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Google Sites
Classic Comparison
Find out which classic Google Sites features you can use in new Google Sites
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About this comparison between classic and new Google Sites
This page serves as a guide to show the features that are available in classic Google Sites compared to the new Google Sites released in November 2016. We will update this page over time when new features are released but to ensure you find out as soon as possible then please sign up to the Sites Update Group.
When you see a link in the comparison it will take you to an article or video of how to use that feature in new Google Sites.
We look forward to updating the comparison with lots of new features as Google introduces them and many are mentioned on the Deprecation Timeline - classic Google Sites .
General
1 If you use Chrome you can try requesting the desktop version of the site and try the editor to see if it works for you on your device.
2 The search results will not contain content from embedded Google Drive items like Google Docs, PDFs or Word Documents. If you use Google Workspace Business or Enterprise you have the Cloud Search option.
3 You can use the Copy Site feature to give something similar to site templates and you can use Google's provided site templates.
∢ Google has announced that the following features will become available for new Google Sites
Notifications of site updates
API capabilities
Templates
Revision history
Google Vault support for new Sites content
see An update on the classic Google Sites deprecation timeline for the exact wording.
Sharing, Permissions and Visibility
1 You need to use the Publishing option to get the same feature
2 You can only publish the whole site, not individual pages, and you can only publish to the primary domain, not any secondary domains.
3 You can only have one owner of a site, not multiple owners of a site, and domain admins are not automatically owners of sites.
4 Team Drives are only available to Google Workspace Business and Enterprise customers.
5 Google has announced that the following features will become available for new Google Sites
More granular access to different sections of sites
see An update on the classic Google Sites deprecation timeline for the exact wording.
Migration Help
If you feel daunted by the move from classic Google Sites to new Google Sites and need help with the conversion, or you need some advice and guidance on how to manage the change contact us and we can help.
Themes, Colours and Fonts
∢ Google has announced that the following features will become available for new Google Sites
Corporate themes
see An update on the classic Google Sites deprecation timeline for the exact wording.
Migration Help
If you feel daunted by the move from classic Google Sites to new Google Sites and need help with the conversion, or you need some advice and guidance on how to manage the change contact us and we can help.
Navigation, Pages and Attachments
1 You can upload to Google Drive, share appropriately and embed or link to instead
2 New Google Sites page properties only offers a custom path (URL)
3 You can add third-party commenting tools like Disqus
4 Google has updated the Google Drive Help Centre to explain the limits :
Up to 15,000,000 characters per page.
Up to 40,000,000 characters per site.
Up to 10,000 pages per site.
Up to 15,000 images per site
see Files you can store in Google Drive.
∢ Google has announced that the following features will become available for new Google Sites
Notifications of site updates
Create larger sites, including deeper hierarchy
see An update on the classic Google Sites deprecation timeline for the exact wording.
Site Layout
Editing and Embedding
1 Team Drives are only available to Google Workspace Business and Enterprise customers.
2 This is not full Apps Script integration with new Sites, just the ability to embed a web app.
3 New Google Sites allows far more embed code than classic Sites' more restrictive HTML Box. HTML Box in classic Sites does not allow use of JavaScript or CSS in externally referenced files, whereas in new Sites the embed code tool does allow this. Since you can reference external JavaScript and CSS files this removes the need for gadget creation.
4 We cannot foresee new Google Sites ever getting HTML editing so please take a look at the embed code tool.
∢ Google has announced that the following features will become available for new Google Sites
Embed URLs and code in sites
see An update on the classic Google Sites deprecation timeline for the exact wording.
Keep up-to-date
Join the Sites Update Group on the Google Sites Classic Comparison to get email notifications about New Google Sites updates.
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