Setting Up a Google Sites Custom Web Address

A Written and Video Tutorial / How to

Introduction

You've done it! You have spent days, weeks, maybe months designing your Google Sites website and now your ready to share it with the public. You are ready to launch the website and probably want to use a custom web address, also called a domain (e.g. .com, .net .biz). You can purchase, or register, these domains from a domain registrar (e.g. GoDaddy, Google Domains, etc). Let's walk through the steps of setting up a Google Sites custom web address in this tutorial.

Follow the official Google Sites support page instructions for best results. This article provides the most relevant, up-to-date help and includes topics like: set up a custom domain, verifying ownership of your domain, responding to error messages, etc. I will also attempt to summarize my process here in case it provides more clarity on some steps.

Watch the video above for an entire video tutorial walkthrough! I will show you every step of connecting your Google Site to a GoDaddy custom domain.

Publishing on a Custom Domain from a Personal Gmail Account and with GoDaddy

Go to your Google Site in edit mode
Go to Settings ⚙
Go to Custom Domains > Start Set up
Select a domain from a third party
Enter your domain (e.g. .com, .net, .org, etc)
You will probably need to verify your ownership, click that link and you'll be sent to Google Search Console

Note: If you are using a Google Workspace account, please see instructions below as this process is a bit different in some ways.

Verify your Domain Ownership with Google Search Console

Enter or domain or subdomain here (if prefer to enter the naked domain without www); we are using the domain option and not URL prefix
Start your verification with GoDaddy
You will need to log into GoDaddy and authorize Google Search Console to connect.
After those authorizations, wait for verification which took 15 seconds for me.
You are now done with Google Search Console! Redo the Google Sites setup process outlined previously in Google Sites settings.
Make sure your Google Site sharing settings are how you want them, for instance, Public (Available to the world) and make sure your site is published.

Connect Your Google Sites to Domain Registrar, GoDaddy via DNS Records

Take note or copy ghs.googlehosted.com. (include period at the end) and then go to GoDaddy > Log In > Domain > Manage DNS
Add a New CNAME record; for example my cname record was Type: CNAME, Name: www, Value: ghs.googlehosted.com. , TLL: 1/2 Hour. And Save!

Set Up Forwarding for your Naked Domain Name on GoDaddy

Have you experienced that your website doesn't open or load without www prefix (subdomain)? Are you irritated that certain browsers don't automatically forward your website without the www in front? Here's how you fix that:

An example of a naked domain is kirksvillewebdesign.com (notice no https://www.)
Under DNS and Managing DNS, select Forwarding
Select https:// since all New Google Sites are SSL secured and then put your subdomain like www.kirksvillewebdesign.com
Set this as a 301 Permanent Redirect / Forward and Save!

Many domain registrars offer forwarding of the domain, not just GoDaddy. Become acquainted with your domain settings, DNS and forwarding options. You can use this 301 forward type to redirect pages without www

Adding a Custom URL with Google Workspace for Google Sites

Go to https://admin.google.com/u/1/ac/apps/sites/address this is located in the admin.google.com panel > Apps > Google Workspace > Sites > Custom URL
If you are already using the URL with another site, you will need to delete that mapping
Click the + icon in the top right to add a new custom URL mapping
Follow the instructions that are presented step by step
Be sure to use a Google Sites location URL in this format: sites.google.com/DOMAIN.COM/WEBSITE-NAME
Follow the instructions for editing domain registrar DNS records.

How to Use Google Domains for Google Sites Custom URL

This video tutorial covers custom domains using a Google Workspace account and Google Domains.

FAQ

Where do I find an A record, AAAA record, or IP address for Google Sites?

You do not need an A record or IP address to successfully set up a Google Site on a custom domain. Google does not provide these for Workspace or Gmail users. This is because Google Sites always uses a subdomain and won't work purely on a naked domain. That is why we forward the naked domain to the CNAME mapped subdomain (usually www). There is no public IP address for Google Hosting servers. The data ghs.googlehosted.com. is only for a CNAME.

How do I link my Google Site custom domain using another registrar?

There are tons of domain registrars on the web. Here are some of the guides we have found that give specific instructions on Google Sites set up for their registrar: