Google Sites Roles & Permissions | OpsBlu Docs

Google Sites Roles & Permissions

Google Sites sharing permissions -- Owner, Editor, Viewer, and Published access levels with Google Workspace integration.

Google Sites uses Google Drive sharing permissions. Access is managed through Google Workspace (or personal Google accounts) rather than a CMS-specific role system.

Permission Levels

Google Sites inherits Drive sharing model:

Role Edit Site Publish/Unpublish Share With Others View Draft View Published Delete Site
Owner Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Editor Yes No No Yes Yes No
Viewer No No No Yes Yes No
Published (Anyone) No No No No Yes No

Owner

The site creator. Can publish/unpublish, share, transfer ownership, and delete. Only the Owner can connect Google Analytics.

Editor

Can modify site content, add pages, change layout. Cannot publish changes, manage sharing, or configure site-level settings like analytics.

Viewer

Can view the draft version of the site. Useful for review before publishing.

Analytics Integration

Only the Owner can add Google Analytics tracking. Navigate to Settings (gear icon) > Analytics:

# Google Sites Analytics Configuration
# Settings > Analytics > Google Analytics tracking ID
#
# Steps:
# 1. Open your Google Site in edit mode
# 2. Click the gear icon (Settings)
# 3. Select "Analytics"
# 4. Enter your GA4 Measurement ID: G-XXXXXXXXXX
# 5. Click Save
# 6. Publish the site for tracking to activate

Google Sites does not support custom JavaScript injection. The built-in Analytics field is the only way to add GA tracking.

Custom Roles

Google Sites does not support custom roles. The three levels (Owner, Editor, Viewer) are inherited from Google Drive and cannot be modified.

Google Workspace Admin Controls

For organizations using Google Workspace:

# Google Workspace Admin can control Sites access at the org level
# Admin Console > Apps > Google Workspace > Sites
#
# Settings available:
# - Who can create new Sites (everyone, specific OUs, nobody)
# - Default sharing settings (internal only, external allowed)
# - Whether Sites can be published externally

Best Practices

  1. Use the built-in Analytics field rather than attempting custom script injection
  2. Transfer ownership before the site creator leaves the organization
  3. Use Google Workspace admin controls to enforce organization-wide sharing policies
  4. Editors cannot publish -- use this as a review mechanism
  5. Google Sites has limited analytics capability -- consider embedding Google Data Studio reports for richer insights
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