Google Sites is a completely free website builder. There are no paid plans and nothing to upgrade to. You can even set a custom domain name for your Google Site if you want to use something other than the default subdomain of sites.google.com/example.
Set up a custom domain for branding purposes, and this is the only caveat. A domain name is not free, as it’s a separate service. You need to register your domain name at a domain name registrar (my favorite being Namecheap), then you can set it as the custom domain name for your Google Site.
Namecheap
My domain name registrar of choice. Low prices for top level domain names, low renewal rates, good support and free WHOIS protection.
Any limitations of Google Sites?
Google Sites is free but does have a few limitations you should be aware of. None of these are particular deal breakers if you’re starting, but if you are looking to build your website with Google Sites because it’s a free website builder, here is what you need to know:
Not intended for commercial use
First, it’s not intended for commercial use. It’s acceptable if you want to use it to build a simple website for a local business, school, personal portfolio website, club or organization then it’s acceptable.
But when you want to integrate and implement features like a scheduling service for consultations, blogging, selling products, advertising affiliate marketing, etc., you’ll want to move away from Google Sites.
AdSense not allowed on Google Sites
You’re not allowed to run Google AdSense on a Google Site; it’s not even supported. If you copy and paste in the ad code, it won’t show. But even if you were to get it to work somehow, this is a direct violation of the AdSense program, and you could put your account at risk of being closed.
Not intended for blogging
Google Sites is not intended for blogging. You can create pages and build a helpful informational website, but it’s not a blog. As I covered in my popular “Google Sites pros and cons” video, you also can’t access any meta data to help your page rank and be indexed.
The way Google Sites works for creating content is by way of building pages and sub-pages. There is no limit to how many pages you can create or even sub pages:
Technically, you could create a “blog” page, then create sub pages for that blog. But Google Sites is a website builder, not a blogging platform.
Your media is limited to your Google Drive storage
When you add media to your Google Site, it’s stored in the associated Google Drive with that Google account. So it’s great that you can add in your own videos and host them directly without having to embed them from YouTube, but you are limited to the amount of multi-media based on your Drive storage.
Google Sites – My favorite free website builder
There you have it, Google Sites is free but it does come with a few limitations you need to be aware of. It’s a perfect platform if you want to build out a personal website, portfolio website, website for a small business, educational website, informational website or a site for a club or organization.
It’s not ideal if you’re looking to build a high traffic business website, online store or a landing page that you’ll drive traffic to. While you can use the default URL of Google Sites, I do strongly suggest you map a custom domain. You do need to purchase your domain, but the ability to set a custom domain is free (instead of being locked behind a paywall like Wix and Squarespace).
Namecheap
My domain name registrar of choice. Low prices for top level domain names, low renewal rates, good support and free WHOIS protection.
