Google Disappoints by Eliminating Google Page Creator

I was wondering what my next post would be about and, unfortunately, I now have a topic.  I was disappointed yesterday when I went to make some changes to my site (http://www.timalosi.com ) to add preview thumbnails (a topic for another post), and I was informed that my site, which is Google Page Creator based (via Google Apps for Domains) is scheduled for migration to Google Sites.  At first I was, "Well ok, perhaps they are merging functionality?!?", but apparently that is not the case. After a quick search I located the official announcement at http://groups.google.com/group/GPC-How-to/msg/1260f67111144902.    In a word ... disappointed.


Google Sites ... Are they Crazy?
 I do use Google Sites, but in general, I have been underwhelmed by the functionality (more aptly the lack of functionality of Google Sites).


Currently my biggest concerns with Google Sites are:

• Designed more like a collaboration site (ala Sharepoint) than web site, but without most of the better features of Sharepoint.
• Limited layout templates.  Google Page Creator uses the paradigm of a traditional site, and allows you better control over headers and footers.  In general, I find that GPC provides better control over the appearance of the site.
• No javascript or CSS.  This is perhaps the biggest one for me.  I don't use much javascript, but there are some elements that I am unwilling to give up at this time, and CSS and Javascript is important to providing those features.  

So I am faced with a dilemma.  I have embraced Google for much of my basic web presence (Blogger, Google Apps for Domains, Google Page Creator, Google Sites, Analytics, Adsense, Gmail and more), but I simply cannot see loosing the functionality that I currently use.  It looks like I am faced with migrating away from Google Apps for Domains to host my web pages.


So, over the next few weeks, I'll be evaluating my options.  I'll be posting my observations and opinions in some future posts.


Alternatives to Google Page Creator
To start, I am going to take a look at:

• Google Sites (http://sites.google.com ) ... I will take another look to make sure I give them a fair chance.
  
• Microsoft Office Live (http://officelive.com )
  
• Blogger (http://www.blogger.com ) ... I am curious if I can achieve the functionality from this platform.

I will also look for additional alternatives to Google Page Creator


If you are also running a GPC site and would like to petition Google to rethink their decision, check out the online petition at (http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/googlepagesalive/).


Check out my Delicious Links related to this post at http://www.delicious.com/tim.alosi/gpc