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Connect your own domain to a Google Sites website (2026)

4 min read

What you’ll have at the end

Your Google Sites website set up to open at your own web address, such as www.yourbusiness.com, with a CNAME record added at your domain provider. The last step is a wait while the change reaches the internet.

Before you start

You’ll need

  • A website published with Google Sites from a personal Google Account
  • To be the owner of that site (Google says only the owner can connect a domain)
  • A domain you already own, verified in Google Search Console
  • A sign-in to the company you bought the domain from (your domain provider)

What it costs. Google's Sites Help lists no charge for connecting a domain you already own. Buying a domain isn't covered here.

This guide is for a site made with a personal Google Account. If you use Google Sites through a work or school account, please see "If something looks different" below.

Google says only the owner of a site can connect it to a domain. If someone else owns the site, they can make you the owner from Share at the top of the site.

Your domain needs to be verified in Google Search Console before you start. Google's custom domain help asks you to verify with a TXT record, using a Domain property and the instructions for Any DNS Provider. If you haven't done this yet, please follow the guide "Verify your website in Google Search Console" first, then come back here.

Your site needs to be published and set to Public. Google says that otherwise, visitors are sent to the site's sites.google.com address instead. To check, click Share at the top of your site, and next to Published site choose Public.

The address you connect must include a subdomain. Google's help gives www as the example, so www.yourbusiness.com works, but yourbusiness.com on its own doesn't.

Please have a sign-in ready for the company you bought the domain from. Google calls it a third-party domain registrar; this guide calls it your domain provider.

Steps

  1. 1. Open your site in Google Sites

    On a computer, go to sites.google.com, sign in with the Google Account that owns the site, and open your site.

  2. 2. Click Settings

    In the top right corner, click Settings.

  3. 3. Click Custom domains

    Click Custom domains.

  4. 4. Click Start setup

    Click Start setup.

  5. 5. Enter your domain

    Type your address with its subdomain, such as www.yourbusiness.com.

  6. 6. Click Next

    Click Next. Google Sites then shows on-screen instructions for connecting at your domain provider.

    If Google Sites asks you to verify ownership instead, Google's help says to stop here and verify your domain first. Please follow the Search Console guide mentioned in Before you start, then begin again at step 1.

  7. 7. Keep the Google Sites instructions open

    Please keep this tab open. You'll follow its instructions at step 9.

  8. 8. Open your domain's DNS records

    In a new tab, sign in to your domain provider and open the DNS records for your domain. Every provider's screens are different.

  9. 9. Add the CNAME record

    Google's help says your domain needs a CNAME entry. Following the on-screen instructions in Google Sites, add the new CNAME record it describes.

  10. 10. Save the record

    Save the new record in your provider's DNS settings.

  11. 11. Click Done

    Go back to Google Sites and click Done.

  12. 12. Wait for the change to reach the internet

    Google's custom domain help says it may take up to 48 hours for changes to your domain to become visible on the internet. If you see "Invalid DNS" after you've added the record, the same page says to wait 24 to 48 hours and try again. This guide ends here, at the wait.

If something looks different

  • Work or school accounts: Google says to contact your administrator to use a custom domain.
  • "This isn't a valid URL": Google says to check for typos and include a subdomain, like www.
  • "This URL is not verified": your domain isn't verified in Search Console yet. Please verify it first.
  • "This URL is already in use by another Google service": Google says the address is being used by another service, such as Blogger or another Google site.
  • If your domain was linked to Google Sites through Google Domains, Google says it stays linked, and you'll need to verify ownership of your domain to make changes.
  • Google says a custom domain may stop working if you delete the site, transfer its ownership to someone else, or move it into a Team Drive.
  • To remove a custom domain later, Google's help says to go to Settings, click Custom domains, click the trash icon next to the domain, then click Delete.

Related guides

Sources

Alongrail isn't affiliated with Google.