Alternatives

Keep the momentum going.

Don’t panic. Follow your heart. The suggestions of a challenge are just that: suggestions. In life, we must move with our own flow as the current tries to pull us forward. Alternate flows create beautiful eddies that might flow to a new path around which we can congregate in new ideas.

Example of #Blogging28 challenge

  • Jan 13 Google Analytics
  • Jan 14 Offer to help someone start a blog
  • Jan 15 Comment on someone’s post

My alternatives:

  • Jan 13 Update a Classic to new Google Site
  • Jan 14 Offer to help write a flyer
  • Jan 15 Comment on someone’s post – started to find someone new, but drawn to a friend’s post

I kept the momentum going by following what best fit for me.

I tried to do Google Analytics on Jan 13, but I just couldn’t get the directions straight. It was a long day, so instead I wrote about the eagle that crossed my path.

On January 14, I didn’t find anyone who wanted to start a blog, so I wrote about the game I played.

So on Jan 15 I did comment on another’s post and wrote about that, which reminded me of neighborhoods. And I was able that day to offer to help someone write a flyer, for an event for our local library.

Today is a rest day, but yesterday, the 15th, instead of Google Analytics [still confusing on what gmail address to sign in to], I spent the day updated a classic google site, my portfolio, to a new Google Site.

Updating Classic to new Google Site

I started by searching for tons of help documents, most are right here at Google: Support for Sites

And this old 2016 video explained how the new sites work, which helped me make decisions when I updated:

My Process

  1. Read the parts of Google Support for Sites I needed
  2. Duplicate my old site. I can delete it later when I’m certain the new one contains all the info.
  3. Note: The new google sites can only have ONE owner, so click the “update to new sites” when logged into the account that you want owning the site.
  4. Begin the process by clicking the “update to new sites” button on my original, classic site
  5. Google automagically updates to a copied, but new site. It does not replace your original site until you, the owner, chooses that option at the end of the process.
  6. Check all the pages and edit them according to the sites help and that video. For instance, I made sure to put images on the left and text on the right while I broke the old text into sections.
  7. It did take the day to
    1. copy text,
    2. add new section of text,
    3. resize text box
    4. add or rearrange image to the left,
    5. paste text into text box [on the right]
    6. delete the old text sections
    7. Get the links from transferred attachments: files and documents that Google places in folder in drive; update the links on the new web pages
  8. Once I liked the changes, I chose, “keep the same URL and publish”
  9. Google overrides  the old site with  the new one and the custom URL changed correctly with it [but it takes a few minutes for a custom URL to work].
  10. I went through each page to check the responsiveness for all devices and redo headings for theme color.

Actually, I liked my old site better: it’s headings, fonts, colors, organization looked cleaner. That probably means my information is not presented in a “new” updated way. The front page is better in the new sites. One thing that did not transfer were the sidebar elements of the old site. Most widgets also don’t work, and I had to relink the information on the pages with widgets [like blog link widgets].

I also must check all the links; I created this several years a go, and things have changed!

However, the classic sites will soon be disappearing, so I needed to learn how to update. It’s just that the formatting of fonts, etc. is limited to the themes in the new sites. I had to play around with different themes and change the headings. The pages do not look as nicely organized as in the old site– at least on  the desktop. In mobile devices, the new site looks much better.

Old Site Front Page

New Site

Google really does do a nice job of transferring everything– all the pages and attachments and images. It’s just a matter of redesigning the pages based on the needs of the new format so that the magic of Google Sites can be responsive to any device. My New Portfolio Site.

And, I learned a lot which I could share with you, dear reader!

So, don’t be afraid to try something new, and remember that an alternative that fits your needs as you work on your own or to respond to others is just fine.

Just keep the momentum going…


UPDATE: I forgot an important part of the Google Update process; I’ve updated it as of January 18th. Dark Purple text indicates the update.

 

WC: 778

Day 26

This post is part of a 30-day challenge to reflectively write and post at least 150 words with the hashtag #modigiwri, which started with Anna here. Join us and here goes!

I’ve also joined the #blogging28 challenge by Edublogs, thanks to Denise’s tweet

See participants in sidebar.

5 Comments

on “Alternatives
5 Comments on “Alternatives
  1. Thanks, Sheri, for sharing your journey with the blogging challenge. I did set up Google Analytics but haven’t been back to check on views and clicks. That’s not really why I am participating: I want to establish a habit and closer ties to an online community. Thank you for being a big part of both endeavors.

    • Hi Karen ! Glad you stopped back. I’m still thinking about GA. I agree that building a habit and good ties to online friends are so important and one of my goals as well. I’m glad you’re part of those! ~ Sheri

      • Charlene, Perhaps we should create a process guide! Might be interesting what we’d come up with. By the way, I updated my process for Google Sites — you can only have one owner of a site now, I indicated my changes in deep purple. ~ Sheri

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