Create A Simple & Free Web Page in 2 Minutes

This is for you if...

  • You are just getting started and don't have a website yet
  • You just want to get something basic online that you can direct people to.
  • You are looking for something quick and simple that you can create, update and share.
  • You are  not ready to invest  in building your actual website.

Action Plan & Overview

This guide will show you how to setup a web page using Google Docs. You might be thinking, "Wait! Google docs is for writing up documents and not for building websites." And yes, that is correct, but it can be used for creating a very simple, quick and free website.

The following steps will show you how create a new Google Doc and create a link that is publicly accessible to anybody that has that unique link. You can then edit and update your web page (i.e. your Google Doc) whenever you like and the visitor will always see the latest version.

We'll also show you how to create a shorter link to share online. If you already have a domain name, but no website, then you can also setup a redirect to have your domain redirect users to your GDoc page.

Step 1: Make sure you are logged into your Google Account

Open https://www.google.com in a new browser tab. If you can see your profile picture in the top right corner, then you are logged in. If you have multiple accounts, make sure that you are logged into the correct account.

If you don't have an existing Google account, then create a new account here. This will add a few more minutes to this project, but it will give you access to all Google's great tools.

Step 2: Open My Template & Create A Copy

Click here to open my template in a new browser tab. Then click "File" & "Make a copy...".
This will open your copy in a new browser tab and it will be linked to your Google account.

Step 3: Change the visibility to make your Google Doc publicly visible

To update the visibility settings, click on the "Share" icon top right. Then click "Advanced", then "Change" and select the "On - Anyone with the link" option. Then click "Save". Lastly, copy the unique link of your document before you click "Done".

Make sure to save this link somewhere so you can easily return to it anytime for edit the content of your page.

Step 4: Edit the contents of your new web page

Replace the contents on your page with your own content. You can embed images including your logo, add headings, subheadings and text.

You can update the content of this page at any time. Just make sure that Google Docs has saved your changes before you close the tab or your browser.  After saving the changes the document will display "All changes saved in Drive" - see screenshot below.

Note: You'll notice that the image of the hands holding the iPhone on the template is quite small. The reason for that is for mobile viewing. Keep your images to that width to optimise the viewing experience for mobile. See the example at the bottom of this page to see what I mean.

Step 5: Create a shorter (more convenient) link for your page

Visit the Google link shorting page at https://goo.gl/, instert your long link and click on "Shorten URL". Then copy the shortened URL which will be easier to share online - in emails, on social media, etc.

Your shorter link will be added to your account so you can track the clicks that link has received on your https://goo.gl/ dashboard.

[Optional] Step 6: Setup a redirect from your domain to your new page

If you have a registered domain for your brand, you can setup a redirect to direct any traffic to your new web page (Google Doc). That way you can promote your website using your domain name and know that the user will be redirected to the page you just setup.

Showing you how to setup the redirect is beyond the scope of this resource, because the method of setting this up varies depending on what registrar you have used to register your domain name, as there are hundreds. If you need help with this reach out in the private members-only chat account or contact priority support.

The Outcome

Here are two screenshots of what your page should look like on a desktop browser and on a mobile device.
You want your page to look good on mobile devices, so make sure to test it and optimise accordingly.

Time To Take Action

Go ahead and create your simple, quick and free web page using Google Docs and share your link in the Slack group, so that other members can learn more about what you are working on, plus provide feedback.

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