Google Sites is one of the more underused apps in G Suite (the new name for Google Apps for Education). I’ve been using it for a number of years in school for newsletters and internal staff memos. Unfortunately, while functional, Google Sites was not particularly attractive. However, its great strength, for me, was how one could insert all sorts of content from Google into it. For example, adding forms, maps and so on was a breeze.
However, it’s fair to say, Google Sites needed a makeover and, today, I was very happy to see that my school now has access to the new Google Sites. My first impression: it’s been worth the wait. Having said that, it isn’t going to revolutionise web design or anything like that, but it is the lick of paint that it’s been needing for quite some time. Below is a screenshot.
To my eyes, it looks very similar to site builders like Weebly, which is no bad things. Weebly sites are attractive and functional and one could make a very fine school website from their tools, as many schools have. The new Google Sites, I believe, at first glance, could do the very same, especially as it expands its repertoire.
The new Google Sites has less functions than Weebly but all of the tools integrate beautifully with the other Google Apps. It’s very simple to use and I was able to create a fairly decent looking website with two pages in less than 10 minutes. Everything happens in the sidebar on the right, which allows the user to insert the various tools, add pages and choose themes.
I created a video of the first website I’ve created, which I hope will show how it all works.
Overall, while the new Google Sites isn’t going to change the world, it is a really nice update and long overdue. I do hope that Google will expand on its functionality and I’m sure it will as it always does.
