Creating Websites with Google Sites

Thomas La Foe Instructional Technology Specialist Mississippi State University Libraries [email protected] #megaresource Megaresource Workshop - Google Sites

Creating a Google Site

Visit sites.google.com and login with your Google account.

From the Google Sites page click Create and select “in new Sites.”

The New Google Sites offers a friendly user interface an lots of interactive features.

Google sites is a browser-based website editor. When you open a site for editing, it appears in a new tab in your browser window. The tools are listed on the right of the window and your page appears on the left.

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Editing Site Title and Header

Click here to edit the title of your site. Your site title appears in the title bar of your page.

Click here to edit the header text of your first page. When you move your mouse over the bottom left corner of your header, the header options appear. You can upload an existing image or select an image from a gallery.

Images can be selected from a gallery of stock images that Google offers, by typing a URL of an image, searching for an image, uploading from your Google+ (or Google Photos) albums, or your Google Drive.

For more on inserting images see page 4.

Once you choose your image, Google provides an “auto- enhancement” feature. If you do not like what this does to your image you can remove it by clicking in the bottom right of the header.

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Inserting and Editing Images

To insert a new image on your page, Click Insert and choose the location of your image.

(If you want to upload a new image, click the Upload button and browse for your image.)

After you insert an image, clicking on it will display the options for that image. From left to right the options areCrop, Uncrop, Create Link, Delete, and More. Under the More menu you have the options to replace the image and add alt text. Alt text is for those who may be using screen readers to display your website and contains a description of the contents of the image.

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Inserting and Editing Text To insert text on your page, use the Text Box option in the insert menu. When you are working with text a tool bar shows above your text. Here you can pick a style of text; format text using bold, italic, alignment, numbered or bulleted lists; or remove formatting from text pasted from another source.

Inserting and Editing Embedded URLs

Using the Embed URL tool will allow you to embed other webpages and links on your page. Click the Embed URL icon and type or copy and paste the URL for the site.

After embedding the URL you can control how many columns the embedded URL takes up using the sizing handles. (See note below.)

When resizing or moving objects on Google Sites, a grid of 12 columns with space between them will display in the background. Objects will snap to this grid to help you align objects with one another.

Megaresource Workshop - Google Sites - 5 Megaresource Workshop - Google Sites Embedding Google Elements YouTube videos can be embedded in your page by using the YouTube option in the insert menu. Search for a existing video or upload your own to your Google account.

Create calendars by going to calendar.google.com. Once you create your calendar they will appear once you click the Calendar option under “Google Embeds.” The calendar settings allow you to change the view mode, and add and remove various options.

Maps can also be embedded. Use the search option to find your location or navigate to your location using the Google Map tools.

6 - Megaresource Workshop - Google Sites Megaresource Workshop - Google Sites Creating Additional Pages Creating additional pages can be done using the pages tab. Click the new page icon. After designing the page using the techniques covered on previous pages, you are ready to create links to the new page. While the page appears automatically in the title bar for your site, you can also create text links to the page. Highlight any inserted text in a text box, click the link icon, and select the page from your Site pages options.

Publishing Your Site When you are ready to publish your site, click the Publish button. This will open the Publish to the web dialog box that allows you to pick a URL. The URL must be unique to your site.

Congratulations! You published your first website using Google Sites!

Your site is accessible using http://sites.google.com/view/URL

In place of “URL,” use the site name you chose in this dialog box.

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Pattye Archer Thomas La Foe Coordinator of IMC Instructional Technology Specialist [email protected] [email protected]

Stephanie Agnew Rob McDougald Instructional Technology Specialist Media Specialist Creating [email protected] [email protected]

Dorothy Johnson Jennifer Jones Library Associate Graphic Designer [email protected] [email protected] Promotional Isa Stratton Technology Specialist [email protected]

MSU is an equal opportunity institution. All Workshops Sponsored by Mississippi State University Libraries Visit http://library.msstate.edu Material

Stephanie Agnew Instructional Technology Specialist Mississippi State University Libraries Mississippi State University #megaresource