Google Sites

It's pretty much like building a presentation in PowerPoint. You open Google Sites, choose a template and start inserting different pages, elements and content. The limitation of features and the drag'n'drop grid-system makes it simple easy to create good looking content. You cannot do it wrong.

Useful 'backend'

A few simple feature makes Google Sites awesome

• It is automatically responsive meaning it looks great on any device. Responsive and Google fits very well together so you're in good hands.

• You can look at your content and test how it looks on different devices in the backend. A great way to see if your content looks great on mobile, tablet and laptops before publishing

• You can see previous versions of the site and what changes has taken place (version history)

• Everything can be drag'n'dropped, and it is very smooth

• You can control who has access, and what type of access they have.

Because it is easy and it works. The simplicity Google Sites provides is beautifully executed in my opinion. They do not offer much, but the included features and the few settings just works smoothly. 

Setting up a domain and going live

You can publish your site and make it visible online on a google domain, which is not beautiful but will work for internal and personal use. However, if you are using Google Sites for a website project, you need to connect a custom domain. Setting up a custom domain is very easy, and there is a detailed step-by-step guide. Google takes you through it, and it's easy. In case you do not own a domain, you can purchase it via Google. You can do it in the domain settings. I have done both, and will recommend Hostinger compared to Google Domains. Primarely because it's better, cheaper and easier - but Google Domains has also recently been taken over by Squarespace.

You can publish your site when the content is ready. When the website is live you can easily create, update, and delete content without it taking effect on the live website. Just don't click publish unless the content is ready to go live. All changes are automatically saved, just like Google does.

Use it as a presentation tool

To be honest, I can create a much better presentation in Google Sites and in Google Slides. The interactive elements and features makes it much easier for me to control, and in general it is a comfortable environment for me - probably because of my work with 100's of applications.

Internal wiki

Instead of setting up complex systems for your internal documents and knowledge sharing, Google Sites might be a service you can use for this type of information and data. It could be company policies, learning center, help desks, guides and manuals and so forth. Documents which are updated on a regular basis. The built-in version history also give you an opportunity to spot patterns and review the history.

You can certainly present content better than in a Word document, and make it easy accessible via links.

You can take advantage of the built-in user management. You can allow other people to contribute to the project, and/or restrict their right to edit etc. Another fail-safe is to let the administrator review everything before it can be published. Pretty imporatant features of any backend with multiple users, but I've seen this badly executed in other solutions. 

There are seamless integration with some of the familiar Google tools.

• You can easily insert Youtube videos on your pages

• You can easily insert Google Maps on your site

• You can use Google Forms on your website to collect data etc.

• Other Google tools: Docs, Slides, Sheets, Charts, Calendar

Strange as it might be it is not possible, as far as I know, to manage the 'backend' of Google Sites on a mobile device. They don't make it easy in any case..

Mobile should be your first priority when you design a website. With Google Sites it is possible to preview content changes on various devices. If you make beautiful content for a desktop screen, it might look ugly or non-user-friendly. Always preview on mobile, and make the necessary adjustments. The result is a user-friendly and beautiful website on all screens, but most importantly on mobile screens. That's my advice anyway..

It is one of those simple tools inexperienced people forget to use, and a great habit to get. 

If you need a website with complex integrations, an advanced backend, highly customizable, or advanced features, Google Sites is not for you. It is - simply put - a presentation tool for the World Wide Web. And that is beautiful. This is a tool everyone can learn to use quickly. Some people will be able to create without any guidance, and some people might need to watch tutorials and read documentation.