Tag Archives: Google Sites

Allow site viewers to provide feedback on your new Google Sites

What’s changing 

Site viewers can now provide feedback or ask a question about a site directly from the published site itself. The feedback will be sent to the site owner by email, but site viewers will not see the owner's email address directly.

Who’s impacted 

End users

Why you’d use it 

Sites can be a useful way to share information within your organization. Sometimes, site viewers may want to contact the site owner to provide feedback or ask a question, but it’s not always clear who the site viewer should contact or how to do so. With this feature, site viewers can provide feedback and ask their questions quickly and easily, without needing to leave the page or know the right point of contact.

For example, site viewers could:

  • Request changes or additional site content
  • Highlight out-of-date content
  • Flag broken links or other errors
  • Identify particularly helpful content or give more general praise
  • Ask questions when they don’t understand something 

How to get started

Note: This feature is only available for G Suite domain-owned sites; it is not available for consumers and non G Suite organizations.

  • Site owners and editors: 
    • For newly created sites, this feature will be ON by default.
    • For existing sites, this feature will be OFF by default.
    • To enable or disable this feature, go to More > Site Info Settings > Show Contact Form. Then, at the top right select “Publish”.
    • Use our Help Center to learn more about adding a contact form to your site.


  • Site viewers: 
    • When this feature is enabled for a G Suite domain-owned site, site viewers must be logged in to a Google account to share feedback.
    • Click the site info icon (bottom left corner) and select “Contact”. Then, feedback can be entered in the dialog box and submitted.
    • Once feedback is submitted, the site owner will be notified via email.

Additional details

When feedback is submitted, the site owner will receive an email containing:

  • The page of the site where feedback was submitted from
  • The message
  • The email address of the person who submitted the feedback

This email will be received by the site owner (whomever owns the draft site stored in Drive). For files in a Shared Drive, the email will be sent to all organizers of that specific Shared Drive.

From that email, a site owner has the option to reply and start a conversation with the feedback provider. When site owners click “reply”, the email response will be addressed to the feedback provider.


Helpful links



Availability

Rollout details


G Suite editions

  • Available to all G Suite editions


On/off by default?

  • For newly created sites, this feature will be ON by default.
  • For existing sites, this feature will be OFF by default.

Note: This feature is only available for G Suite domain-owned sites.


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Right-to-left language support available for new Google Sites

Quick launch summary

We’ve added right-to-left language support in new Google Sites for the following languages:
  • Arabic
  • Farsi
  • Hebrew
  • Urdu
When a site editor has their language set to one of the above, the site editing experience will adjust to place the editing sidebars and menus on the left-hand side of the screen.



Similarly, once a site is published, site viewers who have their default language set to one of the above will see navigation elements like menus reversed to match the right-to-left language.

Availability

Rollout details

G Suite editions
  • Available to all G Suite editions

On/off by default?
  • This feature will be available by default.

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Insert collapsible text boxes into new Google Sites

Quick launch summary

Site editors can now insert collapsible text boxes into a new Google Site, which site viewers can click to expand. Collapsible text boxes can help condense large blocks of text, like content on FAQ or Help Center pages, allowing site viewers to quickly navigate to the most relevant information.


To learn more about using collapsible text boxes in Google Sites, visit our Help Center.

Availability

Rollout details


G Suite editions
Available to all G Suite editions

On/off by default?
This feature will be available by default.

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Instantly create new docs, events, spreadsheets and more from your browser

Quick launch summary

You can quickly create new files directly from your browser with “.new” domains for several Google products. For example, you can type “Cal.new” into your browser to create a new Google Calendar event.



The current “.new” domains are:

Availability

Rollout details



G Suite editions

  • Available to all G Suite editions


On/off by default?
  • This feature will be available by default.


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Search and export new Sites with Vault beta

What’s changing 

You can use Vault to search and export content in new Google Sites with a new beta program. Note that the beta will only support Vault’s search and export functionality, it will not support Vault’s holds and retention functionality.

Use our Help Center to find out more, or apply to join the beta here.

Who’s impacted 

Admins only

Why you’d use it 

Customers that sign up for the beta will be able to find content in new Sites, preview and navigate through the site in the Vault interface, and export sites for further analysis. This can expand your organization’s archiving and eDiscovery by adding content from new Sites.

How to get started 


Additional details 


Details of actions available in the beta 

Search for content in new Sites. You can search for Sites alongside other Drive content, or use the operator type:site to target just Sites data in Google Drive.


Find specific sites by their published URLs. Use our Help Center to learn more about searching for Sites data in Vault.


Preview and navigate through the site in the Vault interface, and export sites for further analysis.

 
Scope of functionality available through the beta: 

  • Vault only supports content in new Sites. Classic Sites content is not supported. 
  • Only the most recent version of the draft site will be available for search and export in Vault. 
  • This could be different from the published version of the site, as unpublished changes would be included. 
  •  This beta program only provides access to search and export functionality for new Sites, and does not include retention or hold functionality. 

Helpful links 



Availability 

Rollout details 


G Suite editions 

  • Available to G Suite Business, Enterprise, and Enterprise for Education editions, as well as other G Suite customers with the Vault add-on license 


On/off by default? 



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Two improvements to new Sites footers

What’s changing 

We’re making two changes to footers in new Google Sites. Specifically, we’re:

  • Removing the current footer appended at the bottom of all new Sites, which contains “Made with new Google Sites…” language and the “Create a site” button. 
  • Adding the ability for site editors to show the last time a page was updated via a newly designed site info icon. 
Before: 


After: 


Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users.

Why you’d use it 

Removing the promotional footer: 
We heard your feedback that the Google branding and “Create a site” button at the bottom of new Sites’ pages can distract site viewers and make your site feel less professional. We’re removing that branding, so your site viewers can focus on your content.

Display the time a site’s page was last updated: 
You’ve told us that it’s sometimes challenging for site viewers to determine how up to date the site content is that they are viewing. With this new feature, you can have all sites in your domain display the last updated date by default (in a newly introduced site info icon) — simply by adjusting a single admin setting, see more below.


How to get started 


  • Admins: Control whether the “Last updated time” setting is available for site editors in your domain at Apps > G Suite > Settings for Sites. Under Last updated time, you can select:
    • OFF: To disable site editors from ever displaying the last updated time on a site. 
    • ON: To give site editors the option to turn last updated time on or off. 
      • When this setting is selected, last updated time will be defaulted to on for newly created sites going forward. 
    • FORCED: To always show last updated time for all sites — editors cannot disable.
      • When this setting is selected, all sites will display the last updated time. 
      • We recommend this option, as it ensures site viewers can quickly determine if a site is up to date.
  • End users: Depending on which of the above settings your admin selects, site editors can take the following actions: 
    • OFF: No action can be taken — last updated time will be disabled. 
    • ON: Editors can toggle last updated time on or off on a per site basis by going to the More menu > Site info settings from within new Sites. 
    • FORCED: No action can be taken, last updated time will be displayed. 

Additional details 

We’re removing the “Made with new Google Sites” language and “Create a site” button that was previously included in the footer of all sites created with new Sites. 

The “Report abuse” link (which is only shown in certain scenarios) and the “Site details” link (viewable to Admins only) are not being removed and can be found in the newly designed site info icon (lower left hand corner on a site) moving forward. 

Helpful links 


Availability 

Rollout details 
  • Rollout for Admin console settings for last updated time: 
  • Rollout for the removal of the promotional footer and site-level editor settings for last updated time: 
G Suite editions 
  • Available to all G Suite editions. 

On/off by default? 
  • If the admin setting is set to FORCED, last updated time will be ON for all sites. 
  • If the admin setting is set to ON (which is the default admin setting), site editors can toggle last updated time on or off on a per site basis. 
    • For newly created sites, the site-level editor setting for last updated time will default to on. For existing sites, it will default to off.

Create and insert image carousels in new Sites

Quick Launch Summary: 

We’re making it easier for site editors to share a selection of images in new Sites by creating a new image carousel. You can use this new content type to highlight images on your site, like a project page where you can feature concepts and designs, or share photos from a conference on an event page.

To insert an image carousel to your Site:

  • In the right sidebar, click Insert > Image carousel 
  • Select images to upload or select from already uploaded images. 
    • Drag images to reorder as desired. 
    • Hover over the image to delete or add alt text. 


  • To set carousel settings, click the gear icon to the top right and select from the following: 
    • Auto start: images in the carousel will automatically cycle. 
    • Show dots: displays progress indicators for the carousel. 


Availability 

Rollout details 


G Suite editions 

  • Available to all G Suite editions.

On/off by default? 

  • This feature will be ON by default.


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Duplicate larger sites in new Google Sites

Quick launch summary 

Previously, we made it possible to copy a site in new Google Sites. Based on user feedback, we’re improving site copy by making it easy to copy much larger sites — see here for supported sizes. We hope this feature helps site editors with large sites efficiently copy their existing sites, allowing them to back up their work, iterate on previous sites, or create ‘templates’ to start new sites.

To make a copy with the improved site copy, open a site in the new Google Sites, click the More menu > Duplicate site. See our Help Center to learn more about copying a site. 


Availability 

Rollout details

G Suite editions 

  • Available to all G Suite editions. 

On/off by default? 

  • This feature will be ON by default.

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Insert a Table of Contents in Google Sites

Quick Launch Summary 

Inserting a table of contents into a page makes the navigation of text-focused content like FAQs, documentation, or wikis easy.

Editors can insert a table of contents into a page with a simple click — headings and subheadings will automatically update as content is added to the page. A table of contents also helps guide editors to organize their content in a structure that is easier for readers to understand. Site viewers can quickly navigate through sections of a page by clicking the desired heading and automatically jumping to that section within the same window.

As editors add or edit the content and structure of a page, the table of contents will update automatically, making maintenance easy. By default, the table of contents will indent based on the hierarchy structure of headings, however, editors have the option to change the table of contents styling and remove indents. To remove indents, simply click on your table of contents and select Flatten. To re-indent, select Indent.

To add a Table of Contents to a page, at the right, click Insert > Table of Contents. 


Availability

Rollout details


G Suite editions 
Available to G Suite Editions.

On/off by default?
This feature will be ON by default.

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Updated roadmap for classic and new Google Sites

We have updated our plans for Google Sites and want to let you know two key things:


  1. We're going to build more enterprise-focused features into new Sites (including ones from classic Sites): We listened to extensive feedback from customers and have identified a number of features in classic Sites that are particularly valuable to larger organizations. We plan to add comparable functionality for those features, along with new and unique features, to new Sites. We believe these will help you use new Sites in different and exciting ways, while making the transition process to new Sites easier and more streamlined. See below for more details on specific features. 

  2. The final date to transition from classic Sites to new Sites will be the end of 2021: Also based on customer feedback, we realize that classic Sites still offers unique value to our enterprise customers today. While we add more of the requested features to new Sites, we will continue to invest in maintaining core classic Sites functionality until end of year 2021. 

More features coming to new Sites 


Here are some examples of commonly requested functionality that you will see in new Sites in the future:
Create richer, more customized sites: 
  • New site themes so your sites can match your company look, feel, and brand. 
  • Improved text controls to provide you with a greater choice of fonts, colors, styles, and more. 
  • Standard templates from Google to help you quickly create common types of sites (such as team sites, project sites, and events sites). 
  • Custom templates to provide simple access to starter websites specific to your domain. 
  • Better integration with other G Suite products so you can easily embed content in Sites. 
  • New API capabilities, including AppScript support, so you can automate and manage sites. 
  • New page elements, like tables of contents and image carousels. 

Create and manage larger sites: 
  • Additional functionality and controls to help you create and manage larger sites. 
  • Increased size limits so you can build larger sites. 
  • Ability to see what’s changed between the previous published version and current draft of a site, so you can make more informed publishing decisions. 
  • Version history so you can see and restore previous versions. 
  • Richer and more comprehensive search from within a site. 
  • Google Vault support for content from new Sites. 


Transitioning from classic Sites to new Sites 


In 2016 we announced a new version of Google Sites, and in 2017 we announced that new Sites would eventually become the only version of Google Sites. We’ve heard feedback that classic Sites remains valuable for our customers. While we work to add some of the features detailed above, we plan to maintain core classic Sites functionality. This will extend the deadline to transition from classic to new Sites, which we detailed in this post, to the end of 2021.

We continue to have dedicated engineers maintaining core functionality, but classic Sites was originally built many years ago and its infrastructure and integrations with other products and gadgets are quickly becoming outdated. As a result, we cannot guarantee all features will continue to work as they currently do.

As we make progress along the roadmap and expand the features and functionality of new Sites, we plan to improve our migration tools and processes to help make the migration from classic Sites to new Sites easier.

We’ll provide more updates as work progresses. Keep an eye on the G Suite Updates blog for details of these announcements.


Try new Sites today  

The new Google Sites has a simple interface that makes it easy for anyone to create functional and attractive sites. Many of our customers already prefer it to create common types of sites, including team sites, product sites, and event sites. If you want to try it:



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