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Google Sites

A simple yet powerful website creation tool that enables users to create websites within minutes

8.6

505 Votes

Google Sites is a free medium to host content on the Internet without any complicated setup or maintenance. It is widely available for use and does not require much effort on the user's part. There is little customization, but what can be changed or integrated is generally a fairly simple process because it is mainly drag and drop or fill in the blank.

Google Sites has been around for quite some time and is a much more sophisticated update to its predecessor also from Google: Blogger. While Blogger still exists and can have new sites created today, it still looks as if it is from the early 2000s. On the contrary, Google Sites has modern looking themes, and many of them so that they do not all look the same, which is another problem that Blogger had at times. With these themes, you can drag and drop any HTML element you would like and the CSS is already taken care of. However, that is the extent of what you can add. Unfortunately including server-side code is not possible, which limits some functionality.

Another major benefit of Google Sites is that it is completely free to use. There are no hosting costs associated with it and because it is run on Google's servers, you are guaranteed to have very little downtime. You can pay for a custom domain name if you would like, but you do not have to. If you opt to not pay for a custom domain name, then your website will have a unique subdomain from Google. This might be fine for personal projects and portfolios, but for anything professional, you should purchase a domain name, regardless of where you plan to host.

Speaking of hosting, Google does all of that work for you, so you do not have to worry about that. Your website will be up almost 100% of the time since it is being hosted by the world's biggest Internet company. Additionally, you will not have to worry about server updates, website vulnerabilities, getting hacked, or anything else associated with hosting your own website. For the non-tech savvy, this is an ideal option, because it leaves them to worry about the look of their website rather than keeping it up and secure all of the time. Even for those familiar with server management, Google Sites makes the process so easy that it may be a good idea for something you do not want to stress about, such as a personal portfolio.

Pros

  • Completely free
  • No hosting hassles
  • Near 100 percent uptime
  • Easy to use HTML editor and many themes allow you to change the look and feel of your website as you please

Cons

  • Allows little to no customization aside from look
  • Missing key elements to some websites, such as a payment processor
  • May not look professional unless you buy a domain name

Highest-Rated Features:

  1. Email Integration
  2. Drag and Drop
  3. Content Management

Lowest-Rated Features:

  1. E-Commerce Setup
  2. Domain Name
  3. Templates
Company
Google
HQ Location
Mountain View, CA
Ownership
NASDAQ:GOOG
Total Revenue (USD mm)
$182,527
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