Let me teach you... One time, I had negative feedback from someone on social media who offered an opinion that I decided to use constructively. This person objected quite rudely to the fact that I had used a “Google Form” as a contact form on my website and suggested I wasn’t very professional doing so! Well... I’d love to thank him. I realised I needed to tell you all MORE about WHAT I do and WHY I do it.

It’s my experience... if I come across someone who is “anti-Google” they often don’t have a clue what Google really offers. They often think that Google is just a search engine.

Maybe the person is a developer and feeling ripped off that they have spent thousands on being trained to something that is now readily available to all of us via templates. Learning how to work outside the templates is the trick. Free can’t be rated as cheap because it’s free! The magic word.

Of course, there are people with iron-clad thinking who think things should be done a certain way. They are opinionated, more-so than constructive. Check out the bottom of every website you visit - it will be powered by someone, somewhere. Powered by Google is not so different, in fact it’s rather wise!

Personally, I will never use any other platform than Google Sites because in five years, I have seen their applications get better and better. They have it covered. I have learned how to get around some of the issues with sites and have learned many tricks to making them work well, including e-commerce to accept PayPal and credit card payments safely.

My customers love being able to take control of their sites, and they love having someone to who will make them personalised training videos to help - after all, I am primarily an Educator.

What difference does it make if you build your site in Google Sites if you like what you have done?

It can still be pinned to a domain name and have analytics and is powered by the Giant.

What difference does it make if you use Google forms & Spreadsheets to gather data?

Forms are simply a vessel for gathering data in an online spreadsheet - bingo!!

What difference does it make if you use Gmail’s functions for your emails?

Google is 99.9% of the time up... don't get caught with having your emails sent via a third-party website hosting hub. If their site goes down, then it may delay your emails coming through. I know of people who have been caught in loopholes if they have tried to pull away from a company hosting their website because the company claims to be the legal owner of the domain name (and the email attached consequently). I have seen people needing to rebuild, just because they weren't aware of that loophole, or they have had to pay big money to exit and take the domain name and corresponding email with them. Stay independent of this. Having your own Gmail address means if you ever change your domain name for any reason, your mail will still come through smoothly - even if someone is hosting the website.

Did you know that you can send all your emails from one without signing in and out?

What a blessing for time it is to only have login in to one account and be able to send from any email integrated to it, ie info.company@gmail.com, accounts.company@gmail.com, manager.company@gmail.com If you are running a business and want to prepare for positions of importance in the growth of the company, start straight away - it can help keep things very organised, especially when role sharing is introduced.

What difference does it make if you present your functions on a Google Calendar?

It’s clear, concise and very interactive with other Google Applications. Not only that, you can present a live calendar on your website and keep it completely up-to-date. There is nothing worse than coming across an old out-of-date timetable, or worse still receiving so many updated timetables by email PDF that you can't remember when the last one came through.

What difference does it make if you present your slideshows through Google Slides?

The clarity of images and animations are great for a variety of presentations. They are live to edit and will not transpose their format once live - this means, what you designed is what you see - there is no 'conversion'.

What difference does it make if you pinpoint your business on Google Maps?

It is hardly a terrible inconvenience that your customer can find your address by simply tapping his phone.

Nothing on this site cost me a cent, and I am more than pleased with how it looks and functions. This is a mindset I encourage you to have with your own as well....

What is important is that YOU love YOUR site and it works for YOU.