docs-template

🔒 Linking to Private Content: GitHub Repos & Google Sites (Free Personal Account)

When working on personal or team projects, you may want to keep some content—like source code or internal notes—private, while still linking to it from documentation. Here’s what’s possible using free, personal accounts on GitHub and Google Sites.

🧩 GitHub: Linking to a Private Repository

You cannot embed or display the contents of a private GitHub repo on a public site like GitHub Pages—but you can link to it.

✅ How It Works

Use a standard Markdown link:

[Internal: Project Source (Private)](https://github.com/your-username/your-private-repo)

✅ You (or anyone you’ve granted access to) will see the repo and its README.md when signed into GitHub.
❌ Anyone else (including public visitors or people with the link but no access) will see a 404 “Repository not found” error.
🔐 GitHub never confirms that a private repo exists to unauthorized users—this is secure by design.

⚠️ Note: On a free GitHub account, you cannot publish GitHub Pages from a private repo at all. Your docs site must be in a public repo.

🌐 Google Sites (Free Personal Account): Can You Make a Private Site?

Yes—but with limits.

With a free Google Account (e.g., @gmail.com), you can create a Google Site and restrict it to specific people only.

✅ How to Make a Truly Private Google Site

Go to Google Sites
Create a new site
Click Share → Set general access to “Restricted”
Under “Add people and groups,” enter exact email addresses (e.g., friend@gmail.com, teammate@gmail.com)
Ensure “Viewer” (or higher) permission is granted
Do not select “Anyone with the link” or “Public”

✅ Result:

Only the people you explicitly invite can view the site.
They must be signed into the Google Account you invited.
The site won’t appear in Google Search and can’t be accessed by guessing the URL.

❌ What You Cannot Do (Free Personal Account)

❌ No password protection for unknown users
❌ No “login for anyone” option—only pre-approved emails
❌ No way for someone to “request access”
❌ Cannot restrict to “anyone signed in to Google”—only specific emails

💡 This makes Google Sites good for small teams or personal notes shared with 1–5 trusted people, but not for open private blogs.

🔍 GitHub Pages vs. Google Sites (Free Personal Accounts): Privacy Comparison

Feature	GitHub Pages	Google Sites (Free)
Free hosting	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Publish from private repo	❌ No (requires paid plan)	N/A (not a code platform)
Private documentation site	❌ Only if repo is public (so site is public)	✅ Yes – can restrict to specific emails
Access control	Via GitHub repo permissions (GitHub login required)	Via Google Account emails (Google login required)
Public by default?	✅ Yes (if published)	❌ No – you choose sharing
Password protection	❌ No	❌ No
Good for:	Public docs, open-source projects	Personal wikis, small-team notes, private journals shared with known people

✅ Practical Recommendations

For public documentation: Use GitHub Pages (your docs-template is perfect for this).
For private notes shared with a few people: Use Google Sites with “Restricted” sharing.
To connect them: In your public GitHub Pages docs, you can add a note like:
```
🔒 Internal setup guide: [Available here (Google Sites, invite-only)](https://yoursite.google.com)
```
(Only people you’ve invited to the Google Site will be able to open it.)

⚠️ Never assume readers have access. Always label private links clearly.

By understanding these boundaries, you can build a documentation strategy that’s both useful and secure—even on free personal accounts.

✅ Summary of Key Constraints (Free Tier Only)

GitHub Pages: Always public → great for open docs
Google Sites: Can be private → but only for pre-approved Google Accounts
No platform offers true “password-protected public pages” for free

This page now gives realistic, actionable guidance for personal/free-tier users—no enterprise assumptions.

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