Nova vs Google Sites: AI Generation vs. Free and Basic
Google Sites usually comes up for a specific reason: it's free, it's already sitting inside a Google account most people have, and it feels like a low-stakes way to get a simple page up without signing up for yet another service. This comparison is Nova's own, so read it with that framing rather than as a neutral review.
Google Sites is intentionally basic. You start from a blank canvas or a light template, add text boxes, images, and embedded Google files like Docs or Calendar, and arrange them into a simple layout. It's genuinely useful for what it's built for: internal team pages, class or club sites, event pages, or a quick personal page, especially inside a school or workplace already running on Google Workspace. It's less built for a small business that wants a polished, distinctive public-facing site, the design options are limited and the results tend to look recognizably like Google Sites.
Nova starts from a description instead of a blank canvas. You describe the site you want instead, and Nova turns that into a structured draft, feature previews, a style choice, and a live preview, before you ever create an account or publish anything to a free getnova.pro subdomain. That produces a more distinct, structured result than arranging boxes on a blank Google Sites page, though it's also a different tool for a different job, Google Sites' tight integration with Docs, Sheets, and Calendar embeds isn't something Nova replicates.
If you need a quick internal page that pulls in other Google Workspace content directly, Google Sites still does that specific job well and costs nothing beyond a Google account. If you want a public-facing site that looks like it was built for your business specifically rather than assembled from generic boxes, describing it to Nova gets you closer to that starting point.
FAQ
Yes, Google Sites is free with a Google account, including a basic address on Google's domain; a custom domain requires connecting one you've bought elsewhere or through Google Workspace.
You can, but its templates and design flexibility are limited compared to most modern builders, which is why many small businesses eventually move to a more design-focused platform once the site needs to represent their brand more specifically.
Google has been adding AI-assisted writing tools across several Workspace products; check Google's current documentation for what's available in Sites specifically, since this is an area that changes quickly and secondary sources on it are inconsistent.
Describe your site to Nova and see a more built-out starting point than a blank Google Sites page.