Can I use my bare domain, without www?

Not for the Google Sites mapping itself, which is a CNAME on a subdomain. People usually publish at www and handle the bare address separately.

Google says the URL is not verified.

The Search Console verification has not completed. Check the TXT record is on the root and correct — the DNS check will show you what resolvers see.

Do I need Google Workspace?

For a personal Google Sites site, no. Search Console verification is free.

Connect a .ng domain to Google Sites

Two steps, and one limitation people meet late: Google Sites wants a subdomain.

Google Sites maps a custom URL onto a subdomain — www.yourname.com.ng, or sites.yourname.com.ng — because the mapping is a CNAME, and a CNAME cannot live on the root of a domain. If you need the bare address to work too, plan for that separately.

Google will not let you map a domain it has not seen you prove you own, so verification comes first.

The records

Type	Name / Host	Value
TXT	@	the verification string Google Search Console gives youStep one. Google Search Console generates it when you add the domain as a property.
CNAME	www	ghs.googlehosted.comGoogle’s documented CNAME target for its hosted services.

Read from Google Sites's own documentation on 9 September 2026 — the source is linked at the foot of this page. If your dashboard shows something different from what is here, your dashboard is right: use it.

Step by step

1Go to Google Search Console and add your domain as a property. It gives you a TXT record.
2In the OneBit panel, open the domain, go to DNS, and add that TXT record on the root. Then complete verification in Search Console.
3In Google Sites, publish the site and open the custom URL settings, entering the subdomain you want — usually www.
4Back in the panel’s DNS editor, add the CNAME on www pointing at ghs.googlehosted.com.
5Back in the domain, open DNS check and confirm the resolvers agree with what you just set. That is the difference between "I saved the record" and "the internet can see it".

Worth knowing before you start

A CNAME cannot exist on the root of a domain alongside other records, which is why Google maps to a subdomain. Do not try to put the CNAME on the root.

Then check it worked

Saving a record and the internet seeing a record are two different events. Open the domain in the panel and run the DNS check: it asks twenty public resolvers directly, including ipNX in Nigeria, and shows you which already have the new answer. More on what the check covers.

Questions

Can I use my bare domain, without www?: Not for the Google Sites mapping itself, which is a CNAME on a subdomain. People usually publish at www and handle the bare address separately.
Google says the URL is not verified.: The Search Console verification has not completed. Check the TXT record is on the root and correct — the DNS check will show you what resolvers see.
Do I need Google Workspace?: For a personal Google Sites site, no. Search Console verification is free.

Sources

Need the domain first?

Check whether the name you want is free across .ng, .com.ng, .org.ng, .net.ng and .i.ng.

Check a domain