Google are getting into the website hosting business and they give you a 100 MB of server space to get started! Will there be advertising on the hosted sites — perhaps so — but not yet anyway.
Google Page Creator is how you create a Google-hosted website. You may not be able to sign up right now to set up your own hosted pages because of high demand for the new service, but I was able to play around with the site the other day and you can visit the results of that artful playing live on the web right now right here:

http://dboles.googlepages.com


Here is what the online editor looks like:

Google Page Creator

You can pick your layout:

Google Page Creator

You
can choose from a wide variety of colors and design. I was only able to
grab about half the available styles for this screenshot:

Google Page Creator

Creating new pages is simple and you can also edit in raw HTML if you prefer that method to a graphical interface:

Google Page Creator

This
is the Page Manager where you can add and delete pages and get a good
overview of where you are with your site management. Adding your
“stuff” via upload is simple and quick:

Google Page Creator

The following fonts and sizes are included in a simple drop-down menu:

Google Page Creator

Google Page Creator

Google Page Creator is an easy-to-use website hosting and design interface and it is aimed at the entry-level web designer.
You can’t beat price: Free is alright with me!

41 Comments

  2. Hi Noximire —
    I welcome you to this blog and I thank you for your comment.
    Unfortunately I do not have any invitations to send. Google isn’t setting this up like Gmail where you could invite friends. If you are unable to sign up right now, keep trying!
    Good luck!

  6. Hi tajuki —
    I agree. OfficeLive has a lot of promise but it is a sluggish performer.
    Google Pages feel to be the same speed and ease-of-use as the free Yahoo! alternative.

  10. Hello Carla!
    Yah! I try to “go green” with all these sites just so there’s a cross-promotional and recognizable theme-of-design going on here, there and everywhere!
    :mrgreen:

  12. Hi Paulie, and welcome as a first time commenter!
    Funny!
    You’re right Google has a lot in the beta bin of tricks. They suck us all in for free and then turn on the advertising on our unwitting backs!
    😆

  14. You may be right, Paulie!
    I know MSFT *hated* the “Evil Empire” label — but it did suggest some dark power that was indestructible. I’m not sure if MSFT enjoys giving up that mythic mantlerock to Google or not.

  15. You may be right, Paulie!
    I know MSFT *hated* the “Evil Empire” label — but it did suggest some dark power that was indestructible. I’m not sure if MSFT enjoys giving up that mythic mantlerock to Google or not.

  16. I’m not so sure google should have embarked on this. I mean you only get 100 mb of space and what are they going to add that is any more special than the zillions of others already out there?

  17. I’m not so sure google should have embarked on this. I mean you only get 100 mb of space and what are they going to add that is any more special than the zillions of others already out there?

  18. Hi hterry —
    Google Pages keep Google in the hunt for eyes and hearts so they’re not necessarily adding value, they’re just keeping you happy to stay in their wheelhouse and they might just pull in some newbies or pros who want to set up a fast and easy website for testing or linking.
    Google already serve email, Ads — both ways — and groups, website mapping, maps, shopping, RSS feeds, education, website analysis tools and more so a simple hosting site is a good way to test the waters to see if there’s a want and then they can offer more or make their web hosting a revenue sharing Ad-venture for those who choose to create content for hosting on their sites.
    I think it makes a lot of sense – I just wonder what took them so long! You have to remember the first pitch Google throws shows nothing of their deeper or real intent.
    😀

  19. Hi hterry —
    Google Pages keep Google in the hunt for eyes and hearts so they’re not necessarily adding value, they’re just keeping you happy to stay in their wheelhouse and they might just pull in some newbies or pros who want to set up a fast and easy website for testing or linking.
    Google already serve email, Ads — both ways — and groups, website mapping, maps, shopping, RSS feeds, education, website analysis tools and more so a simple hosting site is a good way to test the waters to see if there’s a want and then they can offer more or make their web hosting a revenue sharing Ad-venture for those who choose to create content for hosting on their sites.
    I think it makes a lot of sense – I just wonder what took them so long! You have to remember the first pitch Google throws shows nothing of their deeper or real intent.
    😀

  20. Google is far from Microsh*t, but I guess that depends on if being “evil” is based on the spread of it or the unethical practice Microsh*t is well known for. Though, thank you very much Microsh*t for the wonderful VisualBasic program and book you gave my partner for free as a suck up when he started school this year, I’ll make sure to burn it and dance round it tossing chicken feathers.
    My only issue with free hosts is the lack of control they give clients, which then limits how effective the site will be. An example of this is hosts that don’t allow the use of style sheets. As for this thing of you ONLY get 100mgs. I hate to be the one to point this out to you, but not all hosting companies are as generous as the majority of American hosts. In NZ iServe is one of the largest and most popular hosts, you’ll see $20 for a piddly 20mg and $60 for a piddly 60mg. Due to this I know of several people who hold most of their site content on free servers, and link to it from their domain. Not everyone has credit cards to be able to pay for hosting overseas. I hope to be able to swap to an American host sometime this year due to the massive difference.
    [Edited for Content: D. Boles]

  21. Hi krome.obsession —
    Golly, it sounds like you have some hard feelings against MSFT! What did they do that put you in such a stew? I’ve worked with MSFT on many projects in the past and I have a lot of friends there — so they’re not as unwieldy and all-consuming as we sometimes think.
    😀
    I think 100 MB is a good number to start the program – we know from Gmail that Google aren’t cheap when it comes to sever space allocation. It will be interesting to see how Google Pages are used/abused by the public. The interface has the slick look and feel of a Google web search and Gmail combined — so I think there will be a lot more to come from them soon.

  23. I’m part of a dieing breed of geek who remember computers before Windoze, when the first sim game was “little computer people” and “dizy golf” was one of the hottest games on the market. I may only be young, but I began using a computer when I was six. Because of my background, the years I’ve dedicated to personally studying information systems, and then the actual qualifications I’ve been working on .. I have an interesting outlook on Microsh*t.
    I wouldn’t know where to begin in explaining that. Maybe it’s the buying out of small software companies and then destroying over a decade of work, maybe it’s the fact that they fund lawsuits against Linux, or maybe I simply hate being confronted with having to learn a number of crappy things for my degree simply because Microsh*t says that’s what the schools should teach. Kind of like how Cisco makes you say that IE and NS are the most popular browsers, when they aren’t.
    As a note, I’m not labeling any specific individual as being this way, but this is the face of Microsh*t that many in my .. “clique” .. see on a regular basis. From the buying of a majority share in Apple so that there would be a competitor so they couldn’t be dubbed as a monopoly through to the lack of backwards compatibility forcing end users to upgrade. But the truth is, I doubt I could see myself out to Microsh*t, not for any dollar value. I should shut up about this though, I mean no offense to anyone. If you want to enjoy what they have brought to society then by all means, as said in the first sentence, I’m a dieing breed.

  24. Hi krome!
    Wow! Thanks for the deep detail on what’s up with you and MSFT. Your points are interesting a pretty clear and I certainly understand where you are coming from on this matter.

  25. Actually…
    It would appear that all you need to create your page is your g-mail address. Therefore it would seem that you could invite people to create pages, indirectly. 🙂

  26. Looks user friendly and easy to learn.
    The wife may like it as she gets frustrated with me trying to explain WordPress or Frontpage.
    Mik

  28. Mik!
    Yes, Google Page Creator is easy and simple to use. I was flipping through templates this morning to change the look a bit and the experience was quick and fun and I would think it would make a good way to get your wife started on the web!

  29. I know some people were expressing problems with getting in to create their own Google page, but yesterday – after reading your review 😉 – I clicked over there, signed up for a Gmail address, and created my own page within just a few minutes. I didn’t experience any sort of wait at all. The only thing I had to do was update Firefox, because for some reason I had not downloaded the most recent version.
    I don’t have any text up there yet, though. I’m just playin’ around. 😀

  30. Hi Carla!
    Yay! I’m so happy you were able to get in and sign up. I tried to play around with it last night but the entire site was down on my end. It’s back up now.
    When you get something up there, give a holla so we can all visit!

  32. Hey
    My name is Sebastian & I am extremely keen on getting a google page creator account, but sadly they do not let your freely sign up for it (they only allow you to be put on the waiting list). Is there anyway I would be able to get an account now? Hope all is well,
    I like they way your sites presented, very nice!
    Thanks
    Sebastian

  36. sweet. just one more question, do you know if google provides any site space where you pay and then you get a limited space to upload the site too, without having to use the pages.

  38. Hello, just wondering if it’s as easy to delete your page (and from google’s cache) as it was in creating the web site in the first place. I’ve heard google’s aim is to keep information for all eternity 🙂

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