Creating a Google Site

Ready to try things out? My recommendation is to create a Gmail address first. A Google Account is required to sign into Google Sites, and if you want, you can use a different email address, such as Hotmail, Yahoo!, or whatever else it is, but having a Gmail address makes it easier to access tools like Google Sites. There are a lot of helpful, free tools that come with a Gmail account. To create a Gmail address, go to http://mail.google.com.

To create a Google Site, visit www.google.com/sites and sign in, either with your Gmail address or your Google Account (see Figure 2.5). (To create a Google Account, go to Google.com, click the “Sign-in” link, and click the “Create an Account now” link.)

Then, on the next page, click the Create site button (see Figure 2.6).

Figure 2.6. Create Site screen.

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The Site creation page allows you to try out different things. Google Sites enables you to create multiple, free sites (I think the limit is 25), so I recommend trying to create different kinds of sites and wandering around and clicking on everything. For example, you can click on the various icons below, including the question marks.

However, for now, just go with the Blank template (see Figure 2.7).

Figure 2.7. Blank template.

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Naming Your Site

With Google Sites, you can come up with your own name for your site. Start by typing in a name that you’d like. Google gives you a preview of what the link will look like, also known as a URL. It is possible to “point” your own website name at a Google Site (More Actions Menu > Manage Site > Web Address), but I recommend starting simply.

So try a name out, and if you like, click on the + signs next to “Choose a theme” and “More options.” You’ll need to type the code they display in the blank box. When you’re ready, click the Create site button (see Figure 2.8).

If you click “Choose a theme,” it provides some variations, which give you different “looks and feels.” In the present version of Google Sites, you can’t go back and change the template, which is the basic structure of the site, but you can go back and change “themes” after you’ve created a site (see Figure 2.9).

Figure 2.9. A Google site theme. Choosing a template is a one-time choice. Currently, once you create the site based on a template (which is more about organization/layout than visuals), it’s permanent. However, a theme can be changed whenever you like.

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When you name your site, the name you’d like to have might not be available. You might see a message like the one in Figure 2.10.

So try variations, like adding numbers, etc., and click the Create site button again—the most important thing is to get a link that hasn’t been used yet. You can always go back and change the name that displays at the top of the site, which is the “title.”

When all goes well, your site appears, as shown in Figure 2.11.

Figure 2.11. The new site.

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Here are the basic functions located right on the screen:

• Create page: Enables you to add a new page to the site.

• Edit page: Allows you to make changes to an existing page.

• More actions: This is where most of the other functions are located.

Accessing the Site

To access your site, or to share the link with others, look at what appears at the top of the browser. It will look something like this:

So you could copy and paste this link into an email, or post it on Facebook, and so on:

http://sites.google.com/site/drupalprimer

When you access your site, you may need to sign in.

You can also just go to www.google.com/sites, sign in, and choose the site you want to work on.