Want to make your Google Site look less like a stock Google Site? Try these custom tweaks to add flair, design and order to your existing site and make the web a more beautiful place for everyone!
Pimp My Site: Customization Options for Google Sites
1. Google Confidential and Proprietary
Pimp My Site: Customizing Google Sites
Jonathan Wylie
Technology Consultant
Grant Wood AEA
Google Apps for Education Certified Trainer
Web: http://jonathanwylie.com
Email: jwylie@gwaea.org
Twitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
2. Jonathan Wylie - Grant Wood AEATwitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
The World’s First Website (c.1991)
http://goo.gl/ZGCAf
3. Jonathan Wylie - Grant Wood AEATwitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
Home Sweet Home
● Hide the Home label on your home page. It should be
obvious to visitors that they are already Home!
● More > Page Settings > Uncheck Show Page Title.
4. Jonathan Wylie - Grant Wood AEATwitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
No Logos Here
● You can remove the school's Google Apps logo from the
header. Go to More > Edit Site Layout > Click on the logo >
Select No Logo > OK
5. Jonathan Wylie - Grant Wood AEATwitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
No Comment
● Remove the comment box and/or attachment links at the
bottom of a page Go to More > Page Settings > Uncheck
Allow Comments AND Allow Attachments
6. Jonathan Wylie - Grant Wood AEATwitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
Remove the Search Bar
● If your site is well organized, you don't need the search bar.
Remove it by going to More > Manage Site > Configure
Search > Uncheck Enable Search > OK
7. Jonathan Wylie - Grant Wood AEATwitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
Add a Custom Footer
● Want to add a disclaimer, contact details, or school policy to
the bottom of every page? More > Edit Site Layout > Custom
Footer
8. Jonathan Wylie - Grant Wood AEATwitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
Lose the Links
● You can’t hide them all, but you can get rid of some of
Google’s links at the bottom of your site. More > Edit Site
Layout > Click on the links in the footer
9. Jonathan Wylie - Grant Wood AEATwitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
Caution: Wide Load!
● Make your Google Site look the same on all monitors by
fixing the width.
● More > Edit Site Layout > Custom > Enter a number like
960px > Enter > Close
10. Jonathan Wylie - Grant Wood AEATwitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
Align Horizontal Navigation
● Google recently added the ability to align pages in horizontal
navigation to the left, right or centre. More > Manage Site >
Themes, Colors & Fonts > Horizontal Navigation > Layout >
Alignment
11. Jonathan Wylie - Grant Wood AEATwitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
Favicons: Everyone’s Favorite!
12. Jonathan Wylie - Grant Wood AEATwitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
The New Themes, Colors & Fonts
● Google has changed the Colors & Fonts menu, added
Themes and renamed it Themes, Colors & Fonts. Use this
to customize many more things.
13. Jonathan Wylie - Grant Wood AEATwitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
Google Themes Get Better
● The stock Google Sites themes are not known for their
style, but a new theme called Ski is a big improvement
14. Jonathan Wylie - Grant Wood AEATwitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
Adobe Kuler - Palette Picker
http://kuler.adobe.com/explore
15. Jonathan Wylie - Grant Wood AEATwitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
Eye Dropper Extension for Chrome
http://goo.gl/R9dsA
● Use the Eye Dropper tool for Chrome to sample any color
you find on the web and use it on your Google Site
16. Jonathan Wylie - Grant Wood AEATwitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
Colored Backgrounds
● Change the background color of your site. More > Manage
Site > Themes, Colors & Fonts > Background > Color
17. Jonathan Wylie - Grant Wood AEATwitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
Textured Backgrounds
● 30 Free Seamless Background Textures
● Add a textured background to your site. More > Manage
Site > Themes, Colors & Fonts > Background > Image >
Select Image > Options > Repeat Horizontal and Vertical
18. Jonathan Wylie - Grant Wood AEATwitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
Custom Headers
19. Jonathan Wylie - Grant Wood AEATwitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
How to Make Custom Headers
20. Jonathan Wylie - Grant Wood AEATwitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
Add Stylish Sliders!
● Ever wished for a stylish slider on your Google Sites
homepage? See this tutorial from Steegle.com
http://goo.gl/ThsPn
21. Jonathan Wylie - Grant Wood AEATwitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie
Remember the Template Gallery
● Try customizing a template from the template gallery, or
backwards engineering some ideas for a site of your own.
22. Google Confidential and Proprietary
Pimp My Site: Customizing Google Sites
Jonathan Wylie
Technology Consultant
Grant Wood AEA
Google Apps for Education Certified Trainer
Web: http://jonathanwylie.com
Email: jwylie@gwaea.org
Twitter: @jonathanwylie
Google+: +Jonathan Wylie