Today am going to give you some easy way on how to create a free Google Website.
How to create a FREE Google website
Getting
Started
1. Go to http://sites.google.com.
2. If you already have a Google account
(i.e. a Gmail email account) sign in using your Google account.
If you do not
have a Google account, click “sign up for sites” and create an account. This
account will also be your Gmail email address.
3.
Once you are logged in, click “create new site.”
2. After you choose your template, enter
the name of your website. This is very important! Choose something short and
clear. It will be used as the website address.
3. Look at the line below where you
typed the website address – this is how people will access your website. Are
you appy with this website address? If not, modify it now.
4. If you are not using a template, you
can select one of the themes. Skip this step if you are using a template.
5. Click “more options” and type in a
description of your website. Then select whether or not you want everyone in
the world to be able to access your site or only people you select.
6. Click the “create site” button at the
bottom of the page.
7.
Your website has been created!
Personalize
your Home Page
1. You are probably going to want to
personalize your page by changing the color, adding your organization’s logo,
etc.
2. At the top right of the page, click
on “more options” and then “manage site.”
3. Look at the left hand menu. Go to “colors
and fonts.” You will see your website in the window, and at the top is a
menu called “entire page.” Scroll down the items on the menu and stop at
anything you want to change. Change the color, upload a logo, etc. Once you are
finished, click “save changes” at the bottom of the page.
4.
You can select a pre-created color/style theme. Under “more options” and
“manage site,” go to “themes” and select a theme. At the top of the
screen, click “preview.” If you like how it looks, click “save changes.”
Creating
and Modifying Pages
Create
1. At the top right of the homepage,
click “create page.”
2. Select the type of page you would
like to create. Most likely you want to create a “webpage.”
3. Type in the name of the page. This is
what will show on the website (i.e. www.test.com/introduction).
4. If this is the main page, select
“home,” and if it’s a subpage, then select “put page under home.” If you want
to save the page under a different heading, select “choose a different
location” and then select where you would like the page to appear.
5. Click “create page.”
6.
Add text to the page. When you are finished, click the “save” button in the top
right corner.
Edit
1. Go to the page you want to edit.
2.
At the top right of the page, click “edit.”
3. To change text, edit as you normally
would using MS Word.
4. To remove or change the placement of
a photo, widget, etc., click on the item and a toolbar will appear. Then
delete, move, re-size, etc. the item using the toolbar.
5. Find the menu bar near the top of the
page. It has options for “insert,” “format,” “table,” and “layout,” as well as
options underneath to easily change font, add links, bulleted lists, etc.
6.
When you are finished, click “save” in the top right corner.
Format
Go
to a page on your website. Select “edit.”
Photo
1. Put your cursor on the page exactly
where you want the image inserted.
2. Go to “insert” and then “image.”
3. Next to “upload an image,” and click
“browse.” Find the photo on your hard drive that you want to add, select it,
and click “ok.”
4. The image will appear on the page.
Click on the image and a menu will appear.
5.
Select L, R, or C to align it to the left, right, or center. Chose S, M, or L
to have a small, medium, or large photo.
Photo
album
1. Go to picasaweb.google.com. Sign in
using your Google account. In the top middle of the screen, click on “upload.”
Then select “create a new album.” Add an album title, date, description, and
location, and click “continue.” Then select all the photos you want to upload
and when you are finished, click “start upload.” Large photos will take a long
time to upload. Try shrinking down the size of your photos before uploading
them. This can easily be done using a program called Irfanview
(www.irfanview.com) which is free to download. Once your album is uploaded,
copy the website address.
2. Go back to your Google website and
open the page where you want to insert the photo album.
3. Put your cursor on the page exactly
where you want the photo album inserted.
4.
Go to “insert” and then “PicasaWeb Slideshow.” Then enter the website address
of the album, select how big you want the slideshow to appear, add a title, and
press “save.”
Video
1. Go to www.youtube.com or
video.google.com and follow the directions to upload a video. Copy the website
address for the video.
2. Go back to your Google website and
open the page where you want to insert the video.
3. Put your cursor on the page exactly
where you want the video inserted.
4.
Go to “insert” and video. Select either YouTube or Google Video. Then enter the
website address of the video, add a title, and press “save.”
Gadgets
1. Google has a number of tools that you
can insert into your website including Twitter feeds, currency converters, news
headlines, weather reports, Google calendars, language translators, etc.
2. Put your cursor on the page exactly
where you want the gadget inserted.
3.
Go to “insert” and then “more gadgets.” Browse the gadgets and select one to
insert. Follow the directions on the screen to insert the gadget.
Maps
1. Put your cursor on the page exactly
where you want the map inserted.
2. Go to “insert” and then “map.”
3.
At the top of the screen, type in the address you want to show on the map. Once
it is selected, click “select.”
Table
1.
Put your cursor on the page exactly where you want the table inserted.
2. Select “table,” then “insert table”
and then click on the square which has the number of rows and columns you would
like. Then enter table text.
3.
Columns and rows can be inserted and removed by selecting options under the
“table” menu.
Text
box
1. You may wish to insert a text box
within a page.
2. To do this, go to “insert” and “text
box.”
3.
Add a title, select a width, add text box text, and then click “save” and the
text box will appear on the page. Click on the text box for a menu that will
allow you to modify or remove the text box.
Show
new updates
1. On the front page of your site you
may wish to have a list of “news.”
2. Put your cursor on the page exactly
where you want a list of news items to appear.
3. Go to “insert” and “recent list
items.”
4.
Fill out the items in the form and click “save.”
Links
1. To add a link to a website, type in
the text you want to appear with the link. Highlight the text and click the
“link” icon on the top menu (with the other formatting options).
2.
On the left side of the menu, select “web address,” then type in the website address,
and click “ok.”
Delete
1. Go the page you want to delete.
2.
On the top right of the screen go to “more actions” and then “delete a page.”
Move
1. Go to the page you want to move.
2. On the top right of the screen go to
“more actions” and then “move a page.”
3. On the sitemap, select where you want
to move the page.
4.
Then select “move.”
Settings
User
Settings
1. Find the menu at the top right of the
website.
2. Click on “user settings.”
3. Select the language for your website.
If you will be creating a website in Arabic or Hebrew, select the box next to
“Show right-to-left controls in the editor (for Hebrew and Arabic documents).”
4. Select the time zone where you will
primarily be working.
5.
Click “save settings.”
My
Sites
1. Find the menu at the top right of the
website.
2. Click on “my sites.”
3.
It will list all the Google websites you have created and will let you know
whether or not they are shared with other people.
My
Account
1. Find the menu at the top right of the
website.
2. Click on “my account.”
3.
This is where you can go to change your Google account password and access
other Google tools.
Help
1. Find the menu at the top right of the
website.
2. Click on “help.”
3.
The help section has some excellent resources, including a very helpful
“getting started guide.”
Manage
To
manage your website, go to “more actions” and “manage site.” Browse through all
the menu items to familiarize yourself with them.
Domain
Names
1. Your website address will be
something like this: http://sites.google.com/sites/test
2. You may want to change this to your
own personalized URL (i.e. www.test.com).
3. To do this, you first need to buy the
domain name (website address). There are many different websites where you can
buy domain names. One such website is www.godaddy.com.
Go to this website and
on the front page, under “start your domain search here” enter what you would
like to name your website (i.e. nationalcampaign) and then select the extension
you would like to use (.org).
Do NOT add www. Before the domain name. Click
“enter” and the website will list all possible domain names available that are
similar to what you are looking for. Select a domain name, and then purchase it
online. Ask the domain name company to change the “CNAME” value/alias to your
new website address, and ask them to set the CNAME destination to
“ghs.google.com”
4. Go to your Google website. Go to
“more actions” and “manage site.” Click on “web address.” Enter your URL and
click “add.”
5. It often takes up to 24 hours for
your new website address to be activated.
6.
More detailed directions are available here:
http://sites.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=99448
Tracking
Website Traffic
1. Set up Google Analytics to see how
many people are visiting your website, what pages they are visiting, etc.
2. Go to http://analytics.google.com and
set up an account. Sign in and go to “add website profile” at the bottom left
of the page. Select “add a profile for a new domain” and enter your website
address. Select “finish.”
3. A tracking code will be displayed.
4. Copy the tracking code.
5. Go to your Google website. Go to
“more options” and “manage site.” Under site settings, go to “general.”
6. Scroll down to “statistics.” Select
“enable Google analytics for this site” and enter the tracking ID.
7. Scroll to the bottom of the page and
select “save changes.”
8.
To regularly check the statistics for your website, go to http://analytics.google.com
and then “access analytics.” Click on “view report” to see the statistics for
your site.
THANK YOU.
Theophilus Toyo.
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