How to Make Your Own Google Web Page

Google offers a free website to anyone with a Google account. Unlike its free blog service, Blogger, a Google Site is not in chronological format, but is organized as a set of pages.

Things You'll Need

• Computer
• Internet connection

Instructions

1. Launch a Web browser and go to http://sites.google.com. If you already have a Google account, sign in where prompted. If you don't, click "Sign up for Sites" under the sign-in box, and follow the steps as directed. Once you're signed in, click the "Create site" button to get started.

2. Follow the directions on the next page. You'll need a name for your site - something like "Sara's Vacation Pictures" or "Bob's Fishing Site." You'll also want to pick a name to be included in the URL for this site. This should be a shortened version of your site's name, with no spaces. For example, you could use "saravacation" or "bobsfishing." You'll be limited to names that haven't been used already for this part, so have a few ideas in mind. Google will assign a default name based on your account name, but you may change it. Follow the rest of the directions on this page, such as writing a description, and choosing a visual theme, the look of your site. Type in the code at the bottom that tells Google you are a human and not a bot, and click "create site."

3. On the next page, click the word "Home" on the left sidebar. Then click the button on the top of the page that has a picture of a pencil on it and says "Edit page." This will be the main page of your site, which is the first thing that people see when they come to it. Write a little description of the site for first-time visitors, and put anything else you want on the main page here. Google will autosave this site for you every few minutes, or you can click "Save" at any time.

4. This site maker uses a WYSIWYG editor, which stands for "What you see is what you get." You don't need to preview your site - it will look the way it looks in front of you. Play around with different things to get it how you want it. Press "Help" at any time for more instruction or advice.

Tips & Warnings

• You get 100MB of space to use on this site. If you only put up text, that's a lot. But pictures will eat that up quickly.

• Remember that even if you set privacy settings to the highest restriction possible, people may still be able to find your site. Never list any personal information you wouldn't want getting out to the public.

References

• Google Sites