The new (current) version of Google Sites is easier for new users to start using. But with that ease of use comes fewer features and some “hidden” features that are often overlooked. If you’re thinking about building a website with the new version of Google Sites, here are five features that you should know how to use.

Custom Header Images
Google provides plenty of stock images to use in your site’s header, but to really add personality to your site you’ll want to use own header image. You can upload an image from your computer or you can insert an image that you have stored in your Google Drive account. Follow these steps to upload your own header image:

• Place cursor over the lower, left corner of the header field. 
• When the “change image” button appears select “upload” from the drop-down menu. 
• Upload image. Note that your image might be automatically re-sized or re-positioned to fit with your theme. 
• To choose an image from your Google Drive select “select image” rather than “upload” from the “change image” menu. 

Custom Favicons
The favicon is the little image that appears in the browser tab when your site is open. You can change this image by selecting “edit favicon” from the little menu that appears just to the left of the “publish” button.

Public Search Settings
You might want your site to appear in Google Search results or you might not want it to appear in search results. If you don’t want it to appear in Google Search results, you can make that specification in the “publish settings” menu that appears just to the right of the “publish” button.

Video from Google Drive
YouTube can be a great source of educational videos to include in your website. But if your school blocks YouTube or you have a video that you want to include in your site without first putting it on YouTube, you do have other options. One of those options is to insert a video from your Google Drive account. First upload your video to your Google Drive account then in your Google Site select “From Drive” in the “insert” menu on the righthand side of your screen.

3rd Party Embeds
The old or “classic” version of Google Sites was notoriously finicky about embedding content from third party websites. The new version of Google Sites includes much improved support for embedding content from third party services. There are two ways to add content from third party services. The first option is to just paste a link into the “embed” widget available in the “insert” menu. The second option is to paste an embed code into the “embed” widget available in the “insert” menu.