Google Sites vs Hostpapa: Comprehensive comparison guide for 2024

Final verdict

Google Sites and Hostpapa both offer unique advantages, but they cater to different user needs.

• 
  Google Sites (Overall Grade: 5.6/10)
  
  is ideal for users seeking a simple, collaborative website builder with seamless integration with other Google services. It excels in ease of use and security, making it a great choice for team projects, personal portfolios, and small business websites. However, it lacks built-in ecommerce features and advanced design customization options, which might limit its appeal for more complex website needs.
• 
  Hostpapa (Overall Grade: 5.4/10)
  
  is designed for small businesses and individuals looking to create a professional online presence. It offers a wide array of templates, basic SEO tools, and ecommerce capabilities, making it suitable for users who need more design flexibility and ecommerce functionality. While it provides robust customer support and a variety of customization options, it falls short in ease of use and security compared to Google Sites.

Best for ecommerce

Verdict

: Hostpapa is the clear winner for ecommerce, offering more comprehensive features compared to Google Sites, which lacks built-in ecommerce capabilities.

• 
  Google Sites
  
  : Google Sites is not designed for ecommerce. It lacks built-in ecommerce features, requiring users to rely on third-party integrations for any online store functionalities. This makes it less suitable for businesses looking to sell products directly through their website.
• 
  Hostpapa
  
  : Hostpapa offers a range of ecommerce features, including payment gateways, inventory management, and ecommerce-specific templates. These features make it a more viable option for small businesses and individuals looking to establish an online store.

Best for informational & business websites

Verdict

: When it comes to creating informational and business websites, Hostpapa slightly edges out Google Sites due to its more extensive design functionalities and better website speed optimization. However, Google Sites remains a strong contender with its ease of use and robust security features.

• 
  Google Sites
  
  : Google Sites is a user-friendly platform that excels in ease of use, making it ideal for users with no coding experience. It offers seamless integration with other Google services, which is a significant advantage for those already using Google Workspace. The platform is designed for collaboration, allowing multiple users to work on a site simultaneously. However, its design functionalities and template variety are somewhat limited compared to Hostpapa, making it less suitable for users seeking extensive customization options.
• 
  Hostpapa
  
  : Hostpapa offers a more comprehensive set of design functionalities and a wider variety of templates, making it a better choice for users who want more creative control over their website’s appearance. The platform also provides robust customer support, including 24/7 access and one-on-one video training sessions. While it may not be as easy to use as Google Sites, Hostpapa’s extensive features and better website speed optimization make it a strong choice for creating professional and visually appealing informational and business websites.

Detailed comparison

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Winner: Hostpapa.

If you’re looking for a platform that offers more creative control, a wide array of design features, and a larger variety of templates, Hostpapa is the preferred choice.

Google Sites offers a limited number of templates suitable for various purposes, from personal blogs to business websites, with both free and premium options available. These templates are designed for user engagement, simplicity, and functionality, allowing for customization to meet specific needs. However, compared to other website builders like 10Web or Squarespace, Google Sites might offer less variety in templates and design customization options.

Google Sites Themes

Compared to Google Sites, HostPapa offers a wide variety of templates and designs to cater to the diverse needs of its users, ensuring that there is something for everyone, regardless of their niche or industry. With hundreds of professionally designed templates available, users can easily find a style that perfectly matches their vision and brand identity. These templates are not only abundant in number but also highly customizable, allowing for a high degree of personalization. From sleek and modern designs to more traditional and classic looks, HostPapa’s extensive template library ensures that users can create a unique and appealing website with ease.

Wix Themes

🏆 Winner: Google Sites

. Scoring 8.3, Google Sites offers a user-friendly interface that allows individuals with no coding experience to create and publish websites easily. Hostpapa, with a score of 7.8, also offers a robust platform but with a slightly lower ease of use score. If ease of use is a priority, Google Sites is the clear winner in this category.

Learning Resources

🏆 Winner: Google Sites

. While both platforms offer solid learning resources, Google Sites goes a step further with its wide array of practical guides and comprehensive digital skill development programs. Hostpapa also offers a range of learning resources, including a detailed online knowledge base and video tutorials, but Google Sites’ resources seem to be more extensive and versatile.

When it comes to ecommerce, Hostpapa clearly outperforms Google Sites. Google Sites does not have built-in ecommerce features, and users have to rely on third-party integrations or services to set up an online store. On the other hand, Hostpapa offers ecommerce capabilities exclusively in its Enterprise plan, including unlimited product listings and a selection of payment gateways.

Google Sites ecommerce features:

Google Sites itself does not have built-in eCommerce features.

Hostpapa ecommerce features:

• Payment Gateways integration
• Inventory management
• Ecommerce specific templates

Ecommerce themes & templates

Google Sites does not have any ecommerce templates. On the other hand, HostPapa offers a user-friendly website builder with over 230 templates, catering to individuals and small businesses seeking to establish an online presence. E-commerce capabilities are available only with the Enterprise plan, which includes features like unlimited product listings and support for over 45 payment gateways.

Product page customization

Google Sites lacks any product page customization features, as the products can be listed with embedding third-party platforms, all the customization can be done within the mentioned platforms. The HostPapa Website Builder provides a suite of product page customization features for online stores. Users can tailor product offerings by adding various options such as size and color, set product availability, and manage inventory with detailed controls.

Payment processing

You can integrate payment gateways into Google Sites using external tools or links, not through native features. This can be done by embedding HTML code for payment buttons from services like PayPal, Square, or Stripe, or by linking to an external checkout page. Third-party eCommerce widgets also offer a way to add payment functionalities. However, Google Sites doesn’t offer the comprehensive eCommerce capabilities that dedicated platforms provide.

The HostPapa Website Builder supports a variety of payment gateways, including popular services like PayPal, Square, and Stripe, catering to both online and offline payment methods for businesses. The platform does not charge transaction fees itself, the fees primarily depend on the chosen payment gateway. Although the platform is equipped with eCommerce capabilities, enabling the addition of products and customization of payment and shipping methods, there are no integrated Point of Sale (POS) functionalities.

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Winner: Google Sites

. Google Sites, with a score of 7.0, offers a user-friendly website builder editor that allows users to create and design websites without needing coding knowledge. With its drag-and-drop interface, users can easily add, customize, and arrange elements such as text, images, and videos on their web pages. It also provides a variety of templates and design options to help users get started quickly and ensure their site looks professional. Additionally, Google Sites integrates seamlessly with other Google services, enabling the incorporation of Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Maps directly into the website.

HostPapa’s editor, scoring 6.8, is designed to be user-friendly, featuring a drag-and-drop interface for easy web page construction without the need for coding. It offers a variety of responsive and mobile-friendly templates that cater to different needs and preferences, allowing for significant customization. HostPapa’s service is enhanced by its robust customer support, including 24/7 access to the PapaSquad for assistance. Additionally, for those preferring a hands-off approach, HostPapa provides a Do-It-For-Me service, taking care of all aspects of website building from design to content creation. However, it lacks in-depth marketing tools and advanced SEO capabilities.

Mobile editor/app

Winner: None

. Both Google Sites and Hostpapa do not offer dedicated mobile editor apps, which means users cannot directly edit their websites from a mobile device using a specialized app. This lack of mobile editing capability can be a significant drawback for users who need to make quick updates or manage their sites on the go.

Google Sites is designed for simplicity and ease of use, integrating well with other Google services, but it does not provide a mobile app for editing. This limits its flexibility for users who need to make changes while away from their desktops.

Similarly, Hostpapa, while offering a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface and a variety of templates, also lacks a mobile editor app. This can be inconvenient for small business owners and individuals who require the ability to manage their websites from mobile devices.

In summary, the absence of mobile editor apps for both Google Sites and Hostpapa means neither platform stands out in this category. Users looking for mobile editing capabilities may need to consider other website builders that offer this feature.

Overall Result

:

Google Sites wins

. Google Sites scores 6.9, offering a free version and a 14-day trial period where some premium features can be tested. On the other hand, Hostpapa scores a low 0.5, with no free or trial version available and no possibility to test premium features before purchasing a plan. However, Hostpapa does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Google Sites and Hostpapa offer different pricing structures, with Google Sites charging per user and Hostpapa offering flat rates.

While Google Sites offers a discount for annual billing, Hostpapa does not. Both platforms offer enterprise plans for larger businesses with more complex needs.

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Winner: Google Sites

. Google Sites offers cloud-based managed hosting with a 99.9% uptime guarantee and a vast network of 21 data centers worldwide. On the other hand, Hostpapa provides shared hosting with the same uptime guarantee but has fewer data centers. Google Sites’ extensive infrastructure and reliable uptime make it the winner in this category.

🏆 Winner: Hostpapa

Both Google Sites and Hostpapa prioritize website performance and page speed, but Hostpapa has a higher website speed optimization score and provides more specific strategies for speed optimization.

Hostpapa, with a website speed optimization score of 6.6, focuses on image optimization, caching, and minimizing HTTP requests to improve website speed. The load times and PageSpeed scores vary widely, depending on the optimization and website complexity. Hostpapa also emphasizes the implementation of various performance optimization techniques to improve Core Web Vitals.

On the other hand, Google Sites, with a website speed optimization score of 3.3, uses automated optimization, CDN, mobile optimization, browser caching, code minification, and the use of AMP to improve website speed. However, Google does not disclose statistics about website Page Speed scores or load times. Google Sites also emphasizes improvements in LCP, FID, and CLS for Core Web Vitals.

🏆 Winner: Google Sites.

Google Sites scores 6.4, offering a wide array of plugins and extensions to enhance website functionality. It allows functionalities not possible with its base features, such as integrating social media feeds, embedding reviews from various platforms, and incorporating e-commerce elements. Hostpapa, with a score of 5.0, allows for some integrations, but has limitations when it comes to content element arrangement and site migration to other platforms. It’s more suited for basic business websites, portfolios, or blogs rather than sites requiring unique layouts or advanced content elements.

Google Sites Applications

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Overall Winner: Hostpapa

. Hostpapa edges out Google Sites with a slightly higher marketing features score, primarily due to its basic blogging feature.

🏆 Winner: Hostpapa

. In the Google Sites vs Hostpapa comparison, Hostpapa takes the lead with its comprehensive 24/7/365 customer support, including phone, email, and live chat options. Hostpapa’s unique offering of 30-minute one-on-one video training sessions with their experts provides an extra layer of personalized support that can be invaluable for users needing additional assistance.

Google Sites, on the other hand, primarily relies on self-service resources like a Help Center and community forums. While direct support is available to Google Workspace customers, the level of support varies by subscription tier, and free users have limited access to direct support. For enterprise users, Google Sites offers 24/7 support through phone and email, with options to upgrade to enhanced support levels. However, Hostpapa’s around-the-clock support and personalized training sessions make it a more robust option for users seeking comprehensive customer support.

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Winner: Google Sites

. Google Sites, part of the Google Workspace, offers robust security measures including data encryption, two-factor authentication, and automatic malware scanning. It also benefits from Google’s regular security updates and compliance with international data protection standards. Google’s infrastructure provides DDoS protection and data redundancy, ensuring a secure environment for website creators and visitors.

HostPapa also offers a suite of security measures, including automatic SSL certification, server firewalls, and DDoS attack prevention. It also provides the comprehensive Protection Power Security Software, which offers a web application firewall, malware detection, and more. However, Google Sites’ higher security score and comprehensive security measures give it the edge in this comparison.

🏆 Winner: None

. Neither Google Sites nor Hostpapa offer AI capabilities. Both builders focus on providing a straightforward, user-friendly website building experience without the use of AI. While this may limit some advanced functionalities, it ensures a simple and intuitive interface for users of all skill levels.

🏆 Winner: Google Sites

. Google Sites and Hostpapa have different approaches to user management.

• Google Sites allows multiple users to collaborate with different roles, including Owners, who have full control, and Editors, who can modify content but not site settings. There’s no strict limit on the number of users who can edit a site, allowing flexibility in management and development. Viewers can only see the site, with no editing permissions. This structure supports collaborative website building with varied levels of access and control for different users.
• Hostpapa does not mention support of multiple users, however it is possible that the website builder does support multiple users.

Unfortunately, there are no user roles tables available for both Google Sites and Hostpapa.

Additional Features

User Feedback

Users consistently praise Google Workspace, particularly Google Sites, for its seamless integration, ease of use, and collaborative features, making it a go-to solution for various professional and educational needs. The platform’s simplicity and user-friendly interface are lauded, enabling effortless website creation and sharing of information within organizations. While some users desire more customization options and additional features, overall, Google Workspace remains highly valued for its versatility and streamlined workflow facilitation.

Hostpapa, on the other hand, does not have any reviews on the G2 platform. This lack of user feedback makes it challenging to gauge user satisfaction and experiences with Hostpapa’s website builder. Potential users might need to rely on other sources or personal trials to assess its suitability for their needs when comparing Google Sites vs Hostpapa.

FAQ