Almost every business needs a web presence. Whether your business is an online business (where all your business is done over the internet) or an off-line business (where you sell products or deliver services in person, typically confined to a geographic area) a website is key to help market your business.
In today’s digital age, potential customers are increasingly searching for products and services online. Having a website will not only make it easier for potential customers to find you, but it will also enhance your business’ credibility and provide a platform to showcase your products, services and business’ values.
The type of business you run will determine the complexity of the website you require and its features. Normally the more complex a website the more expensive it is. However, it doesn’t need to be. Regardless of whether you’re trying to create a basic website that allows you to advertise your business (and allow people to enquire) or a more complex e-commerce website, it is possible to create a website for your business to establish an online presence without breaking the bank and without needing to know how to code! In fact, you can now build one entirely for free without code using Google Sites.
Using Google Sites, you can build a website at zero cost. There are no pricing tiers. You get all of its features for free. This blog will step you through the process.
Let’s go!
Before we get started, the only prerequisite to creating a Google Site is having either a free Google account or a paid Google Workspace account. If you’re creating this website for your business and don’t already have a Google Workspace account, I would recommend getting one; not only do you get a free professional email address with a Google Workspace account but you also get access to many other Google services which will help you run and grow your business.
Although not required, I would also recommend getting your own personal domain name. If you have your own domain name, you can connect your Google Site to it. For example, with your own domain name instead of your Google Site web address being “https://sites.google.com/thesmallbusinesstoolbox.co.uk” it becomes “https://thesmallbusinesstoolbox.co.uk/”. You will also need your own domain to have your own professional email address such as lawrence@thesmallbusinesstoolbox.co.uk.
Once you’ve set up either your free Google account of Google Workspace account and registered a domain name (optional), you’ll be ready to create a website using Google Sites by follow these steps:
Go to the Google Sites platform. If you’re not already logged in, you may be prompted to sign in with your Google account. Once signed in, you can create a new site either from a blank template or by using one of the templates provided in the template gallery.
A new Google Site can also be created directly from your Google Drive by clicking “+ New” – “More” – “Google Sites”. This will load a new site using a blank template.
Once you’ve created a Google Site, to access your website in order to make any changes you can either go to Google Sites directly and scroll down to your “Recent sites” or access your website from your Google Drive.
Once you have created a new site, either from a blank or template you can then name the site by entering text where it says “Untitled site” in the top left. By default, the website name will also be set to the name you give your Google Site. You can change the website name or delete it completely.
To customise the design of your website, you can create and set a theme that matches your brand image. To do this, use the Google Site editor toolbar on the right hand side and select the header named “Themes”. Here you can either create a theme that matches your brand image or use a theme preset by Google.
I would recommend creating your own theme that uses your business’ colours and typography; you can set up to three colours, a font for your titles and headings, a font for your body text and specify other design elements of your site such as a site logo.
You can now start adding content to your website. You can add text, images, videos and other types of content. To do this, again using the Google Site editor toolbar on the right hand side, select the heading “Insert” and select the type of content you want to add. Google has made Google Sites a “no code” website builder. All you have to do is drag and drop different elements into your page to insert them and move them around.
You can add additional pages by clicking the “Pages” header in the Google Site editor toolbar. Options include creating a completely new parent page, creating a child/sub page to an existing page or duplicating a page.
You can use different pages and child/sub pages to help you organise your content into logical sections. This will help visitors find the information they are looking for. For example, if your business sells garden furniture, you could have a parent page called “Shop” which linked to several different child/sub pages such as “Garden Chairs”, “Garden Tables”, “Outside Heaters” etc.
Once you’re finished building your website, you’re ready to publish it. Click the “Publish” button on the top right. A dialogue box will appear where you can set the web address for your website (either use a free Google Domain or connect your own), set the access of your site (normally you would want this to be “Anyone”) and specify whether you want your site to be displayed in search engine results pages.
If you’re going to use a free Google domain, I suggest using your business name as the web address; this will give you the following web address: “https://sites.google.com/view/businessname”. However, for a more professional look I suggest using and setting up your own custom domain by clicking “Manage” and following the set up steps.
Once you’ve published your site, you’ll be able to view your live website by typing in either the free Google Site website address you gave your site or by entering your custom domain (if you connected one) into the web address bar on your browser.
If you try searching for something that you would like your website to appear in the search engine results for (such as your business name) and your website doesn’t appear, don’t worry. It is unlikely your website will appear with just a Google search straight after you’ve published it. It takes a while for Google (and other search engines) to crawl and index your site onto its database for its different search engine results. However, you can speed up this process by creating a Google Search Console account and sending Google an index request. I’ll write a blog on this another time. Subscribe to my newsletter so that you don’t miss it!
By following these 5 simple steps, you can create a website for your business for free! Your website is a way for you to communicate your business to potential customers across the internet. It is a reflection of your brand, so make sure it is visually appealing, user-friendly and consistently updated with relevant content. This will help you attract new customers, build relationships and grow your business!
If you’re wondering whether it is possible to turn your free Google Site into more of an e-commerce store that can sell products/services online and or take bookings, the answer is yes you can… I will be sharing another blog shortly on how you can upgrade your Google Site and include these features. Join my weekly newsletter to make sure you don’t miss it; you can join here!
In the meantime, if you have any questions or would like help starting your business just drop me an email at lawrence@thesmallbusinesstoolbox.co.uk.
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