google.com/yourwebsitename.
You need to have a Google Account and go to “Google Sites” and then you can set up a website.
I would say that it is easier to set up a Google sites website than a free Wordpress site as there are less functions to choose from. Setting up the menu for example is very simple.
You also have the use of loads of Google products like Drive, Forms, Sheets, YouTube, and maps. So easy enough to embed your location map, or your YouTube videos. As it is a Google product, you can share it with your colleagues so long as they have Google accounts and they can edit the site too.
What are the drawbacks?
However, it is a limited product. There are few templates, or fonts to choose from, so it won’t look that pretty. There is no access to the code so you are limited in how you can tailor this to your business. If you wanted an ecommerce site, this is not the solution for you.
Also, without access to the code I could not a cookie consent notice for the GDPR.
I looked this up, and because this is a Google product, it is covered by Google the privacy, cookie, terms & condition policies. So if you have ever ticked OK for any of those and it is recorded in the cookie cache on your web browser you have consented to cookies from Google on all of their sites and products. I still set up a privacy and cookies policy page.
Example
I set up a site for a local club in about an hour. You can see it’s a site which is in Welsh and English but I cannot set it up an official bilingual site as you can see. However, as a way of getting more information online about the club, it is useful.
https://sites.google.com/view/cyd-llandysul/
Conclusion
If you just want couple of pages to show your contact details and some photos and a link to your social media page, I think it’s great.
Customers who do not want to be on or use social media can find you and it is another digital platform for search engines to find you too.
It might be very useful if you are starting a business and just need something quick to get a presence online.
Be warned though that if a product does not work for Google, it can be taken down very quickly. However, if it works, they will keep updating it and improving it.
Can we help you?
If you think that having a Google Sites website is for you but you feel that you need some help setting it up, contact The Solutions Factory with what you want, and we will contact you with a reasonable quote.
Telephone: 01559 363979 or E-mail: enquiries@solutions-factory.co.uk.