Google just released "Google Sites" for Google Apps users. You get 10 gigs of space in your account and Premier and Education editions get an extra 500MB for each user account. You can upload files up to 10MB in size to your File Cabinet. As well, Google Sites can point to your Domain by logging into your Google Apps Dashboard and clicking on the "Add more services" under "Service settings."
You will be taken to this screen were you click on the "Add it now" button to bring the Sites beta to your domain.
You know Sites are loaded on your site if you look at the bottom of your Dashboard and see the new Sites link at the bottom of the right column. Notice the funky, long and ugly default URL? We gotta change that!
Click on the "Sites" hotlink from your Dashboard to hunker into your "Sites settings" screen. You can change the URL, sharing options and disable the service if you find it isn't for you. Let's start the customization by clicking on the "Change URL" link.
I like the default "sites" URL so http://sites.bolesuniversity.com will be the home URL for my Google Sites. Click on the "Continue" button to move on with the customization.
Now we're at the infamous "Changing CNAME record" screen. I won't step you through it here because itis covered in the book proper. Just make sure you do a CNAME update and lower your TTL. Click on the "I've completed these steps" button to finish.
Now we're back in the main Dashboard view and you can see the URL is now changed and beautiful! Click on the "Sites" link to head over to the new Sites site.
Click the "Create a Site" button to set up your first Google Apps Site.
The initial configuration screen needs you to fill in the specifics of your Site.
After saving my setup and choosing the "School" theme with the green chalkboard, I'm in my new Sites home for "ASL" -- American Sign Language. Clicking on the "More Actions" button shows you some of the keen services you can utilize in your new Site.
Clicking on the "Edit page" button lets you insert text and you can format your homepage for your Site.
Clicking on the "Create new page" button brings up this wild screen with lots of functionality included for inserting a new page.
If you create a "Dashboard" you can add images and calendars and documents.
If you create a "Dashboard" you can add images and calendars and documents.
Adding a new "List" page brings up this screen. I clicked on the "Unit Status" template and received this error screen! Gah!
Let's stop designing for a moment and click on the "Edit sidebar" link at the bottom of the left sidebar where we end up here -- back in our main Google Apps management interface.
In this management interface you can change colors, add your logo, and determine Sharing options.
Here is my completed ASL Google Sites website -- customized with my Boles University logo -- and with my Site map view active.
You can create more than one Google Sites website! Each site you create as an Administrator will be visible as an option for entry every time you hit your own http://sites.bolesuniveristy.com and I certainly hope you will enjoy creating fine new avenues of collaborations using Google Apps!