Google Sites - Creating an E-Portfolio

Graphic by storyset, edited by Michelle Gallardo

Google is, no doubt, a powerful tool for any business. Being able to look up a business on Google is important, yes. But Google offers so much more than just SEO and SEM. Google has a university of sorts. A place for online learning where anyone can venture into a topic of interest and get certifications for certain skills. The site is called Skillshop and we will explore more about that in the weeks to come. However, there are other applications available through Google that are completely free for users and can help you stand out against the competition.

Today, we're going to talk about Google Sites.

What Is Google Sites?

According to Google, "Google Sites is a structured wiki and web page creation tool included as part of the free, web-based Google Docs Editors suite offered by Google." In other words, it is a free and simple website developer tool.

Why Should You Care?

I created my first Google Sites page after I graduated from business school. I am in marketing and I dabbled in content creation. The days of having a bulky binder portfolio to showcase your work are over. Not only is it heave to luggage around, but you are more likely to forget about it, misplace pieces of work, or just not have printed copies of your relevant work, to begin with. We do live in a digital era, after all!

Creating an e-portfolio is a great way to showcase your work and give employers a solid sample of your work and abilities. 

If you are an avid website developer and enjoy coding, you have unlimited options as to where and how to create your e-portfolio. Most of us mere mortals do not have that luxury, but Google Sites makes it so easy to create a beautiful and professional website in minutes. No coding experience is necessary!

For my e-portfolio example, feel free to visit www.michellegallardo.com. I will also walk you through the easy steps of buying your own domain next week, so stay tuned for that!

Creating Your E-Portfolio

On Google Sites, you have multiple template options to choose from. Google makes it easy for you to choose a general theme and feel for your site. You can also go in and change everything about each template: color, font, sizes, etc.

I decided to start from scratch and I created my own template. Just know that whatever you choose to do is okay as long as it works for you!

I added a welcome page, a resume page, a sample of my design work, and a sample of my copy work.

With Google Sites, you can also customize your own logo and favicon. Mine is just a play on my initials "mg" but I am a firm believer that integrated marketing communications and branding make a huge difference. Notice all my text and backgrounds are complementary colors. This was most definitely done on purpose.

Creating a website for yourself would be another great way of marketing your skills for contract or freelance work. I've linked a Google Forms on my site for people to contact me for questions. You can do the same and start taking clients!