Microsoft's Scare Point? Google Launches New Website-Building Service

Buy an ad on DigitalJournal.com

It's another kick right to Microsoft's virtual gonads: Google is getting into the Web-building business with a special launch today. The company is debuting a new service for people or companies who want to create their own websites.

Digital Journal -- The big G has announced a service intended to help Internet newbies and experts deliver or share info through a simple web page. The new "Google Sites" service allows anyone to share information with colleagues at work or school, and is yet another shot fired across Microsoft's bow.

Google Sites is simple enough for Net neophytes but feature-rich enough for more advanced users (see video above). It allows anyone to set up and update a website with just a few clicks. Users will be able to include content like photos, calendars and YouTube videos (services Google already offers for free). Users can also invite co-collaborators to join in and develop or update a site together (see example).

In an interview with AP, Google says its goal is to literally add an edit button to the Internet. It's also a smart marketing move for Google because the company is putting power into the hands of employees and students rather than IT departments. That gives Google a much better chance of gaining success with the product because users don't need technical help to get going. It's a move Google also used earlier this month when it launched its Google Team Edition where multiple users can collaborate on documents.

The website-building tools are made available through JotSpot, a company Google acquired in Oct. 2006., and users don't need to know any HTML programming skills to use it; instead, all website changes are as simple as editing a document and selecting templates and features.

The product has a lot of potential for Google, as it can be used across many industries and for many different applications; from building company intranets (see example), to sites that can be accessed and customized by users with certain permissions, to sites completely designed for the public.

This announcement comes as a great big kick in the pants for Microsoft; Microsoft has similar software called SharePoint, however the company charges licensing fees to use it. Google's service is either free or it might have a low monthly per-user fee depending if a company has purchased full-featured versions of Google Apps and what they want to do with their site.

Google's launch today means Microsoft's SharePoint could become a ScarePoint in the battle for software supremacy.

Google Sites could be especially attractive to students or teachers in university or even high school who want to find new ways to collaborate and learn (see example).

Another difference is the set-up: Microsoft likes to distribute software that gets installed on the client side, whereas Google keeps these apps web-based. For many, Google's approach is far superior because it means you can access your files from any computer at work or home without having to back-up files and bring them with you.

Microsoft is still the big player in the software biz, as Microsoft Office is a staple in almost every corporate environment. The company brings in most of its revenue through software sales. However, Google also offers a free word processor, spreadsheet program and other services through Google Docs, that could eventually threaten the very financial livelihood of Microsoft.

Microsoft is still leading the software industry, but Google says more than half a million schools, government agencies and companies use at least some of its web-based apps. Those companies also have the option of upgrading to a premium version of Google's software but Google has not said how many companies actually do so.

As AP reports, Google made $181 million in revenue from software licensing and other products in 2007. In contrast to its software sales, Google pulled in $16.4 billion in advertising revenue.

The new Google Sites service can be found here.