Are you looking to start an online store? Maybe you’re thinking about revamping the one you already have? If you’re looking for an easy way to start selling products online, Google Sites might be the perfect place to start.
Why Should I Use Google Sites?
Why use Google Sites? Great question.
The simple answer is: all of the options for online stores can be pretty intimidating. You want to build a
To help you navigate more easily, we’ve put together this detailed article for everything you should know about Google Sites. Below you’ll find:
- What are Google Sites?
- How to Use Google Sites
- Are Google Sites Free?
- New Google Sites vs. Classic Google Sites
- Google Sites Tips and Tricks
Keep reading for more!
What are Google Sites?
Google Sites is a website builder from Google, which comes in the form of an app that’s part of Google’s G Suite package. There are other Google apps which you’re probably already using, like Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar, and more.
If you’re familiar with other
With Google Sites, you can:
- Start selling your products online
- Tailor your site for your target audience
- Choose from multiple different page types
- Publish your favorite images, videos, tutorials, google docs, and more!
- Work with other team members to create (and maintain) your site
- Share your online store with as many people as you would like
How to Use Google Sites
You don’t need to have a technical background to effectively use Google Sites. Every function is intuitive and
If you don’t already have a Google Account, you’ll be prompted to create one before setting up your Google Sites. Once you’ve finished, you’ll be asked to use your own domain. If you don’t have a domain yet, you’ll get the chance to select one before moving on to the next steps.
If you already have a Google account, no
Create your site
Open Google Sites on your computer, and click the “+” to start with a blank
Add content
Next, give your site a title, start adding content, adjust the layout, and add your products. To save your changes, hit “Publish” (but change the settings for this if you don’t want your site to go live just yet).
Here are some helpful links:
Publish and share your site
Now you’re ready to share your site with the world. To publish your changes, click “publish” in the top right corner.
Are Google Sites Free?
Google Sites come free of charge with any standard Google account.
You can set up as many Google Sites as you’d like, using up to 15GB of storage, although you should keep in mind that this storage is also shared with your other Google apps.
Do you know what else is free? We are.
That’s right, you can quickly set up your Ecwid store today and sell across multiple platforms; your website, social media, and even
New Google Sites vs. Classic Google Sites
In 2006, the site builder tool (Google Page Creator) transitioned over to a new platform, and Classic Sites was conceived. Then, in 2016, Google updated this site builder in order to make it compatible with the rest of Google’s functionality. They also saw the need to keep up with the capabilities of other site builders which were rapidly adding
The new Google Sites simply looks better than Classic Sites, and it’s also far easier to use. It’s a bit more restricting in terms of what you can build with it, but for users who want to use an easy, free website builder, Google Sites may still be the best choice.
Google Sites Tips and Tricks
Do you want to make your Google Site stand out from the rest? We’ve got you covered. Here are some helpful
Take advantage of Google tools
Having slow pages on your website will frustrate your customers, and make it harder to capture their attention. Because of this, it’s a good idea to use tools like Google Page Speed Insights to see how your site is performing, and where it can be improved.
There are other Google tools that you can avail yourself
Improve your contact page
It’s also a good idea to boost the impact of your contact page. This means going beyond the basic information (email addresses and phone numbers) and offering multiple ways for your customers to get a hold of you. When possible, try to include a contact form, in addition to your email, phone, and social accounts.
Simplify site navigation
If you want to encourage your visitors to return, make your site simple and easy to navigate.
Keep the
The Best Way To Add Ecommerce to Google Sites
Although you can add Ecwid shopping cart to your Google Sites website in several ways, some of them might not match your expectations and can influence your customers’ shopping experience. It happens due to the way Google Sites work with embeddable code.
Embedding a store as code into a page (not yet the best way)
You already know that you can add almost any code to your website using the “Embed code” tool. But what you didn’t know is that Google Sites block some important functionality of the Ecwid store, which results in a poor shopping experience. Plus, your store will be locked and limited with container borders. If you don’t stretch it enough, the frame will have its own scroll.
All the above will result in several disadvantages:
- surfing the store, the URLs don’t change. So the store will keep working inside the frame while you will stay on the same page.
- customer account issues. Your customers will face the inability to log in to their customer account.
- the cart reset. The cart may “forget” what a customer put into it while browsing the store in different tabs.
- blank pages. Sometimes, your customers may see blank pages popping up in a new tab.
- not enough space. Your store will be displayed in a frame. The frame has its borders. Although Ecwid will do its best to resize to fit into the frame, sometimes it won’t be possible. You will need to scroll down or sidewise inside the widget to see the full picture.
It’s important to understand that this behavior does not mean that Ecwid or Google are bad solutions. This is just an embedment limitation that Google and we are working on together.
Embedding a store as a page (almost the best way)
Google Sites let you embed the code as a
Adding your store to Google Sites as a page solves some issues from the previous part, but some of them remain.
- the URLs won’t change. If you don’t care about SERP visibility of your product pages and totally rely on content pages created with Google Sites, it’s not a problem for you.
- customer account issues. Your customers will face the inability to log in to their customer account.
- the cart reset. The cart may “forget” what a customer put into it while browsing the store in different tabs.
Aside from these issues, your store will work as expected and your customers won’t feel uncomfortable browsing and purchasing your products.
Instant Site and subdomain (the best way!)
What would you do if you met a brick wall? Correct, you’d walk around. And that’s exactly what you can do to marry beautiful solutions like Ecwid and Google on your domain.
Link to Instant Site
All Ecwid stores have free storefronts (Instant Site) accessible from the web. In addition, they have indexable URLs and are fully functional.
And this is a place where you can send your Google Sites visitors right from the main menu. Add a link to your Instant Site with the word “Store” and offer your visitors to shop in a dedicated section.
Linking the store that doesn’t belong to the same domain as a website is common for many businesses. People see that your official website is sending them there and treat it as a legitimate place to make a purchase.
Place Ecwid Instant Site on a subdomain
But if you believe that your customers need another reason to feel safe with you, placing Ecwid Instant Site on a subdomain is definitely a way to consider.
Perhaps, this is the most widely used way the big brands use to run
Although both (adding as code and as page) ways to add a shopping cart to Google Sites have pros and cons, we recommend the second variant. And there’s a handful of reasons for that:
- best shopping experience. You’ll avoid unexpected errors and limitations.
- you’ll control the layout. Instant Site looks amazing and can be redesigned to match your business needs.
- SEO boost. Instead of working in a frame, your store will have its own navigation. All your products and categories will have their pages accessible from the web and indexable by Google.
But you may ask, “Why would I need Google Sites if Ecwid’s Instant Site is so good?” But don’t hurry.
Your Google site can win you lots of traffic if you continue creating limitless pages linking back to your storefront. They can be a part of the main navigation and can be hidden as well. In fact, you can create a universe of landing pages with Google Sites and generate free traffic for your store.
Try all the options to find the one that works for your business. And we’ll be here to help.
Before You Go…
Google Sites
While it doesn’t really compete with more
We want to help you choose the perfect platform to sell your products on, so if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us or head over to our Ecwid Ecommerce Blog for more information.
