Introductionto

Google Sites

ACITS Technical TrainingMel Regnell

May 2010

Requirements

• A Google Account– https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount

– You need to provide• Current email address

• Username

• Password

You Can…

Getting Started

• Log in to your Google AccountOR

• Create a Google Account

www.google.com/sites

The Sites Start Page

• Click on the “Create site” button to start creating your site

Create Site Page

Templates vs. Blank Sites

• IF your site’s purpose is almost exactly the same an available theme – the edits you will need to make will be few and only content on pagesON THE OTHER HAND

• IF you site’s purpose is not a close match to an available theme, the number and type of edits you may need to make to get the site “right” may well be more effort than makes sense

?

If You Intend to Choose a Template

Click here if you intend to choose a “Blank Template”

Choosing a Template

• The Template defines where text, pictures, links, etc will be displayed on your pages

• Select “Blank template” if you want to start from scratchOR

• Browse through the hundreds of available templates

Naming The Site

• The Name is a “title”

• The URL is a web address

• Google will automatically enter a concatenated version of the Name as the URL

• You can edit this

Selecting a Theme

• The Theme defines color schemes and artistic qualities

• Click on “Choose a theme” and browse to a color scheme you like

• Click on the theme to select it

Creating the Site

• You can edit these selections later

• Enter a site description (used by search engines)

• Set your sharing preference

• Type in the code

• Click “Create site”

Your Site

Notice that because we selected an existing template, our site has some already-createdcontent (which will NOT be applicable). We will edit this content to match the goalsof our site.

Editing Notes

• You will need to edit ALL pages on the template site BEFORE you change or delete any sidebar navigation

• If you have chosen a template that closely matches what you need, this should be a straight-forward task

• If you find that you are making many, many edits and trying to rearrange pages, you might want to “manage” your site and choose another template or a blank template

Editing The Home Page

• Click the “Edit page” button

• This will make the content sections of the page editable

Editing Other Pages

• Click on the page you want to edit in the sidebar

• Once on the page, click on the Edit page button

• The content will become editable

Editing The Sidebar

• Click on the “Edit sidebar” link

• Add items or delete the existing sidebar

• Note: You change the content of the sidebar by editing the pages –not the sidebar

If You Intend toChoose a Blank Template

Click here if you intend to choose an available “Template”

Naming The Site

• The Name is a “title”

• The URL is a web address

• Google will automatically enter a concatenated version of the Name as the URL

• You can edit this

Selecting a Theme

• The Theme defines color schemes and artistic qualities

• Click on “Choose a theme” and browse to a color scheme you like

• Click on the theme to select it

Creating the Site

• You can edit these selections later

• Enter a site description (used by search engines)

• Set your sharing preference

• Type in the code

• Click “Create site”

Your Site

• Your site will be blank like this:

Designing the Layout (1)

• Before adding and editing pages, define the look and feel of your site

• Click on the Layout menu

• Try out, and select a general display format for your pages

Designing the Layout (2)

• Before you edit content or add pages, decide on the general layout of your site

• Click on the Layout menu

• Select a display layout that will work with your vision of the site, in this example we selected Three-column

Editing Your Home Page

• Click the “Edit page” button

• Enter a Title, content and/or pictures for your home page

Inserting Links, Pictures and Other Objects

Adding a Link

• Select the text you wish to link• Click the Link text in the

editing window• Click on “Web address” if the

link is to another web site and insert the URL

• Click on “Existing page” if the link is to a page on your own site

Adding a Picture (1)

• Position your cursor on your page where you want the picture

• Click on the Insert drop-down menu

• Click on Image• Browse to find the

picture you want to include

• Click OK

Adding a Picture (2)

• Your picture will be inserted. If it is very large, it will skew the display of your page

Adding a Picture (3)

• Click on the picture• You can:

– Align the picture right, center or left

– Resize it to small, medium or large

– Revert to the original– Turn text wrapping on or off– Remove the picture

• At right we have made the picture small, aligned it left, and turned wrapping on

Other Objects

• Google objects– Any google-created

document

• Gadgets– Like WordPress Widgets

– Automatic mini-applications

Formatting Text

General Formatting

• The format bar allows you to perform basic editing and formatting of text– Bold

– Italic

– Size and font

– Lists and alignment

Special Formatting

• The Format menu provides specialized formatting– Headings

– Strikethrough, super and subscript

– Code

– Blockquote

– Alignment

Tables

• After selecting the number of rows and columns, and inserting a table, you can us the Table menu to:– Add or delete columns

and rows

– Delete an entire table

Adding Pages

Adding a New Page

• Click on the “Create page” button at top right of the page

• Select the page template to use when creating the page

• Enter a Name for the page (URL)

• Indicate the hierarchical position of the page

• Click on “Create Page”

Web PageUnder Home Page

AnnouncementsTop Level

File Cabinet

Lists

The Sidebar

No “Assembly” Required

• Notice that as we built pages and indicated where they should be put hierarchically, a sidebar navigation list was built

Editing the Sidebar

• Clicking on the “Edit sidebar” link takes you to the “Manage your site” page at “Site layout” under “Site appearance”

• Click on “Edit” under Navigation to make changes to the automatic listing

• Click on “Add a sidebar item” to add a link from another site or web page outside this site or to put “AdSence” ads on the site

Introductionto

Google Sites

ACITS Technical TrainingMel Regnell

May 2010