Google Sites vs WordPress: Which Website Builder is Right for You?

Comparison Published on Date: May 19th 2025

Developing your website may lead to lots of frustration, but there are numerous options on which you can create your website. WordPress and Google Sites are among the top names that most users utilize. Around 1,134,782 websites use Google Sites, whereas 529 million sites utilize WordPress. Therefore, let’s make a detailed comparison of Google Sites and WordPress. 

What is Google Sites?

From a beginner’s perspective, Google Sites is the seamless and fastest way to set up your website. It was introduced in 2008 as part of Google’s G Suite. Google Sites is best for small businesses and aims to run very easily, as it utilizes static web pages without the requirement to create a menu or assign posts to a category.   

Google Sites aims to target everyone who needs to create a professionally looking website in a couple of hours. The user can easily create a website through templates highlighted on the first screen, adding images, text, etc. All are made in a self-explanatory interface that does not require experience in creating or hosting a website. 

Google Sites pricing

Google Sites is free; you need a Gmail account to start. It is part of the Google Workspace that includes Gmail, Drive, Meet, Docs, Slides, and Forms. So, Google Workspace can be used for free, but it also includes pricing as follows;

Pricing  

Business Starter	Business Standard	Business Plus	Enterprise
$7	$14	$22	On Request

Google Sites also offers different marketplace templates that cost $39. 

Pros and Cons of Google Sites  

Pros	Cons
It is user-friendly and comes with drag-and-drop functionality.	Limited designs and customization.
Easy integration with Google Workspace products.	Poor SEO capabilities.
Free to use a Google Account.	Limited blogging features.

Key Features  

• Domain Registration 
• AI Tools  
• Templates 
• SEO 
• Workspace 
• Landing pages 

What is WordPress?

WordPress was introduced in 2003 by American bloggers Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little. It offers free plans, technically enabling you to create a free WordPress website. It comes with around 30,000 free themes that allow you to customize your website. Moreover, WordPress is utilized to build all types of websites, including personal blogging, business, e-commerce stores, hospitality, and more.     

Furthermore, you must buy a domain and hosting to create a WordPress website. You can find the best WordPress hosting that seamlessly sets up your website with a single click. 

WordPress Pricing  

Personal	Premium	Business	Commerce	Enterprise
$4	$8	$25	$45	Starting at $25,000/year

Pros and Cons  

Pros	Cons
Free, Open-source, and user-friendly.	It needs more setup than Google Sites.
You can host your website on WordPress.	It can be complex for those with minimal knowledge.
Easy customization by installing a theme.	Continuous maintenance and updates are needed.

Key Features  

• WordPress Themes 
• WordPress Plugin 
• AI website builder 
• Google Apps 
• WordPress Hosting  

Google Sites vs WordPress: Overview  

Features	Google Sites	WordPress
Ratings	4.1★★★★☆	4.4 ★★★★⯨
Pricing	Free / Google Workspace pricing starting at $7.	Starting at $4, it can also vary depending on hosting.
Ease of use	Beginner-Friendly	Moderate learning curve.
Plugins	No plugins	70,000 free plugins
Themes	There are around 37 templates on the marketplace.	30,000 free themes
Hosting	Google-hosted	Self-hosted, Managed
AI website builder	No	Yes
Domains	Yes, it is Integrated with Namecheap.	Yes, you can buy the domain directly from WordPress.com.
SEO	Limitations in SEO features.	Full control
Professional email	You can easily create a professional email with Gmail and Google Workspace.	Yes, it’s free for the first 3 months; later, it will be renewed at $35/year per mailbox.
Best for	Team sites, Intern, and beginner websites.	Blogs, eCommerce, health, and more.

Google Sites vs WordPress: User-Friendly

Your level of expertise matters when selecting a website platform. If you are a new website owner, Google Sites’ simplicity will be a big draw over learning WordPress.  

Google Sites

Google’s Sites are more user-friendly, as they don’t involve much learning. They have limited and straightforward options for creating websites. The built-in templates make it simpler for beginners to use. To the right, you have a sidebar with easier options like insert, including features like text, image, etc. It also gives the option to add pages and themes. 

All these features are easier to use. And it works so intuitively that you don’t need any guidance to figure it out. Therefore, creating and editing on Google Sites without prior knowledge is the best experience. Suppose you want to make a website with easier edit and launch options. Then, Google Sites is the best option.

 

WordPress

WordPress is not very difficult once you learn how to use the options and manage the backend. However, some beginner users may get confused when they see lots of information and menu items in the sidebar.   

Therefore, the WordPress learning curve is difficult, especially with many customization options. Adding and customizing each theme and plugin is different. Therefore, outside of those, the main site editing and post creation are easier and more seamless.

Google Sites vs WordPress: Hosted vs Self-Hosted

Google Sites

As mentioned in the above table, Google Sites is self-hosted and available to all Google users. It stores your website data on Google servers. All you need to do is follow their terms of service. As there are no website hosting fees, if you are utilizing Google Sites in conjunction with Google Workspace, the cost is considered in the user license fee of all plans.

WordPress

You can install WordPress on your web hosting account. This provides you with complete control of all your website content and design. Also, you can control all the branding and marketing metrics. Moreover, installing WordPress is easier, and the best hosting providers help you install WordPress in a single click. 

Google Sites vs WordPress: Features and Functionality

Google Sites

Google Sites takes a different approach. It is developed and designed to make it easy to create basic websites without design skills or coding. It also seamlessly allows you to add content from other Google services.  

Google Sites’ design has templates with decent layouts and restricted design choices. You cannot change much beyond font styles, colors, and basic section order. Also, it doesn’t support plugins, and you cannot add new features or extend any functionality beyond what’s given in the services.

WordPress

WordPress is more flexible, meaning you can create any website, such as a blog, business, eCommerce, health, etc. You can easily add the features required to make a blog, small business website, online store, portfolio, or more.   

Also, it has thousands of free themes, some of which are premium. You can find themes and templates for every industry or niche. You can easily personalize them as much as you require. Moreover, WordPress has over 70,000 plugins that help you add functionalities without writing code, and most plugins have beginner-friendly settings pages. 

Google Sites vs WordPress: SEO & Flexibility

Google Sites

Regarding SEO, Google Sites disappoints you despite being a Google product. It does not provide metadata and SEO options. If you are going to depend on organic search, then this platform is not for you. With Sites, you can make amazing pages and websites for a limited audience or direct traffic. For instance, you can create websites or pages for internal company usage, community updates, brand info pages, and more. SEO optimization is the major drawback of Google Sites that provokes users to select WordPress.

WordPress

WordPress is SEO-friendly and has robust plugins like Rank Math and Yoast SEO. It also easily controls metadata, breadcrumbs, Canonical, Open Graph tags, and more. Therefore, WordPress is the winner if SEO and traffic are more important.

Google Sites vs WordPress: Monetization    

Google Sites 

It doesn’t include monetization features, so you cannot profit from a Google Sites website. Also, it’s not a suitable platform for creating an online store.    

You must manually embed the code required for Google AdSense or affiliate marketing into your website’s HTML. You can also offer exclusive content to your users by adding a payment button utilizing third-party tools like Google Forms or PayPal.     

WordPress

WordPress provides complete control over your website, including a monetization option, without any limitations. You can make money online with your WordPress website by creating an online store, using affiliate marketing, inserting ads within your post content, and much more. 

Google Sites vs WordPress: Support

Google Sites   

Google Sites has contact form options where you can fill out the details and wait for their email reply. However, it doesn’t support live chat or any other support.   

WordPress    

WordPress offers support guides, forums, live chat, and expert support. Unlike Google Sites, you can resolve your query within a few hours by asking WordPress Live. Therefore, in terms of support, WordPress again wins the race.

Google Sites vs WordPress: What to Choose? 

Choose Google Sites If;   

• You are looking to develop a user-friendly website without more customization options.   
• Website traffic doesn’t matter to you.  
• You want to build your portfolio or other internal websites  
• You want to share the website with limited users.  

Choose WordPress If;   

• You can reach a wider audience.  
• You want to expand your business across the globe.  
• You want more customization options with SEO functionalities.  
• You want to monetize your website. 

Conclusion   

As we have covered all the main points on Google Sites vs WordPress. WordPress has become a potential platform for users looking for more features. Google Sites is best for beginners creating websites for internal or individual usage. WordPress stands out from the crowd with a plethora of themes, plugins, SEO, and features. Therefore, if you want to make a website for business purposes, go with WordPress. If you want to create a website for your portfolio or for any other limited users, you can go with Google Sites, which charges zero cost.   

FAQS  (Frequently Asked Questions) 

Q1. Is Google Sites better than WordPress for beginners?  

Ans. Google Sites is easier for beginners, but WordPress offers more flexibility and control.  

Q2. Can I blog using Google Sites?  

Ans. You can, but it lacks features like categories, tags, and plugins that WordPress offers for blogging.  

Q3. Do I need hosting for Google Sites? 

Ans. No, Google Sites is hosted by Google and doesn’t require third-party hosting.  

Q4. Is WordPress free like Google Sites? 

Ans. WordPress.org is free, but you must pay for hosting and a domain. Google Sites is entirely free but has limited features. 

Q5. Which platform is better for SEO? 

Ans.WordPress is significantly better for SEO, thanks to its plugins, customizability, and control over content structure. 

Q6. Can I switch from Google Sites to WordPress later? 

Ans. It’s possible, but the migration process is manual since the platforms have very different structures.