1. Creating Google Sites Laura Assem, Director of Technology

2. 1.0 CREATE YOUR SITE Once you've signed in to your Google Account, you can start setting up your your new Sites website. In this section: 1.Access Sites 2.Choose a template 3.Name your site 4.Select a theme 5.Add Pages

3. ACCESS SITES To go to Sites, or to view a list of sites that you own or can edit: From your browser, go to https://sites.google.com/ https://sites.google.com/ Or, if you’re signed in to your Google Apps account, at the top right, click and select Sites. To create a new site, click 1.1

4. CHOOSE A TEMPLATE To work from an existing site template, click Browse the gallery for more. Here you can find templates created by your organization, or search public templates such as work portfolios, training sites, and club pages. To design your own site from scratch, select Blank template. 1.2

5. NAME YOUR SITE 1.Enter a name for your site. Initially, this becomes the unique part of your site’s URL. 1.(Optional) Change the URL under Site location (don’t worry, this won’t change your site title). 1.(Optional) Add a site description under More options. Note: The name and URL you choose must be unique within your domain. You can change the name later, but you can’t change the URL. 1.3

6. SELECT A THEME Choose a look for your site. Each theme comes with a preset background, color scheme, and font selection. You can adjust fonts, colors, and the background later, and you can always change the theme or build your own custom theme once the site has been created. Note: If you’re working from a template, your site might already have a theme. If you’d like, you can choose a different theme here. Once you’re all set, click at the top of the page. 1.4

7. ADD PAGES 1.In the top-right corner, click 2.In the new window, add a name for the page. A URL is automatically created for the new page, which you can change later. To change the URL after you’re created the page, click and select Page settings. 3.Choose a page template option. Learn about different page types.different page types. 4.Choose your page’s location within the site by nesting it under an existing page or keeping it at the top level. You can move pages later. Click and select Manage Site > Pages. 5.Click Now you’re ready to customize the new page. 1.5

8. 2.0 UPDATE AND PERSONALIZE YOUR SITE With Google Sites, you don’t have to be a web designer to make something that looks good. Next, we’ll take a look at how to update and personalize your site. In this section: 1.Edit Pages 2.Add images and site features 3.Adjust colors, fonts, and backgrounds 4.Update site layouts 5.Change site navigation

9. EDIT PAGES Updating a page is just like editing a document, although you can do much more than just adding text. On the page you want to update, at the top right, click to show the editing options. If you just created the page, the options appear automatically. 2.1

10. EDIT PAGES, continued.. 2.1

11. ADD IMAGES AND SITE FEATURES Under the Insert tab, you can add a wide variety of objects, apps, and gadgets to enhance your site even further. This is also where you can embed Maps, Calendars, and files. 2.2 Some useful apps and gadgets include: 1. Recently updated files - Lists the latest additions or updates to files loaded on to the site. 2. Calendar - Ensure your project stays on schedule. Embed a team calendar that includes key due dates for deliverables. 3. Drive - Embed Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, and more. When the source is modified, the document updates automatically within Sites (this is true when embedding documents, spreadsheets, forms, and presentations). 4.Map - Headed to an offsite meeting? Don't just provide directions, embed a map! 5.YouTube - Embed any YouTube video in your site. 6.More gadgets to browse more add- in features from Google and third parties, or to search for a particular gadget.

12. ADJUST COLORS, FONTS, AND BACKGROUNDS You can further personalize your site’s look by adding background colors or images to the content areas, header, or the entire page. 1.At the top right of the page, click and select Manage Site. Note: If you’re in Edit mode, you won’t see this button. 2.On the Manage Site page, in the left sidebar, select Themes, Colors, and Fonts. 1.Change the colors, fonts, and backgrounds across your site. 1.At the bottom, you’ll see your changes reflected in the preview. 1.Click 2.3

13. UPDATE SITE LAYOUTS Give your pages structure by changing the layout. At the top right of your site’s homepage, click and select Edit site layout. To add headers, footers, sidebars or horizontal navigation, click an option in the toolbar. Click it again to remove the object. To change individual objects on your site, hover over parts of your site. Editable areas are highlighted in blue. To make a change to a highlighted object, click it. Header - Change your header's height and alignment, and add a logo. Horizontal navigation - Change your navigation bar's style and select which pages of your site you want to display there. Sidebar - Choose your sidebar’s name, how it will be organized, and to what it links. Custom footer - Add and format footer text. 2.4 Once you’ve finished changing an object, click OK. When you’re finished making changes, click Close To change the site width, click Custom and change the width. Press Enter to apply and save the change.

14. CHANGE SITE NAVIGATION Once you’ve added navigation bars, you can add links or change the order. 1.At the top right of your site’s homepage, click and select Edit site layout. Note: If you’re in Edit mode, you won’t see 2.In the top toolbar, click Horizontal navigation. 3.In the Configure navigation window, you can configure any of these options: To add linked pages, click Add page. To rearrange the page order, use the arrows. To make a linked page a subpage in a sidebar or a drop-down list in a horizontal navigation bar, indent the link. 4.Click Ok. 5.In the Edit site layout window, click Close. 2.5

15. 3.0 SHARE AND COLLABORATE Now that you have a customized site, you can share it with others. Decide if you want to make the site public or keep it private inside your team or organization. You can also choose whether you want to open the site for collaboration or limit others’ access to view only. In this section: 1.Share and collaborate on Sites.

16. SHARE AND COLLABORATE To share your site: 1.At the top right of your site’s homepage, click Share. 2.Under Who has access, click Change. 3.Choose the visibility. For the option you choose, set the access level. Anyone who has Can edit or Is owner access can collaborate on your site. As the site owner, you can control who can view and edit your site by adding others as owners, editors, or viewers. 2.Click Save. 3.1

17. SHARE AND COLLABORATE To share your site: 1.At the top right of your site’s homepage, click Share. 2.Under Who has access, click Change. 3.Choose the visibility. For the option you choose, set the access level. Anyone who has Can edit or Is owner access can collaborate on your site. As the site owner, you can control who can view and edit your site by adding others as owners, editors, or viewers. 2.Click Save. 3.1

18. For Additional Information or Resources Check out the Google Apps Learning Center learn.googleapps.com