Websites & Domains • Ryder Cragie • 28th April 2022Article Short Link: Ryder.link/GS/error
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Introduction
Reason 1: Your Site is Not Published
Reason 2: Your Site is Private
Reason 3: You use a custom domain and haven't connected it properly
Reason 4: You use a custom domain and have connected it properly, but your domain registrar hasn't propagated the DNS records yet
Reason 5: You Are Using Google Workspace
If your Google site is showing a 404 error or is asking users to log in, there are a few reasons that this may be happening.
Reason 1: Your Site is Not Published
Reason 1: Your Site is Not Published
If your Google Site is not published, users will see a 404 error stating that the page cannot be found. To fix this, follow these steps:
Go to sites.google.com and open the editor for the site in question.
At the top right of the editor, if you don't see a down arrow next to the purple publish button, your site is not published. Click the purple publish button.
You will be asked to give your site a sites.google.com/view address. You need to complete this whether you use a custom domain or not.
Click the publish button in the dialog box to confirm.
Reason 2: Your Site is Private
Reason 2: Your Site is Private
If your Google Site is private, users will see a login page. To fix this, follow these steps:
Go to sites.google.com and open the editor for the site in question.
Click the person icon 👤+ at the top of the editor.
Under "General access" ensure that "Published site" is set to "Public" rather than "Restricted".
Click the save button in the dialog box to confirm.
Reason 3: You use a custom domain and haven't connected it properly
Reason 3: You use a custom domain and haven't connected it properly
If you use a custom domain (e.g. example.com) and you haven't connected it to your site properly, then it won't be viewable on your custom domain.
If you use Google Domains, follow these steps.
If you use a domain registrar other than Google Domains, such as GoDaddy or Namecheap, follow these steps.
Reason 4: You use a custom domain and have connected it properly, but your domain registrar hasn't propagated the DNS records yet
Reason 4: You use a custom domain and have connected it properly, but your domain registrar hasn't propagated the DNS records yet
Once changing DNS records on your custom domain, you need to wait up to 72 hours for the changes to take effect. Please be patient and wait.
If you see an error in your browser after this time, such as "This site cannot be reached", please ask a question in the Official Sites Community or contact your domain provider.
Reason 5: You Are Using Google Workspace
Reason 5: You Are Using Google Workspace
If you have followed the above steps and your site still is not viewable to the public, the issue may be caused by Google Workspace. If you have a Google Workspace subscription, contact their team and they will be able to help you fix the issue.
