Google Sites Web Design News

Here are some of the key take aways from the Google Next 2019 Session on Google Sites:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XpTDj7UXPI Site Migration - We can expect incremental improvement to the migration tool as new features become available. Image Carousel / Slideshow - It seems like they are poised to release this feature, which many have clamored for. It is an in-page gadget and looks to be paginated with buttons. We didn't see arrows or the settings menu. Cloud Search - Presumably coming soon, this search bar was added in the content area, but can go anywhere on the site. It searches Drive, Sites, and even Gmail! Use Cases - The Google Sites team will focus most on intranets and corporate team sites. It should be optimized for enterprise. New Dashboards - We saw both a sneak peak of the unified Sites dashboard and an admin dashboard for Classic Sites usage, which will help them evaluate which Sites to migrate. Style Customization - Text customization, better brandin

Looking forward to this session: Websites are a vital tool for sharing information within and across teams. We’ve spent the past 6 months talking to customers and determining what comes next for Google Sites. Join us as we give an inside look into how we plan to meet our most demanding customer needs with exciting new features. Whether you have never built a site before, you’re an experienced classic Sites user, or you’re Sites’ biggest fan - you’ll walk away with a better understanding of how Sites can be useful to your organization now and in the future.

This post is a little belated, but nonetheless important. The updated Google Sites roadmap presented on the G Suite Updates blog presents 5 items we need to discuss. Let's dive in. https://gsuiteupdates.googleblog.com/2019/01/google-sites-improvements-new-roadmap.html 1. Classic Google Sites will go down - This action is slated for late 2021. 2. Enterprise Features coming soon - The slow pace of Google Sites upgrades and feature roll-outs has been a concern. However, all your old favorites and some new plug-ins will likely come our way. The Table of Contents gadget has already been rolled out as promised. https://gsuiteupdates.googleblog.com/2019/02/table-of-contents-sites.html 3. More Design Control - A big complaint was the simplicity of New Sites. This is being addressed and fine-tuning your Google Sites theme will be forthcoming. 4. Better Back End Support - The infrastructure to build large intranets is being improved, edit and publishing help, including back up

As a Google Sites specialist it is important to hone your skills once and while. Designing a sample Google Sites, like this intranet concept, allows us to freely express our creativity. So enjoy this sample and contact us if you need a Google Sites specialist for your next project. More samples available on our website

For the first time you can actually embed a Google + environment, stream with posting capability into a website. They have made it super easy to do in the New Google Sites using the Embed URL tool. Before, it seemed that Google was intent on having most Google + content locked down in the platform with no export options. The security around Communities in particular seemed to be an obstacle. Anyways, now things are different. Sites and Google Plus have a new relationship and interaction within intranets is much better because of it. Check out the post from Google and their Support Documentation: Embed Google+ streams in the new Google Sites for more engagement July 30, 2018 We’re making it easier to embed Google+ streams in the new Google Sites. This feature is a top request from users who want to create more interactive and engaging sites. The launch will help you: Increase the social aspect of sites.  Users can see all the posts, photos, comments, and other content

This statement, followed by "Try it now" is appearing for some Google Sites users. The Classic Google Sites to New Google Sites conversion tool is far from perfect. If you need help converting your site and having it appear as a beautiful, on brand, cohesive intranet solution, contact us . Also, just a sidebar here, there is the new ability to add URLs to the Google Sites navigation. So your navigation can point, not only to internal pages within the site, but to other websites, or other Google Sites with different permissions. This is a nice solution for page-level permissions as it is currently lacking from New Sites. Thanks!

Just sharing some fun New Google Sites we are making for various school districts. 

New Google Sites continues to receive regular, monthly updates that bring it closer with the Classic Sites feature set. Therefore, this makes it more viable as a replacement for Classic Sites, scheduled to sunset sometime next year. Let's look at these changes and their effect for intranet builders like myself. Install a Footer on New Sites We are all used to the universal footer, meaning it appears in the same way at the bottom of each page. This is a real time saver for intranets which now have the potential for hundreds of pages (you'll see when we get to the next feature).  You can choose not the display the footer on certain pages if you wish. It also comes with a "Small" font size to accommodate all the fine print at the bottom of your site. https://gsuiteupdates.googleblog.com/2017/11/easily-add-site-wide-footer-in-new.html Multi-level Nested Top Navigation This is definitely necessary to migrate some of the huge sites we've designed

Just a quick update on two new features to the New Google Sites! Iframe Just use "insert URL" to iframe in content from a website if it is available and secure to do so. Search It just popped up. The search icon appears in the top right beside your navigation links. Once clicked, it artfully swipes to reveal a larger search bar.

It looks like very soon G Suite Admins will be able to setup a custom web address domain for their New Google Sites. According to Google's blog post earlier today, it should be done through the admin counsel and be very similar to the Classic Sites process. Go to: admin.google.com Apps > Google Sites Web Address Mapping Add a New Web Address Include your site's current URL extension, for example, sites.google.com/example.com/newsite , the extension would be newsite Select a subdomain of a domain or domain alias in your G Suite. Complete and then handle the DNS Records modications through your domain registrar Google explained in their blog post introduction that organizations need the option to setup simple web addresses for their Google Sites. You know, so organizations can just refer to intranet.company.com or hub.organization.edu . Of course this not only helps Google Sites intranet users but those who wish to use Google Sites for public websites. But it s

Hi All - Kirksville Web Design has been producing quite a few New Google Sites for its clients. Check out some excellent New Google Sites examples for design inspiration.

The roadmap from Classic Google Sites to New Google Sites has been eagerly anticipated this year. The Google Suite team provided general goals previously, like a migration tool to transfer to New Sites. Since Classic Sites will shut down eventually (maybe in 2018), we are building all new portals, hubs, intranets in the New Sites application. It is quickly coming up to speed. 1. Migration Tool coming Q4 2017. Good to hear. No one wants to manually copy and paste hundreds of pages of content from their site. 2. Intranet Search Engine  A must have. Perhaps this could tap into Google Suite's other search engine technologies that feature search into Drive, calendar, etc. 3. Page Level Permissions, Fine-tuned Access Permissions A nice have for portals, definitely. 4. Iframes, Markup, Code Inject This will make a big difference and allow Sites to reach outside the Google ecosystem to bring in all sorts of other third-party content, embedded into Sites.

Intro Google Next 2017 and a flurry of updates to Google Suite have provided some new discoveries concerning Google Sites. We all know the transition is here from Classic to New Sites, but the vision and roadmap have no been as clear. Will the New Google Sites become the product for the corporate portal, hub and team site? New evidence suggests the answer is yes. Here's why... Recent Discoveries: Work hacks from G Suite: a new corporate training regimen (no weights required) https://blog.google/products/g-suite/work-hacks-g-suite-new-corporate-training-regimen-no-weights-required/ This article, published on March 23, 2017, makes a strong case for New Sites as a viable employee handbook, onboarding hub, training center, etc. They even made this cute little gif for us. Obviously team drives create a central place within Google Drive for teams to collaborate and share files. Those pop-in nice and easy within a Google Site.  They also noted the responsiveness of New Sites fo

It's coming together, my new Kirksville Web Design website built entirely on the New Google Sites engine. I'm building my faith that this will be worth investing in. Obviously the sites look great and are quick and easy to build, but the limitations and lacking features make it difficult for these "sandbox sites" to come to life.  I look forward to the big reveal with you all, and right now I'm doing my part to get ready for when public web address mapping comes out. Google Sites SEO will be a major concern with the New Google Sites though.  Just so you all know, I'm also building a fair share of Squarespace sites right now. At first I was only building Squarespace sites for Ecommerce, but now it has garnered more of my attention until New Sites is ready for prime time. I simply can't wait and twiddle my thumbs as a freelancer. Don't get me wrong, Classic Sites is still excellent for intranets, but Squarespace is my transitional platform and

Have you played with the New Google Sites? If you have, you may be noticing some missing key features. According to the Google Sites Help Forum (https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/sites/NXcBWrvLq2c) here are some top requests and what the Google Sites team is working on, thankfully: Publish to a group Obviously permissions is an important part of Google Sites. You may want to share you site with the whole world or just a small group of associates. Contact groups are nice to share to as well, since that group can be flexible and change. Customize logo Just text won't cut it for long. We want to brand these sites don't we. I don't exactly understand the need to limit us to a few colors and few fonts. =/ Copy a page/section Makes sense. Map to a domain Hugely important both for internal usage and external. We want to easily navigate to these sites. Search within a Site I don't know why this wasn't built in first thing. This alone will limit us to sma

Google has announced via email that the new Google Sites is coming November 9th, 2016. Here are my recommendations for classic sites users the world over. Public Websites As far as I know, and this may change in the release, New Google Sites cannot be mapped to a custom domain. That makes getting to a New Google Site impossible with a nice www.example.com web address. This is a deal-breaker right now until the feature is available. Intranets Google has said and it is still the case, that New Google Sites is very basic, only capable of small project sites. Therefore, your large intranets, your functional hubs, your wikis, those just aren't ready to be built in the New Sites. Right now, you can only build pages in two levels. Page & Subpage. Navigation is limited to say the least. Again, this is a major roadblock to large sites. Also, many gadgets just aren't available yet, so if you want extra functions outside G Suite or Awesome Tables, you'll have to wait.

The New Google Sites is beginning an early adopter, beta like stage. Get information from us on what's new. What is the difference between these two products? Should you choose to make a Google Site in the Classic or New mode? View the full news article View the side by side comparison New Google Sites Early Adopter Program

We have been designing many Google Sites these past few months. Kirksville Web Design has a new initiative to always use the responsive web design feature of Google Sites, known as the "Automatically adjust to Mobile" feature. This results in a few design limitations, but a lot of benefits for web property owners, including SEO page rank points.  As you may know, you have two backgrounds to play with in Google Sites: 1) Background Image and 2) Background Wrapper Image. The wrapper image has a higher z-index, meaning it is layer on top of the background image. You also have background color at your disposal. We've been designing for a lot of schools lately, which is wonderful. We have a bunch of samples here in this Google Doc. All Google Sites. www.villagedermatologyhouston.com www.carlmccain.org www.creeksidecoffeecompany.com www.drummondschool.org www.littlefishlighting.com

Hello everyone. I was googling around Google Sites information and stumbled upon the work of Neil Creagh - A New Vision for Google Sites . Neil said it well: Massive potential What ever happened to Google Sites? With new template designs and a new CMS interface, the potential reach of Google Sites could be huge. By removing a lot of the hurdles and costs associated with creating a small business or personal website, Google Sites would be in a really strong position to very quickly become the go-to place for SMEs and individuals who require a new website. Rumors come and go about Google Sites. With a huge gap in updates, perhaps the direction has been to completely rebuild the system. After all, since transitioned from JotSpot Web Pages, they have probably been groaning with developing on this out-dated platform. Also, with other platforms, CMS, like Squarespace, Wix, and a large number of no-code easy web builders, the expectations for Google would be much higher. 

Explore 5 Unique Google Sites designed and developed for schools. We promote Google Sites for Edu on our website too.  Enjoy these Google Sites examples for your inspiration.  More of the Best Google Sites Examples for Intranet and Public Websites in our Google Doc. Bowman Charter School https://sites.google.com/a/kirksvillewebdesign.com/bowman/ Del Oro High School https://sites.google.com/a/kirksvillewebdesign.com/del-oro Glide School District https://sites.google.com/a/kirksvillewebdesign.com/glide-schools/ Oakland Unified School District http://www.everystudentthrives.org/ Placer Hills Union School District https://sites.google.com/a/kirksvillewebdesign.com/phusd/

Intro : In Google Apps for Work, in the past, you could only web address map a Google Sites to a subdomain of the primary domain. Let me explain: You run Google Apps for the Primary Domain:  kirksvillewebdesign.com You want to launch a new site on your Alias/Secondary Domain: googlesitesintranet.net This was impossible unless you moved your Google Site off of Google Apps completely and into the free Google Sites/Gmail world. You lose the security, extra hosting space, and other benefits. Update: Here's what Google had to say in a very recently update: Complex businesses can require multiple Google Apps domain instances to meet their needs. Previously, certain domain management functionality was restricted to primary domains only, making managing multiple domains a bit cumbersome. With today’s launch, we’re extending several key features to secondary domains to make managing multiple domain instances more seamless: Web address mapping ―have your Google Sites appe

About Mobile and Responsive Web Design in Google Sites Google has produced a Mobile Friendly Test where Google will Analyze your site and determine if it is "mobile friendly" or not. This is somewhat subjective in the age now of Phablets (tablet sized phones) and ever increasing screen sizes (think iPhone 6 plus). https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly Two Approaches 1. Design for Google Sites Automatic Mobile Adjustment (located in Settings > General > Adjust Site for Mobile) Example:  http://www.sitestemplate.net/business-templates  (see Mobile Ready Material Design template) The only way for a Google Site to "pass" the Mobile Friendly test is with this approach. However, the test does not care about how things actually look on your site. All it notices to whether you have the "Automatically adjust" setting on. Be Careful! Sometimes this can make your site look much worse on a mobile phone. 2. Design for scaling to a

The New Google Sites Icon It is no mystery that Google Inc. has a new material design direction . The first revised icon I noticed was Google Maps, but now Google Sites, my favorite application has received some love. Google Material Design Example - Could this be an upcoming Sites UX? What can we glean from this new treatment? This is really a game of comparison. Take a look at the old Google Sites icon below. The first thing I noticed is a full browser experience. Web building platforms like Squarespace has been flaunting this for years. A contemporary, full width, ultimately response experience. Could this be the new future of Google Sites? Obviously there is a lot of speculation that can be done. I can't wait for the Google Apps for Work site to be refreshed and maybe we'll learn even more. What do you think? The Google Sites Icon used to be this.