# Embedding a rails app in a Google Sites site?

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/embedding-a-rails-app-in-a-google-sites-site/182204>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [January 25, 2010, 5:54am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/embedding-a-rails-app-in-a-google-sites-site/182204 "2010-01-25T05:54:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![avramd](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/aca169/32.png) [@avramd](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/avramd)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 5:54am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/embedding-a-rails-app-in-a-google-sites-site/182204/1 "2010-01-25T05:54:41Z")

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Has anybody figured out a way to use Google Sites to create all the  
static content for a site but then have certain pages call out to a  
rails app and inject the results directly into the Sites page?

I was hoping it was as simple as embedding ajax calls into the Sites  
page just like you would in a rails template - except that it seems  
like Sites is pretty carefully set up not to let you insert your own

 tags. The closest approximation I've been able to come up with so far is to create a "Gadget" that makes the AJAX calls. I haven't actually tried it yet, but even if it does work, it's still kludgy in that when inserting a gadget into a Sites page, you have to specify it's dimensions explicitly. So, for example, you would not be able to have a page that had no scroll bar if it were not required, but expanded and added the scroll bar if the content was long enough. Since the dimensions of the gadget insertion are static, the page height is also static (the gadget is what would get a scroll bar if the content required it, not the page).

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**Author:** ![avramd](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/aca169/32.png) [@avramd](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/avramd)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/embedding-a-rails-app-in-a-google-sites-site/182204/2 "2010-01-25T19:40:39Z")

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Avram D. wrote:

> Has anybody figured out a way to use Google Sites to create all the  
> static content for a site but then have certain pages call out to a  
> rails app and inject the results directly into the Sites page?

This is almost certainly more trouble than it’s worth. If you want free  
Rails hosting, try Heroku.

## Best,

Marnen Laibow-Koser  
[http://www.marnen.org](http://www.marnen.org)  
removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid

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**Author:** ![avramd](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/aca169/32.png) [@avramd](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/avramd)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 9:35pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/embedding-a-rails-app-in-a-google-sites-site/182204/3 "2010-01-25T21:35:27Z")

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I’m not sure how you got that form my question. It’s practically the  
opposite of what I’m saying.

I am not looking for free rails hosting or free anything. I already have  
rails hosting. I am just trying to benefit from Google Sites having a  
very easy to use interface and a rich set of templates for organizing a  
site, generating menus, and creating it’s static content so I don’t have  
to build all of that functionality myself with rails.

All I really need rails for is a few dynamic content pages.

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**Author:** ![avramd](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/aca169/32.png) [@avramd](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/avramd)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/embedding-a-rails-app-in-a-google-sites-site/182204/4 "2010-01-26T23:08:03Z")

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> > All I really need rails for is a few dynamic content pages.
> 
> Then the other alternative would be plain old hyperlinks.

or also some Iframe

Simone

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**Author:** ![avramd](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/aca169/32.png) [@avramd](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/avramd)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/embedding-a-rails-app-in-a-google-sites-site/182204/5 "2010-01-25T22:53:11Z")

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Avram D. wrote:

> I’m not sure how you got that form my question. It’s practically the  
> opposite of what I’m saying.
> 
> I am not looking for free rails hosting or free anything. I already have  
> rails hosting. I am just trying to benefit from Google Sites having a  
> very easy to use interface and a rich set of templates for organizing a  
> site, generating menus, and creating it’s static content so I don’t have  
> to build all of that functionality myself with rails.

You don’t have to anyway. Try a CMS such as Radiant n

> All I really need rails for is a few dynamic content pages.

Then the other alternative would be plain old hyperlinks.

## Best,

Marnen Laibow-Koser  
[http://www.marnen.org](http://www.marnen.org)  
removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid