Google Sites
Encyclopedia
Google Sites is a structured wiki
- and web page
-creation tool offered by Google
as part of the Google Apps
Productivity suite.
and Graham Spencer
, co-founders of Excite
.
In February 2006, JotSpot was named part of Business 2.0, "Next Net 25", and in May 2006, it was honored as one of InfoWorld's "15 Start-ups to Watch". In October 2006, JotSpot was acquired by Google. Google announced a prolonged data transition of webpages created using Google Page Creator
to Google Sites servers in 2007. On February 28, 2008, Google Sites was unveiled using the JotSpot technology. The service was free, but users needed a domain name, which Google offered for $10. However, as of May 21, 2008, Google Sites became available for free separately from Google Apps, and without the need for a domain.
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
- and web page
Web page
A web page or webpage is a document or information resource that is suitable for the World Wide Web and can be accessed through a web browser and displayed on a monitor or mobile device. This information is usually in HTML or XHTML format, and may provide navigation to other web pages via hypertext...
-creation tool offered by Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
as part of the Google Apps
Google Apps
Google Apps is a service from Google providing independently customizable versions of several Google products under a custom domain name. It features several Web applications with similar functionality to traditional office suites, including: Gmail, Google Groups, Google Calendar, Talk, Docs and...
Productivity suite.
History
Google Sites started out as JotSpot, the name and sole product of a software company that offered enterprise social software. It was targeted mainly at small-sized and medium-sized businesses. The company was founded by Joe KrausJoe Kraus
Joe Kraus is the founder of Excite, JotSpot, and DigitalConsumer.org, along with his long-time business partner Graham Spencer. Currently, Kraus is an Investment Partner on the Google Ventures team....
and Graham Spencer
Graham Spencer
Graham Spencer was a co-founder of the Excite search engine along with Joe Kraus. Later, he also co-founded JotSpot with Kraus. Google acquired JotSpot in 2006.In August 2005 he was honored by InfoWorld Magazine as one of the 2005 Innovators of the Year....
, co-founders of Excite
Excite
Excite is a collection of Internet sites and services owned by IAC Search & Media, which is a subsidiary of InterActive Corporation . Launched in 1994, it is an online service offering a variety of content, including an Internet portal, a search engine, a web-based email, instant messaging, stock...
.
In February 2006, JotSpot was named part of Business 2.0, "Next Net 25", and in May 2006, it was honored as one of InfoWorld's "15 Start-ups to Watch". In October 2006, JotSpot was acquired by Google. Google announced a prolonged data transition of webpages created using Google Page Creator
Google Page Creator
Google Page Creator was a website creation and hosting service by Google. It was a tool for basic website design, requiring no HTML knowledge. During development, it was codenamed Trogdor, a reference to the popular Homestar Runner website...
to Google Sites servers in 2007. On February 28, 2008, Google Sites was unveiled using the JotSpot technology. The service was free, but users needed a domain name, which Google offered for $10. However, as of May 21, 2008, Google Sites became available for free separately from Google Apps, and without the need for a domain.
Limitations
- 100 MB of storage (for free account) and 25 GB of storage for Google Apps users
- Must use provided site themes and structure (only limited customization is available, some colors, font-type, font-size, no CSSCSS-Computing:*Cascading Style Sheets, a language used to describe the style of document presentations in web development*Central Structure Store in the PHIGS 3D API*Closed source software, software that is not distributed with source code...
, no JavaScriptJavaScriptJavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
, etc.). - A site can also be displayed on a custom domain (e.g. www.example.com, wiki.example.com, support.example.com), but you must own the domain and have access to change the CNAME recordCNAME recordA CNAME record or Canonical Name record is a type of resource record in the Domain Name System that specifies that the domain name is an alias of another, canonical domain name. This helps when running multiple services from a single IP address...
s. - Limited use of HTMLHTMLHyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
coding. CSSCSS-Computing:*Cascading Style Sheets, a language used to describe the style of document presentations in web development*Central Structure Store in the PHIGS 3D API*Closed source software, software that is not distributed with source code...
(cascading style sheets) cannot be incorporated in the theme templates. - No longer serves .html/.htm web pages, like Google Pages did. All static HTML web pages previously hosted on Google Pages can be migrated to Google Sites, but users later attempting to access them (as well as PDF or other migrated files) must download those files, in order to view.
- Seems to be blocked by the Great Firewall of China – creating pages that work reliably for users including those located in China is currently problematic.