Connecting Your Domain Name to Google Apps & Sites

Once you have purchased a domain name and created an account on Google sites you will need to route your domain to Google Apps/Sites.  With this you will have free email, free calendar and free web hosting.  The only cost to you is the annual renewal of the web domain name.

Google Sites is a subset of Google Apps.  Apps includes email, calendar and a whole sets of apps. With the mail app you can add multiple users.

Login to you web domain DNS host.  DNS = Domain Name Service.  In our case it is DNS exit. The screen will look like the image below.

I used ChicagoIBS.org as my site to test that this work out.

Google

DNS Exit

Alias Records -  In this step you will shorten the webpage names for the email etc.  

1. Search for the words "Google App Free.  
2. You will find this domain name. https://www.google.com/a/cpanel/standard/new3
3. Type in the name of your domain
   chicagoibs.org in my case.
4. Click on Set Up Apps
5. Click Sites Button
6. Click Next or Do this later
7. Exit this section
8. Go to Settings > General >Change URL
9. Change URL for ALL domain services
10. In this step you will shorten the webpage names for the email etc.  Click the 2nd bullet of each section.  For example in my case mail.chicagoibs.org Do the same for calendar, docs and sites.
11. Click Continue
12. Go back in to DNS Exit to to Edit DNS
13. Add Alias, external host - save changes
14. Click - I've completed these steps
15. Go to Organization and Users on the main navigation bar
16. Go to services
17. Turn on contacts, drive and docs, gmail, google calendar, google sites, google talk (the first six)
18. Save changes
19. Go to Setup > next > alternate method >domain name provider > other
20. Go back to the DNS Panel >TXT Records> Add Text > Text Data > Add Text > Save changes
21. Wait 5-10 minutes for DNS. Click Verify > Continue > changes to eamil unclick all
22. Click setup >do later/next until done
23. Test for sites.chicagoibs.org ( fill in your name)
24. Delete the TXT Record. Save

The email is setup in DNS Exit with MX

1. Email > Organization & Users > services
2. Settings > email > MX setup instructions
3. Setup gmail > next > other > next
4. MX on DNS > save change > wait 24 hours > next > yes changed > click back to where you started.
5. This may take 24 hours so wait and come back and check it.
6. To check it setting > email > MX record
7. mail.chicagibs.org