Top 10 - Wish List for Google Sites in 2013

Top 10 - Wish List for Google Sites in 2013

Hey folks! +Kyle Horst here with +Kirksville Web Design and I am super excited for 2013 when it comes to Google Sites. 2012 was a successful year for us and I foresee the demand for Google Sites growing. People are migrating to Google Apps in droves and Google Sites enjoys a slice of that success.

First, lets review 2012:

1. Easy Edit Site Layout - "Shift + L" That's the hotkey I've been learning quickly for Google Sites because it's quick and easy to edit Site Layout now. No more jostling between different tabs to verify the look and feel.
2. New & Improved Commenting - This feature flies under the radar most of the time, but it's really nice for Wiki type projects. Those comments at the bottom of the page are now easier to follow and track thanks to some Google + type functionality.

Now onto our Wish List for 2013:

1. Anyone can comment - I think I speak for every Google Sites enthusiast when I say we want public commenting. Tie this into Google + and we are set to blog a bit more on Google Sites and take in all sorts of feedback. This would breathe new life into Google Sites
2. More Font Control - Certain elements of Google Sites, their font size, well it can't be changed, no matter how hard you try in the HTML editor. So give us a bit more freedom to work with fonts Google. =)
3. Bugged Out Background Image - This has bothered me for a while. If the Google Translate feature is tripped by a visitor your background image, which you have set to the bottom of the page, will no longer stick to the bottom. It can easily destroy a Google Sites look. =/
4. Set Column Width - The wish here is two-fold: Allow for the editing of the column width for page layouts and allow for setting the column width for the List type page. We don't always want them to be equal in width.
5. Tags - What a wonderful idea. We see tags used everywhere in Wordpress and Blogger, but wouldn't it be nice to tag your pages and your files in Google Sites? Yes, please.
6. Improve File Cabinet - We love the file cabinet, but at a certain point it becomes hard to manage and organize files. You can't upload to a specific folder and docs are automatically alphabetized. We could use some better Google Drive capabilities too.
7. Improve the Announcements Page - The announcements page template is handy, don't get me wrong, but it would be useful to have more Blogger type features, like an archive widget, comments, and easy add social media gadgets (+1, tweet, etc.). Also, change author, change date/time, auto-scheduling posts, to name a few options.
8. Add Custom CSS - When you design Google Sites, you will inevitably hit some roadblocks for fonts/colors/styling that you just can't change via conventional HTML editing means. A universal Add Custom CSS feature would be wonderful. Let us override certain styling if and when we need to.
9. Fixed Background Image - This feature could make for some interesting designs, definitely more based on high quality photos. It would pair nicely with an option to expand background to 100 percent of the browser window. That way you have a nice full page background effect. It a popular design choice on many modern websites.
10. Center Justify the Horizontal Navigation Bar - If you are designing a website with a more center justified look, then the nav bar is the only thing holding you back. In RTL reading languages (Hebrew, Arabic) the nav bar is justified right, so it's very possible to easily add an option to center it. Maybe in 2013.

Here's hoping for a great 2013 in the Google Sites world. Thanks!