Edit text and photos

Each page on your site is a stack of sections: an opening banner, your services, reviews, a contact form and so on. You edit a page one section at a time.

Open a section

Click Pages in the left menu.
Click the page you want to change.
Make sure the Content tab is selected. You'll see a list of the page's sections.
Click a section to open it. Its form appears right below.

Shortcut: click any part of the preview on the right. The editor opens that section for you.

Change the words

Click into a box and type. The preview updates as you go.
Watch the counter next to a box's name, like 42/70. It shows how much room the design has. If you go over, it changes color. Long text may look crowded, so check the preview.

A few boxes accept simple formatting (the help under the box says which):

Leave a blank line between paragraphs.
Wrap words in **double stars** to make them bold.
In a Text section, start a paragraph with ## to make a subheading.

Add, move or remove items in a list

Some sections hold a list of their own, like services, photos in a gallery or steps.

Click an item to open it. Click it again to close it.
To add one, click Add service (or Add photo, Add step and so on) under the list. The new item opens, ready to fill in.
To move an item, click the up or down arrow on its row. To remove it, click the trash can.

Each list holds a set number of items. When it's full, the button says so, like Up to 9 services.

Sections like Reviews, Team and Events show items from your lists instead, so the same review or event can appear on several pages. Open the section and click the link at the top, like Edit reviews →, to change them.

Change a photo

In the section, find the photo and click Change (or Choose photo if it's empty).
In the Choose a photo window, do one of these:
- Click a photo under Your photos to reuse it.
- Click Choose file to upload a new one from your computer or phone. You can also drag a photo onto the window.
- Open Free photos, search for what you need (like "patio" or "coffee"), and click a photo.
- If an owner has connected your business's Google Drive, open Google Drive and choose photos from it. See Connect Google Drive.
- Open Make with AI and describe the picture you want. See Make a picture with AI.
- Open Shared library and pick one of our drawings. See Use a drawing from the shared library.
The photo appears in the preview right away.

Photos are resized for the web automatically, so your site stays fast. To take a photo out, click Remove.

Free photos

Free photos come from Pexels, a library of professional photos that anyone can use for free, including on a business website. You don't need to credit anyone, though the photographer's name is under each photo if you'd like to. A photo you choose is added to Your photos, so you can use it again.

In the Choose a photo window, open Free photos.
Type what you need, like "patio" or "haircut", and click Search.
Click a photo to use it. To see more, click More photos at the bottom.

Search with simple words for what's in the photo, like "lawn mower" or "bread". Under the search box, Ideas for your business offers searches that work well for your kind of business; click one to search for it. They come from Your kind of business on your dashboard (see Tell us your kind of business). Photos of your own work, team and place still do the most to win customers, so use free photos to fill gaps until you have your own.

Make a picture with AI

When no photo fits, describe one and AI makes it for you.

In the Choose a photo window, open Make with AI.
Under Describe the picture, say what's in it, where it is, and the light or mood. For example: "A steaming bowl of soup on a wooden table by a sunny window, with fresh bread beside it."
Pick a Style: Photo, Illustration or Painting.
Pick a Shape: Wide for a banner, Landscape beside text or in a gallery, Square for cards, or Tall.
Click Make picture. It takes about 20 seconds.
If you like it, click Use this picture. If not, change the description and click Make another.

Every picture you make is added to Your photos at the right size for the web, so you can use it later even if you didn't pick it.

What it costs: each account gets 5 free pictures a month, shared by all its sites. After that, each picture costs $0.10 from your credits, and the button says so: Make picture for $0.10. The window shows how many free ones you have left, and an Add credits link when your credits run out. If a picture can't be made, it doesn't count and you aren't charged.

A few tips:

AI leaves words, signs and logos out of pictures, because it often spells them wrong. Put your words on the page instead. If you ask for words in the picture, check the spelling closely.
Be specific. "Two mugs of latte with leaf art on a marble counter, morning light" works better than "coffee".
If AI won't make a picture, try describing it differently. It won't draw real, recognizable people.
Use real photos of your own work, team and place when you have them. Customers trust them most.

Use a drawing from the shared library

The Shared library tab has drawings we made for small businesses, sorted by kind of business (Trades & home, Auto, Beauty & personal care, Health, Fitness & classes, Food & drink, Shops & makers, Venues & fun, Offices, Lodging and Community), plus Everyday things like hours and contact details, Holidays & seasons, Shapes, Dividers and Patterns. Many of them move a little, like steam rising from a cup; they hold still for visitors who've turned motion off on their device.

In the Choose a photo window, open Shared library.
Type in the search box (like "coffee", "books" or "massage"), or pick a category from the list beside it, which starts on All pictures. Search "animated" to see only the ones that move.
Click a drawing to use it.

Drawings change color with your theme, so they always match your site, even after you change your colors or design. They stay sharp at any size.

The shared library isn't offered for share images (the picture shown when your site is shared on social media), because social sites need a photo there.

Describe your photos

Under each photo there's a box called Describe this photo. Write a short sentence about what's in it, like "Stone patio with a fire pit at dusk."

It matters for two reasons:

People who can't see images use tools that read the description out loud.
Google reads it to understand your photos, which helps you show up in searches.

Describe what's in the photo. Skip "photo of" and don't stuff in keywords.

Add a section

Scroll to the bottom of the section list and click Add a section. Or open a section and click Add section below to put the new one right under it.
Pick a section type, like Reviews, Gallery or FAQ.
It's added with sample text and opens for you. Replace the sample with your own.

Not sure which to pick? Sections you can add explains every kind.

Move, hide or remove a section

Move: click the up or down arrow on the section's row. Each click moves it one place, so click a few times to move it further.
Hide: click the eye button. The section stays in the editor, marked Hidden from visitors, but disappears from your site. Click the eye again to bring it back.
Copy: open the section and click Duplicate. The copy appears right below.
Remove: open the section and click Remove. Changed your mind? Click Undo in the bar that says the section was removed.

Change a section's background

Open the section.
Near the bottom of its form, click Background and style. It's closed to save room, and shows what the section has now, like "Tinted".
Under Background, pick Plain, Tinted, Dark or Brand color.

The colors come from your theme, so text stays easy to read. Alternating backgrounds helps break up a long page. See Theme and brand colors.

Add a pattern behind a section

Open the section, and click Background and style near the bottom of its form.
Under Pattern, below Background, pick one: Polka dots, Graph paper, Lined paper, Diagonal stripes, Wide stripes, Checkers, Zigzag, Waves, Diamonds, Plaid or Rings. If they don't all fit, use the arrows under the row to see the rest.
To take it away, pick None.

The pattern is drawn faintly over the background, in the section's own text color, so the words on top stay easy to read. It follows your theme on every background. Use one on a section or two you want to stand out, rather than on every section.

Change a section's heading size and color

Sections with a heading can make it stand out a little more, or step back.

Open the section, and click Background and style near the bottom of its form.
Under Heading size, pick Smaller, Standard or Larger. Each is one small step from your design's usual size. On phones, Larger is a smaller step, so long words still fit.
Under Heading color, pick Standard, Brand color or Accent.

The colors come from your palette, so they always go together and stay easy to read. Some palettes' accent color is too light for headings; then Accent isn't offered. On a Dark or Brand color background, and on words over a photo, headings stay light so they can be read.

Use these sparingly: a page where every heading is different looks busy. To make all the words on your site bigger, change the text size instead.

Choose a layout

Sections that show several things, like services, reviews, team members, events, news and projects, have a Layout setting. Open the section and click the picture of the layout you want; the preview changes right away. Your words and photos stay the same in every layout.

Cards: a grid of cards, photo on top. Good for three to nine items.
Rows: one per row, photo beside the text. Good when each item has more to say.
Simple list: compact lines without photos. Good for a long list, like upcoming events.
Carousel: a row of cards visitors swipe or click through. Saves space when you have many.
Alternating: a large photo beside the text, switching sides each row. Good for a few services or projects you want to show off.

Not every section offers every layout; each shows only the ones that suit it.

The Hero at the top of your home page has its own layouts: Text over photo, Text beside photo, Centered text (no photo), Text above photo, Photo collage (three photos), Photo slideshow and Text over video. When the words sit over a photo or video, two more settings appear: Text position (Left or Center) and Height (Standard or Full screen). Photo collage asks for a Photo, a Second photo and a Third photo. See Show several photos in the opening banner and Play a video behind your headline.

The opening banner (the Hero section) can show your words over photos that change by themselves.

Open the Hero section and pick the Photo slideshow layout.
Set the first Photo, then add two or three more under More photos. Wide photos taken in landscape work best, with the subject away from the left side, where the words go.
Under Change photos, pick how often: every 6 seconds, every 10 seconds, or only when visitors pick one.

Visitors can pause it, and pick a photo with the dots or by swiping on a phone. It stays still for visitors who turn off motion on their device. Keep your headline about what you do: it stays the same while the photos change. For news like a sale, use the announcement banner instead.

Make items appear one by one

Sections with cards or lists, like Services, Highlights, Reviews, Team and Projects, can bring their items in one at a time as visitors scroll to them.

Open the section.
Turn on Show items one by one as visitors scroll.

The preview plays it right away. Visitors who turn off motion on their phone or computer see everything at once.

Two more settings like this:

Highlights › Count up the numbers as visitors scroll. Numbers like "1,200+" or "4.9★" count up from zero when visitors reach the section. Words without a number, like "Licensed", stay as they are.
Gallery › Open photos larger when clicked. Visitors click a photo to see it full screen, with arrows (or a swipe on phones) to the other photos in the gallery. New galleries have it on.

Some pages do this on their own. A project with before and after photos shows them on its page with a slider visitors drag to compare. Event, news and job pages have a Share button, so visitors can send them to a friend.

Want a countdown to a sale or an opening, or tabs? Ask for it as an AI change, and it can be built into a section for your site.

Change a button

Open the section and find the button, like Main button.
Type its words in Button text.
Under Goes to, pick one of your pages, Call or Email (your number and address from Business info), or Another website… and paste its link in the box that appears.

Some buttons are optional, like the Hero's Second button. Leave its Button text empty to hide it.

Tips

Some sections fill themselves in. Hours & location, Open today and the phone number in Call to action come from Business info, so change those there. See Business info and hours.
Want AI to rewrite a section for you? Open it and click Ask AI to change this. See AI changes.
Want a layout the sections don't offer? Ask for it as an AI change or a work request from your dashboard.

Still stuck?