Google Sites Review: Why Is It A Good Option for SMBs? [2025]

Google Sites at a Glance

Google Sites Pros, Cons, & Things That Could Be Better

Google Sites offers a simple and free way to host information online, making it a good place to start if you have absolutely no website-building experience and are on a tight budget. It’s especially ideal if you’re already using Google Workspace – Sites integrates seamlessly with tools like Drive, Docs, and Calendar, making setup and collaboration a breeze.

While it’s user-friendly and available in over 70 languages (more than most website builders), Google Sites isn’t designed for building feature-rich blogs or running large-scale online stores. However, when you pair it with Google Workspace, it becomes a solid tool for creating internal sites, team hubs, or lightweight web pages.

Google Workspace offers collaboration tools and a range of affordable plans that work well for small businesses that want to improve team coordination. Also, it comes with essential project management features that could be invaluable if you’re building an internal project website.

If you’re a freelancer looking for a website builder with advanced capabilities, Google Sites might not be the best choice. I recommend considering Wix instead, which offers more functionality while staying easy to use. You can even use it for free.

Limited Templates, but Customizable to an Extent

Google Sites offers a very limited selection of 17 generic templates. Though each template is supposed to be designed with a different purpose in mind, the variation between them is so limited that you’re really only getting 17 different arrangements of the same heading, subheading, and image structures. Still, every template has a clean look and is mobile-responsive, ensuring your website looks good on smaller screens.

If you’re using Google Workspace, you can access over 60 additional templates via the Sites Starter app. These are more versatile in design and functionality, and more suitable for business and e-commerce needs. Most of them are not free, but there are plenty of stylish options at affordable prices.

Design and Customization

With such a limited number of templates, you might wonder whether building a distinctive-looking site using Google Sites is possible. The good news is that you can customize each template to a reasonable extent.

While you won’t get complete creative control, you can still adjust colors, font styles, and the layout of text and images to better suit your needs. Despite the platform’s simplicity, it offers access to hundreds of different fonts, giving you more design flexibility than you might expect.

Another thing I like is that each template comes with snippets of filler text that provide instructions and recommendations for content, instead of the good-old “lorem ipsum” filler. You still have a sense of what the text will look like on each page once it’s published, and you also get a bit of guidance in terms of copy.

Incorporate Content From Nearly Any Google App

Since Google Sites is part of the massive suite of Google apps, it’s incredibly easy to connect files from various tools and group them together on your site. Your site is connected to all of your Google accounts via your email address, so you have instant access to anything saved on your Google Drive. You can directly incorporate content from Docs, Sheets, Slides, Calendar, Map, Forms, and Charts.

You can embed files on any page, and they will appear as thumbnail previews. You can adjust the size of each thumbnail and link to charts, spreadsheets, documents, etc., or link to the actual files – just be sure to set the permissions so the right users can open them. This is incredibly useful for aggregating project files, resources, or other documents related to a project.

Optimize Your Workflow With Third-Party Apps

A Google Workspace account expands your options with access to both free and paid integrations from the app marketplace. You can connect tools like Mailchimp for email campaigns or Slack for internal communication.

For more complex project planning, integrations with platforms like monday.com or Jira allow you to sync tasks and resources across tools. You can embed Sheets, Docs, and other files into task cards and keep your entire workflow connected without extra manual steps.

I would say I’m impressed, but I would be lying. Wix offers many more useful integrations, some of which are crucial if you run a business and are serious about your site. It supports powerful third-party tools like HubSpot for CRM, QuickBooks for accounting, and Shippo for shipping. Unlike Google Sites, Wix also includes built-in marketing, SEO, and e-commerce features that don’t require extra apps to be effective.

Search Google Images or YouTube Directly From the Interface

While importing files from Drive is expected, one standout feature is the built-in search for Google Images and YouTube. You can find and embed media without ever leaving the editor – just search in a pop-up window, pick your content, and drop it into your site.

Google Images search results are filtered for commercial reuse, so most options should be safe to use without licensing fees. Still, you’ll want to double-check usage rights and give credit when needed, as Google’s filter isn’t foolproof.

Collaborate on Your Site in Real Time

If you’re used to collaborating with others and sharing files on Google Docs, you’ll find that Google Sites works similarly. You can grant editing access to team members for real-time collaboration. You can also control who views your Google Site, restricting access to specific people, groups, or making it public for internet searches.

If you have a Google Workspace account, you can use Google Chat and set up unlimited “spaces” where you can assign tasks, set deadlines, and discuss project goals. You can create an unlimited number of spaces and make them private, restricting access to project collaborators only.

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Announcement Banners

This last feature is really useful, and I was impressed by its simplicity. You can easily add a customized announcement banner to your site with the option to place it sitewide or on a single page.

Customization for the banner is limited to color and text, but it’s an easy way to provide visitors with important information or direct them to a useful resource for getting started on your site.

My Experience With Google Sites

I spent a few days testing Google Sites by building a basic website and exploring its core features. The platform loads quickly and is easy to navigate, which makes it approachable for beginners. Even so, its minimalist design and limited flexibility might leave more experienced users wanting more.

Getting Started With Google Sites

Getting started with Google Sites is refreshingly simple – perhaps too simple if you prefer having a broad range of design options. When I first launched the platform, I was presented with a modest library of 17 templates.

These templates are organized into four categories: Personal, Work, Small Business, and Education. However, there are no filters, search tools, or guidance to help you choose the right one. It’s a straightforward “scroll and pick” experience.

Another thing to note: I couldn’t preview templates in a separate, full-screen window. When I clicked on a template, the editor would automatically open immediately. So, if you change your mind during the template selection process, you’ll have to back out and start again – not the smoothest experience if you’re someone who likes to compare layouts before committing.

If you are hoping for some help choosing a template, like a quiz or an AI assistant to recommend options, well, you’re out of luck – Google Sites doesn’t do that yet. For a robust AI design experience, check out the powerful Hostinger Website Builder.

There’s no onboarding questionnaire, no suggested apps or integrations based on your industry, and no extra support during template selection. What you see is what you get.

I found a template I could work with in under three minutes, mainly because of the limited options. I wasn’t thrilled with my choice, but it was functional enough to move forward.

In a way, the lack of endless choices speeds up the process. However, if you’re looking for a builder that offers a tailored or inspiring setup experience, Google Sites will likely feel a little too barebones.

Customizing My Google Sites Website

Editing my Google Sites website was… fine. Not exciting, not frustrating – just fine. The editor is clean and straightforward, with a drag-and-drop interface that makes basic tweaks easy enough.

Even if you’ve never built a website, you can figure out how to work with Google Sites by simply using it. Most of the action happens in the right-hand sidebar, where you can add text boxes, images, buttons, and more with just a click. It’s not fancy, but it works.

What truly sets Google Sites apart is its seamless integration with other Google Workspace apps. Embedding a Google Calendar, Docs, Sheets, or Slides into my site was effortless.

Basic functions like uploading images were also easy. I just clicked “Images” in the sidebar, and from there, I could choose to upload files directly from my computer or pick something from my Google Drive. Adding new pages was a breeze: I clicked the “Pages” tab and tapped the big “+” button – no confusing menus or hidden settings to dig through.

But beyond the basics, things start to feel limited. There’s no way to creatively create custom animations, layer elements, or play with advanced layouts. You don’t even get AI-driven design features or automatic site suggestions like you would with, let’s say, Wix’s advanced AI tools.

Also, if you hope to set up an online store, Google Sites won’t cut it. There’s no built-in e-commerce functionality – no product pages, shopping carts, nothing. It’s strictly a basic website builder.

Overall, Google Sites is very simple and integrates well with Google Workspace apps. That said, if you’re seeking extensive customization or advanced features like e-commerce, you might need to explore other platforms.​

Additional Ease of Use Features

User-Friendly Design and Intuitive Guidance

Google is good at understanding users’ needs and meeting them effectively. This extends to Google Sites, which offers an intuitive, streamlined interface without a lot of clutter. Even if you’re not familiar with Google’s other apps, it’s super easy to find your way around Google Sites.

When you create your first site on Google Sites, you’ll get a series of pop-ups guiding you through the process of setting up your website. If you need a quick refresher, you can click the three dots on the menu bar, go to Help, and select Take a tour to open these pop-ups again.

Clean, Simple Interface

The Google Sites editor interface is really pleasing to look at and almost soothing to use. It’s free of clutter and expanding menus, focusing only on the essentials. There’s really only one place to look to find what you need, so it’s very straightforward, and you can start building your site quickly.

Google Sites uses a drag-and-drop editor on a grid layout. Essentially, you can move elements where you want them, but they’ll always snap into the existing design grid to keep everything aligned. You can use individual content blocks to design your own layout, or you can choose from a small selection of existing layouts to save time and effort.

Research and Content Generation With Gemini

Google Sites templates offer content guidance through the examples and instructions within the content blocks. But for more support, especially for regular blogs, product descriptions, or email publishing, a Google Workspace account with the Gemini add-on can be helpful.

Gemini for Google Workspace is an AI-powered assistant that can help you speed up the process of managing projects and creating content. You’ll have to pay an additional fee to use it, but it could be a worthy investment.

Accessibility Features for Users With Disabilities

Google Sites incorporates several features to make websites accessible to people with disabilities. For instance, you can add descriptive text to images and captions to tables to make it easier for people who use screen readers to understand the content of your website. Also, Google Forms are designed to be accessible to people who use assistive technology in reading.

Additionally, you can navigate through Google Sites using only your keyboard, which is essential for people with motor disabilities.

Helpful Knowledge Base, but Live Support Available Only to Google Workspace Customers

Google Sites offers little support. There are no live support options – not even an automated chat – so you’ll have to rely on the series of support documents and the community help forum if you have issues.

The support documents are fairly comprehensive, but I still found questions that they couldn’t answer. The community help forum is pretty hit-or-miss, too. It’s always worth checking to see if someone asked your exact question and received an answer, but there are a lot of repetitive questions along with ones you could solve by reading the support documents.

All of that said, one thing I really appreciate about Google’s support documents is that they list specific error messages you may receive and give instructions for dealing with each message. In other words, they don’t just provide generic troubleshooting to work through the most common problems – they give you steps to directly solve the problem you’re experiencing.

Note that if you sign up for a paid Google Workspace plan, you’ll get access to 24/7 live chat, email, and phone support. Not only that, but you’ll also get more comprehensive self-help resources, including demos, tutorials, and learning labs.

Google Sites Is Free & Gives You More Value With a Google Workspace Account

Google Sites is completely free and comes with your Google account. Every feature and function is available for free on personal accounts (except for 24/7 customer support). But there are limits to this. If you’re using a free, personal account to set up your site, you’ll only get 100 MB of storage per site (and note that any attached files count against this). Want any more than that? You’ll have to upgrade to Google Workspace, which starts at $7/month.

Google Workspace offers a range of affordable plans that work particularly well for small businesses with a focus on project management and team collaboration. Even the cheapest Business Starter plan includes unlimited projects, 30 GB of storage space per user, and video conferencing for up to 100 people. Higher-tiered plans come with additional perks, such as appointment booking pages and advanced chat rooms with client/guest access.

If you run a small company that requires a private company website, Google Sites, combined with Google Workspace, is an efficient and affordable tool. But if you want to stick to a free website builder with bigger storage, advanced design tools, and superior SEO tools, I recommend checking out Wix.