Transition from classic Sites to new Sites

The timelines below are for administrators and users. If you're not a Google Workspace customer, go to this different timeline for consumers.

The new Google Sites is now the only option for you to create websites in Google Workspace.

What’s happened so far

• As of August 2020: New Sites became the default for you to create websites.
• As of March 2021: Admins could access the Classic Sites Manager to review the organization’s classic Sites and migrate them to new Sites.
• As of May 2021: You could not create sites in classic Sites.

After January 30, 2023:

• The ability to edit classic Sites ended on January 30, 2023.
• Google has started migrating any remaining classic sites in your domain. Any remaining classic sites with an eligible owner for migration to new Sites will be automigrated to new Sites as a draft for site owners to review and publish. Until site owners publish the draft site, site viewers will not be able to see the website content and will see an error message.
• If the domain super admin and site owners are eligible to receive takeout data from classic Sites, they’ll receive an archive of all existing classic sites. This includes classic sites without an eligible owner.
• During the migration, you can track the status of your classic sites through the Classic Sites Manager.
• After the migration, links to migrated “drafts“ in new Sites and a link to the classic Sites takeout data will be available in Classic Sites Manager.

To avoid disruption for site viewers

If you want a site to be available to viewers, convert it to new Sites using the Classic Sites Manager or classic Sites settings. Using these tools, you can publish your new site at the same URL as the old site to avoid disruption to viewers.

Sites transition best practices for admins

First, ensure all user groups have access to new Google Sites as soon as possible.

Next, decide on your approach for the transition. Do you want individual site owners to migrate their sites, or do you as the admin want to manage the entire migration?

• If you want individual site owners to migrate their sites, point them to Convert your classic Sites to new Sites.
• If you as the admin want to migrate your site, use the Classic Sites Manager.

Manage classic Sites migration

1. Migrate inactive sites by deleting or archiving them. Choose an option:
   • Export classic Sites using Google Takeout.
   • Delete any classic Sites that are no longer useful to your organization. A sign that the site might be a good candidate to delete is that no one edited or viewed it in the past year.
2. Turn off editing in classic Sites.
3. Start migrating active sites by converting them or rebuilding them in new Sites:
   • Convert the most viewed or most frequently edited sites from classic Sites to new Sites.
   • When you have a draft of the new site, compare the sites and make any manual adjustments or changes the new Site might need.
   • Publish the new site over the URL of the classic Site.

For certain sites, you might consider rebuilding the site from scratch in new Sites using the site templates available. This might be easier than converting and manually adjusting sites, especially for sites with a number of features that are unsupported in new Sites.

Go to Compare new Sites & classic Sites.

Questions

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How do I know if I’m affected? I’ve seen different transition timelines in user help articles or forums. Why is this change happening? I don’t have access to an Admin console. What steps should I take? What are the differences between classic Sites and new Sites? Who becomes the site owner after I convert a classic Site to new Sites? How do I delete my classic Site? What happens to my classic Site after migration?

Related topics

• Turn on new Sites for users
• Turn Sites on or off for users
• Compare new Sites & classic Sites
• Create your site