Should I use Google Sites or my own Domain to build a website?

[ptuttle]

Google Sites are free and very powerful out of the gate. I am very interested in any reply since I am considering building all my new business sites with G sites. Thank you

We know G sites automatically index in Google, do the domains we find or buy here carry any or all previous indexing, and what about new pages how do they index compared to a G site? Thanks for your valuable input.

When I buy an aged domain that has authority and indexing but I do not want to use that domain for a new site I am building is this domain I am buying transferring all previous positive or Negative attributes? How do I find or check for any negative attributes that may be tagging along with an older domain? Thanks

 

[jnnkov]

You can use a paid tool like Spamzilla to automatically identify spammy signals on older domains.

Alternatively you can manually review the backlink profile & ranking history with a keyword tool like Ahrefs and check the previous content of the site with Wayback Machine, to make sure that the previous content was legit and not some spammy casino link hub

The indexing depends on whether there is still content up on the site or if the domain already expired.

If the site was up non-stop, then the content should still be indexed. If the site (and content) was down for a longer period of time, Google may have deindexed it. (Best to check it with a tool like Ahrefs)

If your site is well optimized and has high-value content, then it should also Index fast – sometimes even instantly.

Most people recommend WordPress instead of G sites because you have more options to customize your site with WordPress.
Especially when your site grows larger, it will be more helpful for monetization and SEO if your site is built with WordPress.

 

[socialpatterns]

You can use Google sites to age a site since hosting is free. But eventually, you will likely want to use something like WordPress (much more versatile). You won't inherit any of Google's authority or anything from using Gsites.

More advanced: If you wanted to say age a site, you can convert WordPress to jamstack site and you get the speed/ security benefits and free hosting on netlify/cloudflare/github pages.

 

[jordantyeburn]

I'd go wordpress for one good reason - everyone knows how to use it. @socialpatterns makes a solid point of going jamstack and although I love the jamstack, finding a CMS that many people (aka writers, employees, VAs, etc) will know how to use is a pain. I've done a headless wordpress with jamstack and I think it's pretty good.

But anytime you want to change the look of the site, you have to hire a developer..