Google Sites makes website creation simple, with everything stored securely. You can make your site public or private, and control access to it. However, it’s somewhat too basic to build a fully functional website. We look at the best Google Sites alternatives for flexibility and price.
The post 10 Best Google Sites Alternatives to Make a Website in 2024 appeared first on Themeisle Blog.
If you’ve made a website with Google Sites before, then you know how dead simple it is to use. The fact that it’s completely free is another strong selling point (pun intended). With that said, if you’ve made a website with Google Sites before, then you also know how limiting it is. It’s not necessarily a bad thing if all you need is a really simple solution for something like a wedding announcement, but if you’re looking to build a fully functional website, then you’re going to need a solid Google Sites alternative.
In this post, I’ve rounded up ten platforms that will give you a lot more flexibility to build a custom website (with no code required). I’ve used (and currently use) many of them myself, though I did include some that I have less direct experience with. The reason being is that I wanted to provide a variety of options for different use cases.
The goal is that by the time you finish reading, you’ll have a good idea of which option will work best for your needs. Let’s get started!
Why do you need a Google Sites alternative? 🤔
I’ll be the first to admit that for a completely free option, Google Sites does give you a rather impressive set of features. To begin with, you can connect a custom domain, which is a rare option for any kind of free website solution. On top of that, you get some templates, organized by niches, to help you get started. For example, you can see a restaurant-themed template below:
In terms of design, you get access to elements like:
Collapsible text
Buttons
Search bar
Image carousel
Social media links
Favicon
It’s automatically responsive too. All that sounds great, so what’s the problem then?
As I said in the introduction, there is nothing wrong with Google Sites per se, but choosing it is like driving a cheap Ford when what you really need is a high-performance Ferrari. It gets the job done but might not offer the speed and sophistication required for more demanding projects. Even if you don’t need quite Ferrari-level horsepower, there’s still a good chance that you’ll hit a wall that you won’t be able to go beyond with Google Sites.
For a detailed review of its main drawbacks, I recommend reading this post from Kirksville Web Design, which is the development company behind the Google Sites project. The cliffs notes version is this:
Limited SEO capabilities compared to platforms like WordPress
Design limitations that may constrain the ability to implement highly customized or complex visual designs
Lack of advanced ecommerce features for managing large product catalogs
Limited blogging functionality, particularly for organizing and categorizing content
Restricted creative freedom for developers, with limited access to custom HTML, CSS, or JavaScript
In short, if you want to create anything other than a simple website, then you’re better off going with one of the alternatives below.
Best Google Sites alternatives in 2024 🏆
Choosing a good Google Sites alternative is going to come down to why you’ve been using (or considering using) Google Sites in the first place. Assuming you intend on using the alternative for the same purpose, then you just need to find a platform that is ideal for that purpose. That’s exactly what I’m going to give you in this article, starting with a top-level overview below:
PlatformFree planPremium plansfrom $/monthBest Alternative ForWordPress.com✅$4.00Billed annually at $48.Bloggers and small businesses needing scalable, feature-rich websitesWordPress.org✅WordPress.org is an open source, self-hosted solution, which means the software itself is free, but you still need to host it somewhere. Free hosting is available through services like InfinityFree. Although for serious websites, a paid hosting solution is recommended. *N/AThe WordPress software is 100% free and there are no premium plans for it. However, you do need to get hosting. Premium hosting for a basic website can start as low as $45 per year and even cheaper in your initial contract period. *Users wanting complete control and extensive customization optionsWix✅$17.00Billed annually at $204.Small businesses and creatives seeking easy-to-use, visually appealing websitesWeebly✅$10.00Billed annually at $120.Small businesses and entrepreneurs focusing on ecommerceSquarespace❌$16.00Billed annually at $192.Creatives and professionals seeking polished, design-focused websitesWebnode✅$4.50Billed annually at $54.Simple multilingual websites or quick business sitesMedium✅N/AMedium is a completely free platform for writers and creatives. There are no premium plans.Writers who want access to a built-in audience and who are focused on their written content and don’t care about customizationSubstack✅N/ASubstack is a free platform for writers, journalists, and other content creators. There are no premium plans.Writers, journalists, and content creators starting a newsletter or a subscription-based publicationPixpa❌$3.60Billed annually at $86.40.Visual artists, photographers, and designers requiring portfolio websitesWebflow✅$14.00Billed annually at $168Designers and developers wanting advanced design control without coding
1. WordPress.com
WordPress.com lets you create any kind of website without knowing any code. It’s a completely hosted solution with everything taken care of – right from the domain name to maintenance to security. All you do is register for an account and you can start building your site.
There are four paid plans:
Starter: $4 per month (billed annually at $48)
Explorer: $8 per month (billed annually at $96)
Creator: $25 per month (billed annually at $300)
Entrepreneur: $45 per month (billed annually at $540)
For basic sites, there’s also a free plan that lets you use a WordPress.com subdomain – e.g. [yoursitename].wordpress.com.
Even with the free version, WordPress.com offers thousands of professionally designed templates and themes to choose from.
WordPress.com is suitable for all website types, including ecommerce.
You’ll find helpful tools for marketing and monetization, like subscriptions and recurring payments.
Higher WordPress plans give you complete control over CSS.
With the Business plan and above, you can install your own WordPress themes and plugins.
WordPress.com is a good alternative to Google Sites for users who need more features, customization options, and scalability than Google Sites offers, particularly for content-heavy websites, blogs, small business sites, and community platforms.
However, it’s worth noting that WordPress.com might have a steeper learning curve compared to Google Sites, especially for users who want to take full advantage of its features.
2. Self-hosted WordPress (WordPress.org)
WordPress comes in two flavors. There’s WordPress.com (above) and there’s self-hosted WordPress, also referred to as WordPress.org. The latter requires you to find hosting on your own and to install WordPress on it – though many hosting providers will also pre-install it for their customers. You can then build any kind of website imaginable.
While some beginners might find this to be more intimidating compared to using WordPress.com, the fact is that most hosting companies make it as easy as possible for even non tech-savvy individuals to get started. Even hosts that don’t pre-install WordPress will usually make it available as a one-click installation. They also have walk-through guides to get you up and running. You can check our blog for guides as well. We have several, including for SiteGround and for Bluehost.
💡 Learn more about the difference between WordPress.com vs self-hosted WordPress.
The WordPress software is free. However, there are other associated costs such as web hosting and domain name registration that you need to consider.
Generally, you should expect to pay between ~$50 to $120 for your first year of running a basic self-hosted WordPress site. It really depends on which hosting company you go with and how good the promotional prices are when you sign up. The length of the contract term is another factor.
Typically, after the initial promo period is over, you’ll pay around $54 and up per year. 👉 Learn more about how much WordPress costs.
Vast ecosystem of free and premium themes and plugins for endless customization.
Robust content management system suitable for websites of any size or complexity.
SEO-friendly structure with many optimization plugins available.
Regular updates and strong security features when properly maintained.
Large, active community for support and continued development of the platform.
Complete control over every aspect of your website.
WordPress.org is ideal for users who want complete control and ownership over their website, including hosting and customization. It’s suitable for businesses, bloggers, and developers who have technical skills or are willing to learn.
While it offers unlimited flexibility, it does require more hands-on management compared to Google Sites.
3. Wix
Wix is an intuitive website builder that emphasizes visual design. It uses AI technology to help users create websites quickly. The platform offers a vast template library and an app market for extended functionality. Wix also provides built-in SEO tools and mobile optimization.
While you can create a very basic free website with Wix, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan to be able to connect a custom domain or change templates. If your goal is to make money with your site, you also won’t be able to accept payments on the free plan.
Premium plan contracts are offered month-to-month, every year, every two years, or every three years. Keep in mind that month-to-month plans are more expensive and don’t come with certain perks that the longer contracts provide.
The cheapest premium plan is the Light plan, which starts at $17.00 per month, billed annually at $204. If you plan on running a more intensive online store, then you’ll probably prefer the Business plan. It starts at $36.00 per month, billed annually.
Intuitive drag-and-drop interface and visual editor for code-free website building.
Extensive library of 500+ design templates and AI-powered design assistance.
Built-in security features and automatic updates for reduced maintenance.
Integrated ecommerce functionality with shopping cart and fulfillment options (not available in the entry-level plan).
Comprehensive SEO tools and mobile-responsive designs for all websites.
Large App Market for extending site functionality with third-party integrations.
If you appreciate Google Sites’s ease of use and focus on visual design, then you’ll appreciate Wix even more. It’s particularly well suited for small businesses, artists, and freelancers who want to create visually appealing websites without coding.
Overall, Wix offers more design flexibility than Google Sites but may be less suitable for large, complex websites. It’s also less customizable than self-hosted WordPress (above).
4. Weebly
Owned by Square, Weebly focuses on simplicity and ecommerce integration. It offers a straightforward editor and responsive themes. Weebly’s standout feature is its seamless integration with Square’s payment processing and point-of-sale systems.
You can build a site for free with Weebly with a [yoursitename].weebly.com subdomain and Weebly branding. You’ll also get 500MB storage, lead capture forms, and even some ecommerce functionality (which is rare for a free plan).
As is the case with other platforms offering free plans, if you want to connect a custom domain and build a more serious website, you’ll need to upgrade.
The entry-level Personal plan is only $10.00 per month on an annual contract or $13.00 per month if paying month-to-month. However, many people opt for the Pro plan to access more features and to remove Weebly ads. It costs $12.00 per month with an annual contract.
Free website builder with integrated ecommerce tools and mobile management apps.
Built-in shopping cart with flexible payment options through Square and third-party providers.
Ecommerce features including inventory and tax management, shipping labels, and shipping calculator.
Marketing tools with SEO optimization, lead capture, and automated email campaigns.
Promotional features such as coupon codes and gift cards to boost sales.
Weebly is well-suited for small businesses and ecommerce sites. It offers a user-friendly interface and built-in ecommerce features, making it a good choice for those who want to set up an online store.
While more powerful than Google Sites for ecommerce, it may be less flexible for other types of content.
5. Squarespace
Squarespace is known for its polished, minimalist designs and all-in-one platform approach. It offers built-in marketing tools, SEO features, and analytics. The company places a strong emphasis on mobile responsiveness and provides integrated ecommerce capabilities for their users.
Squarespace offers four plans, with the option to pay annually or month-to-month. The annual contracts are between 27% to 36% cheaper (depending on the plan) than the monthly contracts. All annual contracts also give you a free domain name in your first year.
The entry-level plan is called Personal, and goes for $16.00 per month on an annual contract.
Extensive library of customizable, visually appealing theme templates with option to switch later.
Drag-and-drop editor and Squarespace AI for intuitive website building.
SEO features for site visibility and unlimited bandwidth across all plans.
SSL security and basic website metrics included in every plan.
Ability to sell content (including online courses, blogs, and videos) and memberships, with customer accounts for all plans.
Advanced ecommerce features like 0% transaction fees and selling on social media platforms available in the two higher level commerce plans.
Squarespace is an excellent alternative for users who prioritize aesthetics and want a polished, professional-looking site. It’s particularly good for creatives, restaurants, and small businesses.
While it offers more design options than Google Sites, it may have a steeper learning curve and less flexibility for complex functionality.
6. Webnode
Webnode offers a balance between simplicity and functionality, with features like a built-in CRM system for business users. Higher level plans have robust multilingual support, allowing you to easily create sites in multiple languages.
Webnode lets you create and run a website for free. The free plan includes reliable hosting, an unlimited number of pages for your website, and professional customer care.
If you want more features and to connect a custom domain, you can subscribe to one of seven plans – three for ecommerce and four for other kinds of websites.
Contract terms are for one year, two years, five years, and ten years.
The regular (non-ecommerce) entry-level plan on a one year contract currently costs $54.00, which comes out to $4.50 per month. All plans above this plan come with a free custom domain during the first year.
User-friendly website builder with intuitive drag-and-drop interface.
Customizable form builder with ready-made templates (including specifically for blogs) that are mobile-optimized.
Professional stock photos at your disposal.
Multi-language capability so you can reach a global audience.
Extensive knowledgebase with step-by-step guides, tutorials, and community inspiration.
Fast, professional customer support in over 20 languages. Premium users get priority phone support.
Intuitive store management with quick product setup, flexible payment and shipping options, customizable discounts, promo codes, and free shipping offers.
Webnode is a good option for users who need multilingual websites or want to create a simple business site quickly. The two higher level plans are also suitable for building membership sites.
Overall, Webnode is user-friendly and offers more design options than Google Sites, but may be less suitable for complex or large-scale websites.
7. Medium
Medium is a community-centric platform that any visitor can access and read (though some content is behind a paywall). It’s primarily for writers who want to express their views on any and every issue, though you’ll also find tutorials and other types of articles as well. In the day and age of mass generated AI spam writing, it’s a refreshing source of original, human-produced content.
Overall, it’s a good alternative to Google Sites for publishing long-form pieces and tapping into existing communities that are into specific niches.
As of now, everything is free on Medium for content creators. All you need to do is sign up and you can start publishing.
If you want to support the site, you can sign up as a member for $5 per month. This will allow you to read other writers’ articles and stories that are behind the Medium Partner Program paywall. This is completely optional and does not affect your use of the site as a writer/creator.
Medium has a wide reach with close to 120 million users. That’s a very large potential audience of hungry readers.
If you meet the requirements for the Medium Partner Program you can get paid when people read your articles.
The user-interface is so simple and beginner-friendly that even the least tech-savvy people will have no trouble finding their way around.
Start or join a Medium Publication to write alongside other writers who are interested in the same subject matter as you.
Medium is an alternative for writers and bloggers who want to focus on content creation and reach a built-in audience. It’s simpler than Google Sites but offers less customization. It’s best for those who prioritize writing and community engagement over website ownership and design flexibility.
8. Substack
Substack integrates a website, blog, podcast, video tools, payment system, and a customer support team all into one user-friendly interface. They take care of your hosting, billing, and tech, so you can focus on what you do best – create content.
Similar to Medium, it has a built-in community of readers and writers who specialize in various subjects. This makes it easy to find a home on the platform. Its monetization system is also arguably better than Medium’s Partner Program, due to the latter’s unpredictable income fluctuation from month-to-month.
Substack is a free platform.
However, if you’d like to connect a custom domain to your site, then you’ll have to pay a one-time fee of $50.00 USD.
If you decide to start collecting payments from your readers, Substack will take 10% of your revenue and you’ll also be responsible for credit card fees.
Large built-in network of over 20 million people that helps grow your subscriber list much faster than other platforms.
Monetization feature lets you turn your free subscribers into paying supporters. There’s also a pledge feature where you can gauge how willing your free audience would be to pay you if you started hiding your work behind a paywall.
Option to launch a podcast – including a video podcast – and create voiceovers and narrations for your articles. Then share your episodes to Substack subscribers and to all the major podcast platforms with a single click.
Twitter-esque feature called Notes, which lets you share short form content with the Substack community.
Communicate directly with your readers with Substack’s Chat.
Block AI bots like ChatGPT from scraping your content with a simple toggle.
Substack is ideal for writers, journalists, and content creators who want to start a newsletter or subscription-based publication. It’s more specialized than Google Sites, focusing on email newsletters and paid subscriptions rather than general website building.
9. Pixpa
Pixpa is a niche platform tailored for visual creatives. It combines portfolio showcasing with e-commerce and client proofing tools. Pixpa offers features like custom domain support, SEO tools, and integrations with popular photography services.
Pixpa offers a total of four plans. All plans come with a 15-day free trial. No credit card is required. They also have a 30-day money back guarantee.
Contract terms are month-to-month, annually, or every two years (your choice). The longer you commit for, the better price you’ll get.
The entry-level plan on a two-year contract costs $86.40, which comes out to $3.60 per month.
Easy, all-in-one visual website builder
More than 150 beautiful, responsive templates
24/7 live chat and email customer support
Sell products, services and digital files
Get paid directly with zero commissions
Manage inventory, shipping, taxes, and orders easily
Simple, branded checkout experience
Pixpa is tailored for visual artists, photographers, and designers who need portfolio websites. It offers more specialized features for showcasing visual work compared to Google Sites, including ecommerce capabilities. However, it may be less versatile for other types of websites.
10. Webflow
Webflow is a comprehensive website building tool that comes with hassle-free, fast, and reliable hosting. Think of it as a website builder that gives you the power of code, without actually having to code.
You can start for free with Webflow, and experiment with up to two projects. Beyond that, there are three general plans and three ecommerce plans. There is also an enterprise option.
Contract terms are either month-to-month or annually (22% off).
The entry-level Basic plan goes for $14.00 per month on the annual contract. It supports a custom domain connection, but it’s more appropriate for simple, static websites.
For blogs or other content-heavy sites, you’ll want to consider the CMS plan, which is $23.00 per month on a yearly contract (or $29 per month if you paying month-by-month).
Built-in CMS with customizable databases lets you add dynamic content, including an online store.
Over 100 responsive templates.
Native SEO features.
Immersive animations and interactions are made easy with Webflow’s design tools.
Integration with third-party marketing tools.
Powered by Amazon Web Services, making it easy to scale as your website traffic grows.
Webflow is suitable for designers and developers who want advanced design control without coding. It offers more powerful design and interaction tools than Google Sites but has a steeper learning curve. It’s best for creating complex, highly customized websites for clients or businesses.
Final thoughts 💭
If you’ve made it this far, then you should have a pretty good idea which of the platforms is going to work best for you. Ultimately, it’s going to come down to the purpose of your website, what you want to do with it, and your budget.
Although all of them are great in their own ways, if I had to give you three final broad recommendations, then I’d go with the following:
🧰 To build virtually any kind of website and have full control over it, plus get access to a huge community of other users, choose self-hosted WordPress. With 12,200 themes and 59,650 plugins, there’s almost no limit to what you can create. For hosting, I personally use Namecheap and that’s who I’d recommend, but there are plenty of other affordable hosts.
✍️ For writers or journalists that are primarily concerned with their written content and not so much the design of their site, I’d go with either Medium or Substack. Both will let you tap into a large existing community and offer features to increase the exposure of your work. They are also completely free to use, which is always a nice perk.
🎨 Finally, for anyone who needs to set up a portfolio website, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better deal than Pixpa. The entry-level plan on a two-year contract comes out to only $3.60 per month. It supports up to 200 images, comes with a free SSL certificate, and lets you connect a custom domain. And of course the entire experience is tailor-made for visual artists and photographers, so you’ll feel like you belong.
Do you have any questions about picking the right alternative for your needs? Ask in the comments!
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Updated on:
July 17, 2024
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