Google Sites Help
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Classic Google Sites How-tos by Steegle.com

Articles explaining how to do various tasks on Google Sites. If you can't find what you need use the search on the top right or request one-shot support.

Google Apps - Restrict Site Creation to an Organisation Google Apps for Work, Education and Nonprofits offers organisation-level restrictions on Google Sites creation: these instructions tell you how you can allow selected organisational units to create sites. Instructions Sign in to your Google Apps Admin Panel https://admin.google.com Open Apps, then Google Apps, and then Sites Use the three-dot menu drop-down at the top right and turn Sites ON for everyone Note: This can take 24 hours to take effect Open Sharing settings Select your overall domain (e.g. Steegle.com in the example) In the Site Creation section set users at [domain name] cannot create sites Note: This stops everyone in the domain creating sites ...

Posted 2 Jul 2015, 14:08 by Stephen Hind

Google Sites - Embed PDF from Google Drive Google Drive offers an embeddable preview of PDF files: these instructions tell you how to embed your Google Drive PDF file in your classic Google Site and a Video How-To.Using new Google Sites? See Embed PDFs and Word Documents in new Google Sites. Instructions Find the PDF file in Google Drive Preview the PDF file in Google Drive Pop-out the Google Drive preview Use the More actions menu and choose Embed item Copy code provided Edit Google Sites page where you want to embed Open the HTML Editor Paste the HTML embed code provided by the Google Drive preview Use the Update button and Save the page Feedback Please let ...

Posted 23 Jan 2017, 09:51 by Stephen Hind

Google Sites - Themes, Colours, and Fonts Google Sites allows you to change the theme of your website, which can drastically or subtlety alter how it looks and feels. You can also customise the colour and size of your text, background colours/images and more. Instructions Note: To apply any of these changes, you must be the Site Owner Change the Site Theme When you create a site, you are asked to choose a theme. A theme puts certain proportions onto the layout (e.g. the distance between the horizontal navigation bar and the page content), and it also comes with default styles, like fonts, font colours, and background images. You can change the theme of your site, and customise fonts ...

Posted 7 Aug 2014, 11:00 by Unknown user

Google Sites - Allow Site Embedding (in iframes) Do you want to embed Google Site on another site (in an iframe)? Google Sites now provides a setting to allow site embedding so you can allow your Google Site to appear in another site.Note: This is not a feature offered in new Google Sites. Instructions Use the More button (it looks like a gear/cog), then Manage Site (or keyboard shortcut g then m) Scroll to the bottom of the General settings to find the Security section. To allow embedding of your site enable the Allow embedding of your sites in other sites option Use the red Save button at the top of Manage site That's it, you're done ...

Posted 28 Feb 2017, 11:53 by Stephen Hind

Google Sites - Domain Viewer Comments (not public) Do you want your invited domain viewers to comment on your Google Site? Enable Viewer Comments for Google Apps sites to enable those you invite as viewers, within your domain, to leave comments on the site. Instructions Sign in to your Google Apps control panel at https://admin.google.com; Open the Google Apps option, then Sites and then Sharing settings; Scroll down to the Viewer commenting section and chose the Users at [company] can enable viewer comments option; Sign in to the Google Site you wish to enable Viewer Commenting on; Use the More button and the Manage site (or keyboard shortcut g then m); On the General page scroll down to ...

Posted 5 Jun 2014, 16:57 by Unknown user

Google Sites - Dismissible Site Notice Do you need to give a message to your visitors the first time they arrive? Use the Site Notice to provide a dismissible message your site visitors will see the first time they visit arrive at the site (a warning about cookies for example). Instructions Sign in to your Google Site as owner; Use the More button then Manage site; On the General page enter the message, warning or notice you want your visitors to appear in the Site notice box. Use the red Save button and your site will refresh and you will see the notice with the OK got it button to dismiss the message. Example Applications Cookie Warning - European Union law requires ...

Posted 27 Aug 2015, 10:39 by Stephen Hind

Google Sites - File Cabinet Do you want to share files from your Google Site? Use a File Cabinet page on Google Sites to upload multiple files, organise in folders, sort by name, size date and more. Find out how in our Google Sites File Cabinet Video. Instructions Create a File Cabinet page Sign in to your Google Site Use the Create page button Name your page Choose File cabinet from the Select a template to use Use the red Create button to create the page Upload Files Navigate to your File Cabinet page Use Add files button Choose the file or files to upload. If you want to upload multiple files hold the Ctrl key on the keyboard (Cmd on ...

Posted 18 Aug 2014, 09:55 by Unknown user

Google Sites - Index the right address (Canonical URL) Does your site appear in Google Search with the sites.google.com address? Set the canonical URL of the site so Google Search knows which URL you want indexed in search results. Instructions Personal Google Sites (sites.google.com/site/...) Sign in to the site you want to set the canonical URL for; Use the More button then Manage site (or the keyboard shortcut g then m); Go to the Web address page and if your Google Sites uses only one web address mapping then Google SItes sets it as your canonical URL by default: you need to do nothing therefore. Note: we strongly recommend you follow the steps in Google Sites ...

Posted 5 Jun 2014, 16:52 by Unknown user

Google Sites - Embed a Google+ Post Want to know how to embed a Google+ Post in a Google Site? These instructions show you how to embed a Google+ post in your Google Sites, complete with comments. Instructions Find the Google+ post you want to embed in your Google Site; Note: you cannot embed a Google+ event, only a public post; Use the Google+ post's drop-down menu at the top right corner (looks like a downward pointing chevron) and then Link to post; Copy the link of the post (URL) from the Link to this post box; Sign in to your Google Site and edit the page where you want the Google+ post to appear; Use the Insert menu ...

Posted 5 Mar 2014, 13:08 by Stephen Hind

Google Sites - Copy Page Need to make a copy of a page on Google Sites? Google Sites now provides the Copy Page feature, you can make an exact copy of a page to another location on the same site. Instructions Navigate to the page you wish to copy; Use the More button then Copy page (or use the keyboard shortcut Shift+c); Enter a name for your copied page in the Name your page: box and Select a location for the copied page; Use the red Copy button at the towards the top of the page to start the page copy process; Once copied Google Sites will take you to the copied page and open the editor so you can ...

Posted 6 Mar 2015, 16:06 by Stephen Hind

How to use the Google Sites Edit site layout tool by Steegle.com Instructions on how to edit your Header, Horizontal Navigation, Sidebar and Custom Footer in Google Sites Instructions Accessing Edit Site Layout Use the More button (looks like a gear/cog) then Edit site layout (or the keyboard shortcut Shift+L) The previous editor, SIte Layout in Manage Site, no longer exists The four large buttons at the top of the site layout editor (Header, Horizontal Navigation, Sidebar and Custom Footer) allow you to enable or disable (display or hide) that part of the site: clicking these buttons will make that part of the site appear or disappear, clicking those buttons will not open the editor for those ...

Posted 6 May 2014, 15:35 by Unknown user

Awesome Table Gadget explained by Steegle.com Display awesome tables in your Google Site with this gadget from Google Apps Script Top Contributor and Google Gadget guru Romain Vialard. Instructions Open a Google Sheet (Google Drive Spreadsheet), or make a new one, and on the first row define titles for each column.On the second row of your Google Sheet add filters you want to display in the table.Share the Google Sheet with those who need to see it. If you want to add the table to a public site make sure you share the sheet as either Anyone with the link or Public. If you do not want the public to see the table just share with the ...

Posted 21 May 2014, 13:36 by Stephen Hind

Google+ provides a tool to create an icon to link to your Google+ Profile, either a Google+ Page or your personal Google+ Profile. These instructions tell you how to create the HTML code for the icon and add it to the footer of your Google Site.Video How To Instructions Go to https://developers.google.com/+/plugins/badge/ and Sign in with the Google+ account you want to link to. Select the Google+ Page or Profile you want to link to from the Google+ Page drop-down box. Choose the Icon option from the Features Copy the HTML Code given on the right under the icon Go to your site and Sign in as an owner Use the More button ...

Posted 5 Mar 2014, 13:10 by Stephen Hind

Google Sites - Page Description - Meta Description Tag & SnippetsGoogle Sites now offers Page Descriptions, so you can write a summary of the page's content and Google Sites uses this for meta tags on the page. This means when you share or +1 a page via Google+, Like a page via Facebook or when search engines index your site Google Sites will give your Page Description as the snippet text rather than the first piece of text on the page.Google Sites uses the page description for various pieces of meta data, which includes the Open Graph Protocol (for Facebook Likes), Google-recommended schema.org microdata (for Google+ shares and +1's) and the standard description meta tag (search engines ...

Posted 7 May 2014, 09:51 by Unknown user

Google Sites - Animated Slider / Slideshow Google Docs Presentation Do you want to add a slick animation, slideshow, carousel or slider to a Google Site using a Google Docs Presentation? These instructions use a custom gadget made by Romain Vialard to embed a Google Docs Presentation into a Google Site. New! See our Website and Intranet Gallery Google Sites Slideshow Maker Gadget - Video Tutorial Limitations There is a minimum width of 550px for the gadget else it displays black bars on the left and right sides, a maximum width of 1050px else you see a black bar at the top, and you must use the Standard 4:3 page setup, other than that the only real limitation is your creativity and ...

Posted 1 Dec 2015, 15:30 by Stephen Hind

Google Sites - Add more HTML, CSS and JavaScript Google Sites now provides an HTML Box so you can add more complicated HTML, CSS and JavaScript, e.g. forms, background images and some onMouseOver events, in the HTML Box. This allows more functionality but does not allow all possible JavaScript as the code only works within the HTML Box and does not work with your site content outside of the HTML Box. Instructions Navigate to the page where you want to add the HTML, CSS or JavaScript.Use the Insert menu, then HTML Box.Once the Insert HTML Box editor appears add the code you want to use.Google Sites checks the code, while you edit, for errors and will not ...

Posted 5 Jun 2014, 16:26 by Unknown user

Google Sites now allows multiple file uploads all at the same time, not one-by-one. With this update the method to view and download files also changes and the way Google Sites stores the uploaded file names. Instructions Upload Multiple Files Navigate to the page where you want to attach the files Use the Add files link at the bottom of the page to open your web browser's file chooser. If you want to add files to a File Cabinet page use the Add file button at the top of the page.Choose the file, or files, you want to upload. You can choose multiple files to upload in two ways:To choose a list of sequential files ...

Posted 6 Jun 2014, 13:47 by Unknown user

Google Sites now provides the Google Feedback tool that Google uses across many of its products. You will find it really easy to use, just follow the steps below to report an issue. Instructions Use the More button (or keyboard short cut m)Choose Report an issue Type a Brief description of the issue and use the Next button If appropriate Highlight the areas of the site that are causing an issue. Some areas will highlight as you hover the mouse over them, then just click, and some you will need to click and drag the mouse to highlight. You can select multiple areas to highlight, just click on each one, or click and drag across a large area to ...

Posted 5 Mar 2014, 13:18 by Stephen Hind

These instructions tell you how to delete any images, files or attachments you upload to your site, releasing the space they use. At the moment Google Sites does not provide a means to delete images uploaded to the sidebar, so I suggest you always upload your images to a page (then add them to the sidebar by web address) so you can delete them if you need to. Instructions Delete Files Temporarily (soft delete)Sign in to your Google Site Use the More button (looks like a gear/cog) and then Manage Site (or keyboard shortcut g then m) and go to Attachments.You will see a list of all the images, files and attachments available on your Google Site ...

Posted 5 Jun 2014, 16:49 by Unknown user

Lots of people like to use Facebook so I created a gadget to add a Facebook Like button to your Google Site. These instructions tell you how to add the Steegle.com Facebook Like Button Gadget to your Google Site. This gadget can auto-detect the page's URL so you don't need to add it, so you can add to a page template and it will work without further configuration. Note: If you have installed any browser extensions to stop the Facebook Like Button, e.g. "Facebook Disconnect" then this gadget will not work either. Instructions Go to your Google Site's page where you want to add the button and use the Edit Page button. Use the ...

Posted 14 Aug 2015, 17:20 by Stephen Hind

Google Sites now provides the Google +1 button so you can embed it in your site sidebar and in your pages' content area.Instructions Add +1 Button to Sidebar Sign in to your Google Site Use the More button then Manage Site (alternatively you can use the keyboard shortcut g then m) and go to Site Layout At the bottom of the Sidebar section use the Add a sidebar item link Once the Choose a new page element dialogue box appears scroll to find the +1 button and use the Add button Move the the place-holder for the button up or down, if you wish (click and drag with your mouse) Use the Save button (next to Manage Site ...

Posted 5 Mar 2014, 13:20 by Stephen Hind

Google Sites now offers Page-Level Permissions, which means you can invite users to your Google Site and give them different permissions for different parts and pages on the site. This means some users could only view certain pages and edit others. Introduction To give a user a specific permission on a page you first need to invite that user to the site, once you invite the user to the site you can then grant specific permissions on individual pages for that user. Pages can also provide different visibility levels but you can only make a page less visible than its parent or the site. The site navigation also respects the page-level permissions so if set a page's ...

Posted 16 Nov 2015, 10:47 by Stephen Hind

Google Sites now provides Google Drive Video embedding. This means you can now make use of some advantages over YouTube video embedding: add videos stored in Google Drive that do not provide links to related videos; and you can share the videos privately with more than 25 users, e.g. a whole Google Apps domain. The embed tool also lets you pick a custom size for the video without the need to use custom code. Instructions Sign in to your site and use the Edit Page button on the page you wish to embed the video Use the Insert menu, go to Drive and then Video Choose the video you wish to embed from your list of Google Drive Videos ...

Posted 16 Apr 2015, 12:59 by Stephen Hind

Google Sites now provides a Mobile View (not editing) for smart-phones, mobile phones and other mobiles devices like iPhone and Android-based devices. The updates include: the horizontal navigation now works with touch screens; the sidebar can expand and collapse (pop-in and pop-out), which automatically collapses in portrait viewing mode and expands in landscape mode; and all the System Footer links, apart from "powered by Google Sites" disappear to give more vertical space and avoid wrapping. These instructions tell you how you can enable the Mobile View (auto-rendering) for your Google Site.If you want to edit a Google Site on an iPad then update your iPad to iOS5 and you can. For more information see ...

Posted 6 Jun 2014, 16:58 by Unknown user

Google Sites now provides the ability to hide the Sign In, Recent Changes and Print Page links from your System Footer. These instructions tell you how to use the new Customise System Footer Links feature. Instructions Sign in to your site Use the More Actions button then Edit site layout (or use the keyboard shortcut Shift+L)Hover your mouse over the system footer and the Edit system footer popup will appear: click on the the system footer Choose which links you wish to hide (you cannot hide the Terms, Report Abuse or Powered by Google Sites links) Use the OK button then the blue Close button in the top right corner Use the More button then Preview as viewer ...

Posted 12 May 2014, 15:58 by Unknown user

Twitter have released a new Tweet button, so I created a gadget to add them to your Google Site. These instructions tell you how to add the Steegle.com Twitter Tweet Button Gadget to your Google Site. This gadget can now auto-detect the page's URL so you don't need to add it, so you can add to a page template and it will work without further configuration. Instructions Go to your Google Site's page where you want to add the button and use the Edit Page button. Use the Insert menu, then More gadgets... Use the Add gadget by URL link Enter the following URL into the box: http://hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/110509162544058635853 ...

Posted 12 May 2014, 10:33 by Unknown user

Twitter have released a new Follow button, so I created a gadget to add them to your Google Site. These instructions tell you how to add the Google Sites Twitter Follow Button Gadget to your Google Site. Instructions Go to your Google Site's page where you want to add the button and use the Edit Page button. Use the Insert menu, then More gadgets... Use the Add gadget by URL link Enter the following URL into the box: http://hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/110509162544058635853/steegle-google-sites-twitter-follow-button.xml and use the Add button Enter your Twitter screen name (required) and choose whether you want to display the number of followers you have (Followers count ...

Posted 9 May 2014, 16:49 by Unknown user

Romain Vialard has written a Google Apps Script to allow Google Sites Viewers to Subscribe to Site Changes. This article uses Romain's video to demonstrate how to add the Google Apps Script to your Google Site, so your site viewers can subscribe to site changes. Many thanks to Romain Vialard who works at Revevol, the first worldwide network dedicated to Google Apps and helps global corporations to deploy innovative communication and collaborative solutions in the Cloud by providing expertise, services and best practices. For a sample of the Google Spreadsheet and links to the template see Romain's site at:http://sites.google.com/site/subscribetochangesforviewers/ RSS Feed of our Google Sites How-Tos

Posted 5 Mar 2014, 13:35 by Stephen Hind

You can now get your Google Site found in Google Search within 2 weeks if you register your naked domain and the www subdomain in Google Webmaster Tools. Many thanks to Joshua Howell of shocknawe.com.au for sharing the technique with me and allowing me to add it to my Google Sites How Tos. This process relies on your naked domain (e.g. example.com) redirecting to your subdomain (e.g. www.example.com) because you cannot point a naked domain to a Google Site, so if you have any difficulties in doing this I offer a service to configure it for you: Google Sites Setup Service. If you do not use Google Sites and your naked domain shows ...

Posted 13 Jul 2017, 17:35 by Stephen Hind

Unfortunately this gadget no longer works as Google has blocked the display of the albums in an iframe. We have requested that Google revert this so until they do this gadget will not work. You can add a Picasa Web Album Sideshow that loops, does not link to the album and auto-plays using the gadget explained in these instructions. I made the gadget to use the HTML-based sideshow provided by Picasa Web Albums and added it to an iframe. The gadget is heavily based on Scott Johnston's Include Gadget (iframe), so many thanks to Scott for the fantastic base to work from. Instructions Go to the page you want to add the slideshow to and use the ...

Posted 3 Dec 2015, 09:55 by Stephen Hind

Google Sites - Site Sharing and Visibility Google Sites has a new Sharing interface and sharing options: you can now make your site publicly accessible but not indexed by search engines. You can still invite people who can edit the site, view the site and site owners.Overall Site Sharing Instructions - Accessing the Sharing Settings You can get to the Sharing and Permissions in three ways: Use the blue Share button; Use the More (cog/gear) button, then Sharing and Permissions; Use the keyboard shortcut Shift+S Instructions - Make Site Public and Searchable Access the Sharing and Permissions Use the Change link at the top of the list under Permissions to display the Visibility options Choose Public on the web and ...

Posted 1 May 2014, 16:56 by Unknown user

Google Sites - Horizontal Navigation with drop-downs Google Sites now offers two methods of navigation for your site, in the sidebar and now in the header, horizontally, with mouseover drop-down menus. Note: The Google Sites horizontal navigation only offers one level of drop-down menu: you cannot have a submenu that appears as a submenu of the drop-down menu. Instructions - Horizontal Navigation You need to enable this new navigation, to do so use the More button (it looks like a gear/cog), then Edit site layout (or keyboard shortcut Shift+L) If you need to enable Horizontal Navigation use the Horizontal Navigation button: once used the site header will grow and you can click on the Horizontal Navigation ...

Posted 10 Apr 2014, 13:48 by Stephen Hind

Google Sites - PayPal Simple Storefront Gadget PayPal and Google have released a gadget to add PayPal Buy Now Buttons and Shopping Carts to your Google Site. This is not available for new Google Sites Instructions - PayPal Buy Now Button/Add to Cart Button Go to the page you want to add the button to and use the Edit Page button Use the Insert menu then More Gadgets... Go to the Featured section and find the PayPal Simple Storefront gadget and click on it and use the Select button Choose either Buy Now Button or Add to Cart button. If you choose Add to Cart then you also need a View Cart button, so see the PayPal View Cart Button instructions ...

Posted 23 Jun 2017, 10:10 by Stephen Hind

The video below is a recording of the webinar I did for the Get British Business Online (GBBO) campaign. In the video I demonstrate how to perform some of the basic tasks with Google Sites. See the time line below the video for a summary of what I cover. The video has been updated so it no longer stops.Video - Google Sites Basics This video is best watched in full-screen: use the full-screen button ( ) at the end of the progress bar to see the video in full-screen. Time Line 00:00 Introduction Sign In to a Google Site Create a Page - briefly discuss default templates Edit a Page - briefly discuss the editor's tools Revision History - compare ...

Posted 5 Mar 2014, 13:38 by Stephen Hind

The video below is a recording of the webinar I did for the Get British Business Online (GBBO) campaign. In the video I demonstrate how to perform some of the basic tasks with Google Sites. See the time line below the video for a summary of what I cover. The video has been updated so it no longer stops.Video - Google Sites Basics This video is best watched in full-screen: use the full-screen button ( ) at the end of the progress bar to see the video in full-screen. Time Line 00:00 Introduction Sign In to a Google Site Create a Page - briefly discuss default templates Edit a Page - briefly discuss the editor's tools Revision History - compare ...

Posted 5 Mar 2014, 13:38 by Stephen Hind

You can get e-mail subscriptions to your public Announcement Pages by using FeedBurner. This requires you to register with FeedBurner, register your RSS feed with FeedBurner and add their e-mail subscription form (or link) to your site. Instructions On your Announcements page find the Subscribe to posts link (next to an RSS Feed icon ) and right-click and copy the URL of the feed (Copy link location in Firefox, Copy shortcut in Internet Explorer, Copy link address in Google Chrome, Copy link in Safari). Go to http://feedburner.google.com/, sign in and paste the feed URL you copied from your site in the Burn a feed right this instant box and use the Next button. Enter the ...

Posted 5 Jun 2014, 16:58 by Unknown user

The File Cabinet page and Attachment section in Google Sites does not offer any way to sort the list of files. These instructions tell you how to use a List Page to link to the files and then you can choose to sort. You will find these instructions easier to follow if you know how to use multiple browser tabs or windows.Instructions Create a List Page and make appropriate columns on it (e.g. Name, Description, Version plus any others you need) and ensure that one of the columns uses the URL type (the Name column for instance). Use the Add Item button to make a new list item use the or existing page link for your URL column ...

Posted 5 Jun 2014, 16:56 by Unknown user

Google Sites now allows you to vertically align your site logo, site title and site search at the top, middle or bottom and horizontally in the centre. This gives you that little more control over the look and layout of your Google Site. Instructions Go to your Google Site and use the More Actions button, then Manage site and then go to Site Layout Use the Change site layout button You can now choose the vertical alignment using the Vertical box under Alignment and you can centre your logo and search box using the Horizontal drop-down box.Once you have selected the alignment use the OK button then the Save changes button.You can return to your site to ...

Posted 6 Jun 2014, 17:30 by Unknown user

Google Apps Script - Contact Us Form - Email Google now provide scripts you can add to spreadsheets, so now when a Google Sites visitor uses your Google Spreadsheet Form you can have the response e-mailed to you, rather than having to go to the spreadsheet. Instructions Go to Google Docs (either http://drive.google.com for a personal account or http://drive.google.com/a/example.com for Google Apps uses, where example.com is your domain) Use the Create button then choose Form to make a new form In the form you need to make three required questions Name E-mail Address (so you can get back in touch) Message (or whatever you want to call it) For further ...

Posted 11 Apr 2014, 14:43 by Unknown user

Google Sites offers the ability to upload files and attachments, but did you know you can link to them easily? Use the search facility in the link tool and it finds uploaded files and attachments as well as pages. Instructions Type the text you want to be the link.Select the text (click and drag with the mouse or hold down the Shift key and use the cursor keys to make the selection) you typed to be the link.Use the Link button.In the search box type a part of the file name you want to link to or its extension (e.g. pdf) and use the Search pages button.Choose the file or attachment you want to link ...

Posted 9 May 2014, 12:09 by Unknown user

Google Ceased support for Google buzz some time ago These instructions are no longer valid Google have released Buzz buttons so you can add a button to your web pages to get people to Buzz about them. The button Google has released will not work with Google Sites as it contains JavaScript, so I have created a Google Buzz Button Gadget that will work with Google Sites. Instructions Go to your Google Site's page where you want to add the button and use the Edit Page button. Use the Insert menu, then More gadgets... Use the Add gadget by URL link Enter the following URL into the box: http://hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/110509162544058635853/steegle-google-sites ...

Posted 5 Mar 2014, 13:43 by Stephen Hind

As of July 15, 2009, Google Sites officially supports the ability to customize the favicon for your Google Sites website.What is a favicon?According to Wikipedia, a favicon (short for favorites icon), also known as a website icon, shortcut icon, url icon, or bookmark icon is a 16x16 pixel square icon associated with a particular website or webpage. The favicon is often displayed in your browser's address bar, bookmarks/favorites list, tabs and even desktop shortcuts to web pages. Full Article For the full instructions on how to add a favicon to Google Sites go to Adding a Custom Favicon (Unofficial Google Sites Help) Acknowledgements Many thanks to bcj19 of KC Cloud Solutions for this article.

Posted 20 Mar 2010, 23:35 by Stephen Hind

Google Sites offers the ability to Move pages to sub-pages of other pages, or to Top-Level pages. Instructions Go to the page you want to move and do not edit it. Use the More Actions button (shaped like a cog/gear) then Move page. Once the Move Page dialogue box appears use the Site map link to see a hierarchical tree view of your site. To move the page to the Top-Level then click the page at the top of the tree (it should show your site name next to it). The screenshot, below on the right, shows the Move Page dialogue box with the Top Level selected (steegle.com) to move the page to the top ...

Posted 6 Jun 2014, 17:24 by Unknown user

Google Sites now offers Site Templates to get you started with a structure and a good looking theme. Google Have also provided Template Tips site to help you change your site to how you want, as there may be some elements of the Templates that you do not know how to edit. Site Template Logos If you want to be able to change the logo at the top of the page (the area that has "Name" followed by "your tagline goes here") in the header you can download the logos, in JPEG and Photoshop PSD format, from the Template Assets page.Site Template Content Editing The Template Tips page gives comprehensive instructions on each area of the site so you ...

Posted 12 May 2014, 12:25 by Unknown user

Google has released Site Templates which means when you make a new site you can pick a template with a custom theme and structure ready for use. Steegle.com has teamed up with GeThemes.com to use the themes made by GeThemes.com to make templates with the themes ready for use.Instructions Use one of the links or images on the right to choose the template you want to use.Once opened use the Create a site from this template link.Don't forget to Name your Site and Your site will be located at this URL.Use the Create site button and you're done.At the minute we have only created one template (Steegle / GeThemes Clouds) but ...

Posted 5 Mar 2014, 13:49 by Stephen Hind

You can now make custom Page Templates in Google Sites. This means you can make pages with a default layout and content, like certain text and images or a particular arrangement of gadgets and tables.Page Template Creation Instructions Create a page with the layout and content you would like to use as a template Use the More Actions button then Save as page template Enter a Template name, Description and upload an Icon (if required) and use the Save button Make any further edits you need then use the Save button. Page Template Editing Instructions Use the More Actions button, then Manage Site and then Page templates Use the name of the template link to open the templateUse ...

Posted 5 Mar 2014, 13:51 by Stephen Hind

If you have run out of space for your personal Google Site you can move your site to Google Apps, to take advantage of the 10GB available! Instructions Invite a Google Workspace account as owner Go to your personal Google Site and use the More Actions button and then Site Permissions: then add the Google Apps Account e-mail address to the Add people box, choose Is Owner from the drop-down box and use the Share button. For more detailed instructions on how to share a site with other see the Invite people to the site section of Google Sites - Site Sharing and Visibility Options Sign in to the personal Google Site with your Google Workspace Account Once you ...

Posted 17 Aug 2017, 11:07 by Stephen Hind

You can now add pictures from a Picasa Web Album to a Google Site from the Insert menu and upload them to a Picasa Web Album too, without leaving your Google Site! Insert a Picasa Photo Instructions Use the Insert menu then choose Picasa Photo;Choose the album that contains the image you want to add to your site;Once the album has opened choose the picture you want to insert;Choose the alignment, size and wrapping you want for the photo and use the Save button.Upload a Photo to a Picasa Web Album Instructions Use the Insert menu then choose Picasa Photo;Choose Upload photos under Photos in the All items section on the left;Select an album ...

Posted 5 Mar 2014, 14:01 by Stephen Hind

Google has just released a new feature that allows you to make copy of your site to a new location, which means you can now use this to change the URL of your site (provided the URL you want to use is not already in use, deleted or reserved).Instructions Sign in to your site and use the More button (looks like a cog or a gear) and then Manage site. Go to the General page and scroll down and use the Copy this Site button Enter the site name, your new URL, choose if you want to keep the revisions and sharing, enter the captcha code and use the Copy site button. Note This will not redirect your ...

Posted 3 Dec 2015, 09:26 by Stephen Hind

If you use Google Apps then you can create a Start Page on Google Sites, similar to the iGoogle page. Please bare in mind this is only available to Google Sites made in a Google Apps domain, not a personal Google Site.Instructions Sign in to your site where you want the Start Page (you may wish to make a dedicated site for this) and use the Create Page button.Choose the Start Page type from the list of page types, give your page a name and use the Create Page button.The page is now ready for individual users add their own gadgets by using the Add personal gadgets link. The users only need to be invited as viewers ...

Posted 5 Mar 2014, 14:37 by Stephen Hind

Google has released several new features, two of which allow for easy embedding so you can now embed multiple Google Calendars that appear all in one.Instructions Go to your Google Calendar and go to its settings - see screenshot Google Calendar Settings Menu. Use the Customise the colour, size and other options link in the Embed Calendar section to choose which calendars you want to display - see screenshot Google Calendar Embed Calendar Choose the various settings you want and the calendars you want to display and copy the HTML code from the box (use the keyboard shortcut to copy [Ctrl+C in Windows and Linux and cmd+C on a Mac] as using the context [right-click] menu ...

Posted 9 May 2014, 16:51 by Unknown user

This article is now obsolete as Google Sites now provides Picasa Web Albums Integration. Please see my new article instead: Google Sites - Picasa Web Album Integration Uploading photos, images and pictures to your Google Site takes precious space out of your 100MB or 10GB limit, so why not use Picasa Web Albums instead to store your images and just embed the image in your site.These instructions do not include how to upload to Picasa Web Albums or how to upload from Picasa. Instructions Navigate to the image you want to use in Picasa Web Albums On the right-hand side use the Link to this photo link (drop-down)Choose the size and whether you want to hide the ...

Posted 10 Feb 2014, 13:56 by Stephen Hind

The Countdown Gadget you can use in the sidebar of a Google Site can sometimes be out by a day, so I have created this gadget so you can embed it on your page (at present you cannot embed gadgets in the site sidebar). Instructions Navigate to the page you want to have the countdown on Use the Insert button and choose More Gadgets... Use the Add gadget by URL link Use the URL below for the gadget and use the Add button: http://hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/110509162544058635853/steegle_countdown_gadget_v1.xml Set any of the settings you like and use the OK button to add it to the page. That's it you're done ...

Posted 12 May 2014, 10:11 by Unknown user

Google have now announced the end of Google Friend Connect so I do not suggest anyone uses this method to add visitor comments to a Google Site as this tool will disappear soon.Thanks to Jorek who brought this to my attention I have found a much more effective way of getting Visitor Comments on your site using Google's Web Elements' comment gadget, which means you don't need to register for Google Friend Connect. Instructions Go to the Google Web Elements Conversation Element generator Set the settings you want (Size, Topic and Scope) From the code generated in the code snippet box copy the code give (an example follows below: <!-- Google Conversation Element Code --> <iframe frameborder="0" marginwidth ...

Posted 6 Jun 2014, 17:30 by Unknown user

Google stopped the Google Latitude service so this article no longer applies. Google Latitude now offers a Public Location Badge for websites, but unfortunately the Google Latitude team have not made a gadget for Google Sites, so I have. These instructions assume you use Google Latitude and are configured ready to go.InstructionsGo to the Public Location Badge page:Read carefully the Privacy Notice;Set the Settings you want and Save.From the HTML code given in the Embed the Google Public Location Badge copy the number that follows the user= in the <iframe>tag and paste it somewhere to use later<!-- Google Public Location Badge --><iframe src="http://www.google.com/latitude/apps/badge/api?user=1234567890123456789&type ...

Posted 10 Feb 2014, 14:55 by Stephen Hind

Google Sites SEO Guide Want to get your site found easily? This search engine optimization guide helps you concentrate on what your visitors need and want from your site. If you make a page easier to find for a person you make it easier to find for search engines. Acknowledgements Many, many thanks to the Google Webmasters Team for allowing Steegle to adapt their SEO Starter Guide for use with Google Sites. The reason for the adaptation is some of the advice given in their guide is not possible with Google Sites, due to the security restrictions in place, so we have either changed it or omitted it. This guide is mainly the Google Webmasters Team's work, so thank ...

Posted 11 Apr 2014, 10:17 by Stephen Hind

Acknowledgements Many thanks to Barry Hunter for bringing the gadget used to my attention and his instructions on how to use the KML Embed Gadget. Barry is heavily in to Google Maps, as you can see on his two websites nearby.org.uk and geograph.org.uk. Thanks also to Prac for suggesting making the URL for the gadget a link, so it can be easily copied.Instructions Make a Map Go to Google Maps (UK version, US Version), choose My Maps, use the Create a new map link, add any place markers, lines or areas you want to display, give it a title, make sure the map is public but do not save it yet.Copy your Map's ...

Posted 6 Jun 2014, 16:44 by Unknown user

Google Sites FAQ by Steegle.com Problem with a Google Site? Below follow the most frequently asked questions about Google Sites. If you still need help use our hands-on, real person service: one-shot support. See our Website and Intranet Gallery Can I upload my own site made in iWeb, Dreamweaver, Frontpage or a text editor that uses my own HTML, CSS, JavaScript and Flash? In short, no. Google Sites is a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) tool that provides the means to make a site without any HTML knowledge, and provide it a presence on the web, so there's no need to install any software on to your computer (like iWeb, Dreamweaver or an ...

Posted 6 Jun 2018, 12:23 by Stephen Hind

Google do not provide instructions on how to do everything and one of the useful features of Google Sites is the Table of Contents tool.To get the Table of Contents to work correctly it's a two stage process and the two stages are detailed below in the instructions.Instructions Format your Headings as Headings The Table of Contents has to know what you want in it: the way to do this is to select the text you want to appear as headings and use the Format button followed by the appropriate level of heading; Heading (H2) being the most important and Minor Heading (H4) being the least important. In this article I have included a Table of Contents ...

Posted 5 Mar 2014, 14:53 by Stephen Hind

Google Sites - Visitor Comments - Google Form One of the most frequent questions I ask in the Google Sites Help Forum is "how can I get viewer or visitor comments"? Google Sites has restricted the commenting facility to just editors and owners, so you have to look to some other way of doing so. See our new Google Sites version: Visitor Comments - Google Form and Sheet. What we describe in these instructions is how to use a Google Spreadsheet Form, which integrates nicely with Google Sites, and other free tools to easily setup visitor comments for your Google Site. It can even give pseudo moderation as you can delete comments if necessary, but it will not give you the ability to ...

Posted 31 Jan 2017, 21:45 by Stephen Hind

Many Google Sites users want to know how to make an image a link and Google have just updated Google Sites (2010-08-02) to make this even easier to remove and edit the link on an image, so please follow these instructions to find out how. Instructions Remove Default Automatic Link to Image When you add an image to the page Google Sites automatically makes the image a link to the image itself, so select (or click) the image You will see the Image Option dialogue box appear (it contains both the link information, alignment, size and wrap options): use the upper Remove link - this removes the automatically added link to the image itself. Make an Image a Link ...

Posted 11 Apr 2014, 16:06 by Unknown user

Google Sites - Make an Email Address a Link Many have asked how to make an email address a link (clickable) so website viewers can use it (click on it) to send you an email. Here's how to do it:Instructions Type the email address (or any text) you want to be the link (clickable) and select it (either click and drag your mouse or use the Shift and cursor keys on your keyboard).Use the Link button on the toolbar to make the Create Link dialogue box appear. Note: If the selected text is already an email address, Google Sites will automatically create the mailto: link.Use the Web Address link to enter a web address ...

Posted 1 May 2014, 14:24 by Unknown user

Google no longer offers Google Checkout These instructions are no longer valid as Google does not offer Google Checkout any longer.A couple of people have asked me how I got the Google Checkout Buy Now Button working on my Google Sites Setup Service and Google Apps Setup Service pages so I have decide to write an article explaining how. Instructions Create an Image of the Button - first of all I didn't want to make an image, I just wanted to use the one provided by Google Checkout but Google Sites will not accept the URL, so I saved the image and then uploaded and inserted into the Google Site (for more instructions on using images in Google Sites ...

Posted 5 Mar 2014, 15:01 by Stephen Hind

Google Sites has a few new features that they have yet to release an Announcement for, so I thought I would let you know what I have found: Links - there are several new link features: Search for the page to link to - you now need to search for the page you want to link to rather than use the site map: to see all pages in your site enter * (an asterisk) in the search and the search shows all pages. Open Links in a New Window- when you now use the link tool you have the option to open the link in a new window: just use the tick box in the bottom left corner above the OK button.Make ...

Posted 10 Feb 2014, 14:25 by Stephen Hind

Google Sites keeps the images uploaded to each page separate, so if you have already uploaded an image to a page and want to use it on another then you cannot see it in the Add an Image dialogue box. Below follows some instructions on how you can re-use the image you have already uploaded. This also works for images uploaded to a Picasa Web Albums (don't use the link Picasa Web Albums provides on the right, as it's a link to that Picasa Web Album page - use the link/address/URL described in the process below).Instructions Go to the page where the uploaded image lives (do not edit the page) or go to the page ...

Posted 5 Mar 2014, 15:04 by Stephen Hind

We thought we would write an article of how to insert a table into a Google Site and then remove the borders. This will require you to edit the HTML so if you don't feel you want to do that you will still have the borders. Another approach to adding useful tables to your site is to use our Awesome Tables gadget that uses a Google Drive Spreadsheet for the content of the table and a gadget to format the table and provide filters and sorting. For more information see Google Sites - Awesome Table - Gadget. Instructions Go to the page you want to have the table on and use the Edit Page button. Use the Table menu and then ...

Posted 5 Jun 2014, 16:15 by Unknown user

These instructions tell you how to insert (embed) a Google Calendar into a Google Site. Many people make the mistake of trying to use the embed code from Google Calendar and try to insert it into a Google Site - this is incorrect - please follow the instructions below. Note: If you have a public site you may wish to create a separate public Google Calendar first, so none of your private appointments appear. Remember to make this Google Calendar public. Instructions Go to your Google Calendar and go to its settings - see screen shot Google Calendar Settings Menu. Use the blue HTML icon in the Calendar Address section to make the Calendar Address appear - see screen shot Google Calendar HTML Icon ...

Posted 6 Jun 2014, 10:49 by Unknown user

Learn How to Add Google Analytics to a classic Google Site With Google Sites you do not need to add code to your site, just the Tracking ID. If you use new Google Sites see New Google Sites - Add to Google Search Console. Instructions Go to Google Analytics and sign up for an account (if you have not already done so) and sign in. Once signed in to Google Analytics you will see one of two pages dependent on whether you use Google Analytics already: What do you want to track: if you do not use Google Analytics already you see this page, so continue to Step 3 below; Account Home: if you already use Google Analytics you will see ...

Posted 13 hours ago by Stephen Hind

Many people struggle to get images side-by-side in a Google Site: these instructions provide one way to achieve well aligned images.Instructions To get images in a row you will need to edit the HTML to remove the <div></div> tags inserted by Google Sites to align the images - follow these instructions: Insert your first image by going to Insert then Image Insert your second and subsequent images in the same way Edit the HTML by using the HTML button In the HTML remove the <div style="display: block; text-align: left;"> and </div> that surrounds each image (you can get rid of the links to the image if you want also) This will put your images in ...

Posted 6 Jun 2014, 16:29 by Unknown user

Before we made the Google Sites Howtos we added the article Google Sites - Using a Text Box as a second Sidebar to the News page, so you can find using a text box as a second sidebar at http://www.steegle.com/news/google-sites---using-a-text-box-as-a-second-sidebar.

Posted 5 Mar 2014, 15:15 by Stephen Hind

We've noticed there's a bit of confusion about changing the URLs of Google Sites, so we thought we would create an article to help explain our understanding. This information only applies to Google Apps integrated Google Sites, not sites found at http://sites.google.com/site; to do this for a non-Google Apps Google Site see http://sites.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=99450&topic=15219Root URL If you change the root URL for Google Sites in the Google Apps control panel from: sites.google.com/a/example.com to sites.example.com it means that when you go to sites.example.com you will get the login screen to edit and create sites ...

Posted 9 May 2014, 15:27 by Unknown user