This site demonstrates some of the possibilities that Google Sites offers. It is not intended as a user-manual or tutorial on how to use this, rather a show-and-tell of the range of functionality available.
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Technologies
Overview
Google has a large number of services that can be integrated within a site. This section shows examples of the various types of technologies that can be incorporated within a site.
Unlike hosted solutions that use PHP, ASP, .NET or any number of technologies, Google Sites provides access to an editor and a management console. This means that the site users are provided with a standard interface - which looks much like a word-processor - in which to author their web-pages.
In addition, a site-administrator can control the template, the look-and-feel, the colours and site specific details, making it possible for a site to maintain a standard look regardless of who edits the content.
Another way to look at this is to compare it to a Content Management System that has already been installed.
What about style-sheets and layouts?
Google Sites at this time does not use cascading style-sheets that are editable by the user or an administrator. While a die-hard web-developer may shudder at this "restriction", the reality is that most of the user requirements are for a simple web-site that can be managed by an end-user without specific skills.
Google Sites can be customised to many different looks and styles and the lack of a style-sheet is rarely an issue. If required, HTML editing is possible within the page-content.
What about writing specific programs for use within my site?
Google Sites offers integration with Google Apps Script, plug-ins, hosted iframes and several other technologies. It is possible to write code that deals with your specific issue, but it is likely that a solution already exists. Automatic scripts, timed or triggered in other ways are available.
From a developer's perspective, extending functionality by writing a Google Gadget can be as simple as creating an XML file that can be attached to a Google Site for deployment. Revision control and caching is built-in, so updating a gadget across all sites that use it is as simple as uploading a new version.
What else does this mean?
Google sites offers revision control for page-edits and uploads, which means that you can control and revert updates made by users. You can subscribe to a site's changes to keep track of which edits have been completed and by whom.
Many different functions are built into Google Sites, such as maps, photos, videos, forms, lists and countless other "gadgets" that are continually being developed.
