This is a complete list of the best Google Sites widgets and plugins for website owners in 2024.
When you manage a website, you will face the circumstances of using third-party applications or add-ons to add different functionalities.
This is the case for Google Sites. Although it is a good site builder, it lacks quality and essential widgets in the modern internet age.
But where can you find good widgets for Google Sites platform? And which Google Sites plugins can help you essentially grow your business?
That is what you will find in this article – Best Google Sites widgets for websites.
In our previous article on best HTML widgets providers for websites, we listed several places where you can create embeddable web widgets without needing coding skills. You can use one of those services, such as Elfsight, which contains 80+ widgets, or use the widgets below.
How to embed widgets in Google Sites
Here is how to embed HTML widgets on a Google Site.
Step 1: Click on the “Embed” element from the right-side panel.
Step 2: Click the “Embed Code” and paste the embeddable code for the custom widget you want to display on the Google Sites site. It is usually a piece of HTML code.
5 things to consider when using widgets in Google Sites
- You can install multiple widgets on a Google Sites page – Let’s assume you want to add multiple countdown timers on a landing page. In that case, withal adding a JavaScript file similar to <script src=”https://example.com/script.js”/> multiple times, you can add it once and embed the HTML div element that displays countdown timers.
- You can use Google Tag Manager in Google Sites – Install the Google Tag Manager script on your Google Site using the “Embed Code” element as shown above. In Google Tag Manager, you can add scripts of Google Sites widget providers. Using a service such as Google Tag Manager gives extra benefits such as a lesser impact on overall page loading time, sequencing, and easier widget installation.
- Consider page loading speed – No one likes web pages that take ages to load. Using excessive widgets on a Google Sites page may lead to it. If you add images to a Google Sites widget (e.g., Photo slider), size them properly, compress them using a service such as ShortPixel compressor, and use a modern image format such as WebP and AVIF.
- You can customize widgets before and after adding to Google Sites – Most HTML widgets providers for Google Sites allow customizing widgets to resonate with your theme and brand color palette using the visual editor and CSS.
- A/B test your strategy – You can utilize Google Sites for various reasons: affiliate marketing, lead generation, showcasing a work portfolio, and creating a bio page. Whichever the reason is, experiment by creating page variants with different widgets and widget placements.
Top Google Sites Widgets to Use Today
Form Builder
One of the reasons why you create a website on Google Sites might be to collect information from website users.
Even though you can use Google Forms in Google Sites to add a form widget to your site, since Google Forms lacks certain features, such as pre-filling form fields via URL parameters and limited customization, you will have to use a custom form widget in Google Sites.
Form widgets can be used for many purposes. Some examples are contact forms and customized forms such as booking, calculation, appointment, surveys, quizzes, and Feedback forms.
Here are some form widget builders:
How to create a form widget for Google Sites
Use the following widget builder to create a form widget for Google Sites. Use the AI tool to generate a form widget automatically based on your prompts.
Here’s how to use the AI (Artificial Intelligence) form generation feature of Elfsight Form Builder to generate an HTML form based on defining the form type:
Find more solutions to create forms in this article.
Blog
In our review on Google Sites vs. Google Blogspot, we highlighted one disadvantage of using Google Sites: the inability to add blog entries. If you are looking to add a blog to your Google Sites, you can do it in two ways:
- Create a dedicated blog – Use a blogging platform such as Blogger, WordPress, Brizy, and Tumblr, and integrate Google Sites and blogs through domain names. If Google Site’s domain is example.com, make the blog’s domain blog.example.com.
- Add microblog widget – A microblog does not include the same features as a full-fledged blogging platform but helps add content to help Google index Google Sites pages faster and showcase updates.
How to add a microblog widget to Google Sites
Create a blog widget using the following widget builder. Then get the embed code and place it on a standalone page of your Google Sites website.
You can also use Powr’s Microblog app to create a blog for Google Sites, however, as far as features are concerned Powr’s Microblog is not that good.
Email subscription form
One of the drawbacks of Google Sites website builder is that it does not have an element that enables ’email subscription’ functionality. If you want to add an opt-in email form, you must use a third-party tool.
Fortunately, there are many email form builders that integrate with Google Sites:
How to add an opt-in email form to Google Sites
I will show how to use ConvertBox to create an opt-in form. Alternatively, you can use any service listed above.
Sign up on ConvertBox and add your website. Next, click on the “+ New ConvertBox” button on your dashboard.
On the next screen, you will be asked to enter a name and select a group for your new ConvertBox widget. Once done, you will see a screen similar to the one below to select a type of form.
Now, you will see a set of templates to choose from. You can customize one of those or create one from scratch.
Customize the widget using the drag-and-drop page builder. For more details on how to use ConvertBox, check out this ConvertBox review.
Integrate with your email marketing service (ex: AWeber), A/B test by adding multiple variations, and use targeting options. In addition, you can use the content locking feature to force subscribing before viewing a particular part of a Google Sites page.
Photo Gallery
Photo Gallery widgets are used to create image grids, carousels, and sliders. A photo gallery widget is essential, especially if you want to showcase images on your Google Sites in a creative and attractive way.
Even though Google Sites does have an Image Carousel widget, it lacks features such as:
- Limited to carousel format. For example, you cannot create an image gallery with a grid layout using the carousel widget.
- It is impossible to add a link to each image.
- Customization options. The default image carousel widget in Google Sites has very limited customization features.
Here are a few Google Sites Photo Gallery widget creators:
How to add an image gallery to Google Sites
Use the widget builder below to create your own Google Sites Photo Gallery widget.
Popup widget
Google Sites does not provide a popup widget to use. So, you will have to use a third-party service to add a popup widget.
In our recent article on best popup creators, we listed 10+ services, key features, and demos of some of them. Several of them are:
Why should you use popup widgets on Google Sites?
- Reduce page abandonment – If you are using Google Sites to sell something, chances are many people will exit the page on the first visit without purchasing. Utilize a popup coupon widget that launches on the page abandonment to increase revenue.
- Capture exiting traffic – A significant percentage of the total number of visitors will only visit a site once and never come back. Why not use an exit-intent popup on your Google Sites to capture those people?
- Targeted on-click popups – Many popup widget creators let you display a popup in many ways. Some of them are when a certain link, button, or element is clicked.
How to make a popup widget for Google Sites
You can use a popup creator such as Convertful, ConvertBox, OptinMonster, or Convertflow to design a popup according to your requirements.
Here’s how to make a popup on Convertful:
Countdown timer
Probably one of the top Google Sites widgets missing from the Google Sites widgets library. Particularly true if you want to utilize the urgency to improve conversions on your site.
Our article on “Top Website Countdown Widgets” listed some services, their features, and demos. Those services allow embedding countdown timers on Google Sites by installing HTML code.
Here are some of the top two services:
- Elfsight Countdown widget – Create inline countdown timers, countdown bars, and many more countdown widget types.
- Common Ninja Countdown widget – Make an evergreen or count-to-date countdown with timezone.
- Powr Countdown app – Create multiple widget types such as countdown timers, count-up timers, countdown numbers, and many more. Plus, Powr includes a countdown timer widget for emails that can be useful if you want to add a timer to an email.
How to make a countdown timer
Use the widget builder below to design a countdown timer.
Here’s how to use Elfsight to make a countdown timer:
Pricing tables
The pricing table is another critical Google Sites widget that is missing, and you have to use a third-party tool to create one. If you use Google Sites to sell a product or service, a pricing table can be used to help users distinguish features and necessary items on each package.
In our article on top pricing table generators, we listed several services and demos. Here are the top three pricing table makers for Google Sites.
Additionally, you can use a cart builder such as ThriveCart and Samcart to make high-converting checkout pages.
How to make a pricing table using Elfsight
Use the widget builder below to create a price table widget for Google Sites.
Watch the video below to find out how to customize the widget.
Testimonials
According to many studies and reports, online testimonials help boost conversions. There are many review platforms. You have to use a service that allows you to fetch those reviews and embed them on your Google Sites page.
- Google Reviews – Google Business Profile (GBP) lets people leave reviews on local businesses and places. For that, the business owner should prepare a Google Business Profile account and enable reviews. Use one of these Google Reviews widgets to embed Google ratings and reviews on your Google Site.
- Amazon Reviews – If you are an Amazon Associates affiliate, FBA, or a merchant and want to embed reviews on an Amazon product on your Google Sites, use one of these Amazon Reviews widgets.
- Facebook Reviews – Want to place Facebook page reviews on your Google Sites? Use a Facebook Reviews widget.
How to add customer testimonials to Google Site
Suppose you have customer testimonials not published on any review platforms listed above or G2, Trustpilot, or Etsy. In that case, you have to use a customer reviews widget creator.
Elfsight’s All-in-one Reviews widget is one of the best Google Sites widgets for displaying reviews from multiple platforms. Use the widget builder below to design your own testimonials Google Sites plugin.
Here is how to use Elfsight’s Testimonials widget to design a testimonial slider.
Social Feed
Social Feeds widgets allow you to display social posts from different platforms, such as Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube, on your Google Sites website.
There are many social feed widget providers out there. Here are some of them:
- Elfsight Social Feed – Create social media feeds from unlimited combinations of multiple sources: Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, X, Pinterest, Tumblr, RSS, and more.
- Powr Social Feed – Like Elfsight, Powr’s Social Feed plugin lets you add posts from multiple sources, customize the widget, and embed it on your site.
- TagEmbed
- EmbedSocial Social Media Aggregator
- TaggBox
- CommonNinja
How to make a social feed widget for Google Sites
Use the widget builder below to design your own Google Sites Social Feed widget.
PDF Embed widget
You might want to embed a PDF file on your Google Site to showcase your resume, work portfolio, user manual, or media kit. However, Google Sites does not provide a widget for inserting PDF files into a web page.
Here are a few solutions to utilize to add PDF to a Google Sites page.
How to embed PDF in Google Sites
Upload your PDF files into the following widget creator, customize its appearance, and generate HTML code to insert PDF into Google Sites:
Here’s how to customize the PDF embed widget on Elfsight:
Learn more ways to insert PDFs in a web page, such as using HTML.
Scroll to Top
The Scroll to Top or Back to Top widget is essential if a page is longer. It helps users easily access the page’s top section by clicking the button once.
There are many back-to-top widget providers. Here are some:
How to add a go-to-top widget to Google Sites
There are two ways to do it: add custom code that enables the scroll to the top widget on your site or use a no-code widget builder. You can find guides on how to code it like this and this.
But the easiest way to add a scroll to the top widget is to use a widget provider. It allows you to customize widgets with colors, content, and motions and set widget positions on the page (e.g., bottom-right, top-right, etc.).
Use the widget builder below to design a responsive back-to-top widget for Google Sites.
Social Share Buttons
Google Sites does not provide a social share widget for its users. So, you will have to use a third-party tool. Depending on the service, you will receive features such as share tracking, widget styles, and placements.
Here are the top social share widget providers:
Live Chat widget
Chat widget helps provide customer service, convert people into leads, and convince on-the-fence visitors to become clients in real-time.
There are two live chat widget types:
- Social chat widgets
- Third-party chat widgets
Social live chat widgets use platforms such as Facebook, Telegram, WhatsApp, WeChat, and Viber to enable live chat functionality. If you use one of those widgets, people must have a registered account to start a conversation. Third-party chat widgets are custom-built, and users can send messages anonymously.
All-in-one Social Chat widget for Google Sites
Elfsight’s All-in-one Chat widget is the ultimate social live chat widget you’d ever need. It supports Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, WeChat, Viber, Line, and RubleTalk platforms.
Use the widget builder below to design your chat widget.
Third-party chat widget providers
Here are several options if you are looking for a live chat provider for your Google Sites.
Check out the Gist setup tutorial to find out how to add a Gist Chat widget to a website.
Table
Another key extension missing from Google Sites is a table widget. Like an image carousel, a table widget can be helpful in certain situations, especially when you want to display a dataset with sorting and search tools for easier digestation.
One of the best HTML table builders we have seen best suited for Google Sites is CommonNinja’s Comparison Table widget. Not just because it’s so easy to create a table but also because it has integrations such as data export via CSV, Google Drive, OneDrive, and API and has minor but helpful functionalities like floating headers & columns, sorting, search and pagination.
You can also use Fouita’s Comparison Table widget. However, it does not include data integrations, sorting, or search tools.
YouTube Channel widget
Yes, Google Sites has a YouTube add on. But, it’s just for embedding a single video. What if you want to embed a gallery of videos, your playlists, shorts or even your entire YouTube channel on your Google Sites website?
In that case, you can use following widget builder:
More tools to create a YouTube feed widget:
10 more useful widgets for Google Sites
Here are more widgets to use on your Google Sites website.
- Comparison tables – If you sell something or promote any affiliate offer using Google Sites, a comparison table widget can help in many ways to boost conversions.
- Website traffic tracker – Google Sites lets you analyze website users through Google Analytics. However, if you want to use a simple way to display live visitor counts on your Google Sites, you have to use a widget.
- FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions gadget on Google Sites can help boost conversions by displaying questions and answers that otherwise potential customers would have to contact to get know.
- Events Calendar – Want to display a list of events on your site? Use one of these events calendar website widgets.
- Social media contest widget – Social media giveaway creators such as SweepWidget and UpViral lets you embed a giveaway into a Google Site and hold a giveaway campaign on your site.
- Logo slider – Google Sites widgets library does not include a widget to display clients’ logos. You will have to use an HTML logo showcase widget or insert a logos collage graphic.
- File reader – You might wonder if you can embed PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, and Excel spreadsheets into your Google Sites. Yes, you can embed files by using a file embed widget.
- Number counter – Have you got data in numbers such as clients served, years in service, and the profit you have driven for customers in your business to show off? Use an animated number counter widget.
- Social proof widget – Social proof software helps you display UGC (User Generated Content) such as online reviews and user activities (e.g., recent purchases, last customer) details on your site. These Google Sites tools are especially helpful if you sell and want to boost conversions. Check these social proof widget creators for examples.
- Custom PayPal button widget – Collect payments and donations on your Google Sites using a custom PayPal widget.
Looking for more widgets for your Google Sites website? Check out our website widgets archive.
Related: Top Google Sites Website Examples for Inspiration
FAQs on Google Site Widgets
Are widgets available on Google Sites?
Yes, a few widgets are available to use on Google Sites. Some of them are:
* Button
* Image Carousel
* Divider
* Social Links
* Placeholder
* Maps
* Google Forms
* Charts
However, some of these widgets lack features such as customizing options and mobile behavior settings. In that case, you would have to use third-party widget providers for Google Sites.
How to add widgets to Google Sites
Google Sites provides several widgets such as buttons and a table of contents. You can use them or add third-party widgets to a Google Site using the “Embed” element.
Does Google Sites allow widgets?
Yes, Google Sites allows the use of widgets, which are third-party applications that can be embedded within a website to add specific functionality or display dynamic content.
Examples of widgets include calendars, forms, maps, and social media feeds. You can add widgets to your Google Sites by using the “Embed” option in the Insert menu and pasting the widget code provided by the widget provider.
Final words on Google Sites widgets
Being one of the best free site builders, Google Sites makes it so easier to create a static site for many purposes. However, it does not have enough widgets to add several functionalities, such as exit popups, countdowns, social share buttons, and photo galleries. Learn more about Googe’s site builder by checking the review of Google Sites.
In this article on best Google Sites widgets, you could discover several items and where to get them. The key is not to overwhelm users with tons of widgets on a page, as it can certainly impact the user experience.
Also, check out the guide to selling on Google Sites to learn how to customize the template by adding widgets and tools in Google Sites to sell digital products and services.
Hi been trying to attach a chat widget at the bottom right corner of the webpage
And make it always visible when people scroll around.
Is this possible?
Hi Roy,
Yes, making the chat widget visible on a particular viewpoint (percentage or pixel) is possible. It is usually provided as a setting on the widget builder.
hi any way to add google translate? i need my website to be multilingual. thanks!