Notion Website: Step-by-Step Guide
Notion is a great tool for managing projects, tasks, notes, and life organization. But did you know that you can also use it to build a website?
Several website builders have been created on top of Notion, such as Super, Fruition, and Feather. However, the easiest way to create a Notion website is to publicly share a Notion page. If you want to add a custom domain or use stylized CSS, third-party tools can help.
The goal of this post is to:
- Show you step-by-step how to build a nice and sleek Notion website
- Share three free templates that you can use to avoid starting from a blank page.
But first…
Why Choose Notion for Your Website?
Notion is the perfect choice for anyone looking to create a website quickly and easily. Even more, if it’s your first website. Let me explain why:
- If you’re already a Notion user, there’s no new tool you need to learn
- You can publish your website in seconds by activating the “Share to web” option. Changes are automatically updated. Superfast.
- Notion’s interface is sleek. Which means your Notion website will look sleek.
- If you plan to ship some content, chances are that your content already exists in Notion. So no need for migrating all your data. Awesome for a blog.
- No code or code knowledge is required.
- You can start super quickly with a free template.
Notion also has its own guide to build & ship a website. You can find it here.
How to Build Your Notion Website
Define
I recommend creating a list of all the elements you want to include on your website. Once you're done, group them into 2-3 categories at most. For example, if you're building a personal website and have listed these elements:
- My pictures
- Music I love
- My music
- My newsletter
- My articles
- Podcasts I listen to
- Favorite content creators
- My drawings
You can group them like this:
→ Blog
- Articles
- Newsletter
→ Art
- Music
- Pictures
- Drawings
→ Curation
- Podcasts
- Content creators
- Music playlists
Design
Now, let's get creative! Notion is not a "real" web builder, so you'll face some design limitations. Your goal is to create a beautiful display while ensuring that all elements are easily accessible and visible.
The cool thing about Notion is that it's super easy to try different arrangements - you simply drag and drop blocks. This enables you to quickly test different ideas.
Some design principles to consider
- Use many different blocks: To give your website a more human vibe, get creative with different blocks! You can use a database to store elements like blog posts, play with highlights to add some color and divide sections, use toggle lists to save some space, and more.
- Coherence: When it comes to icons or images, try to stay uniform. Use icons from the same library and try to use images with the same grain or vibe.
- Minimalism: Notion has mostly been designed for minimalists, so for most people, it will be easier to start with minimalism to avoid design discrepancies. Nothing is forbidden, though, and you can totally go in the opposite direction. But if it’s your first Notion-based website, I strongly suggest keeping it minimalistic.
- Originality: Add your own personal touch by using external widgets or embeds. You can embed almost everything, from Spotify playlists to charts, forms, or weather widgets. Play around and try third-party apps!
Publish
Publishing a website has never been easier. All you have to do is go to your website's home page in Notion, click the "Share" button on the top right of the page, and activate "Share to web".
In the "Show link options" below, the "Allow duplicate as template" button is activated by default. You may want to disable it to avoid people copying your website or content. If it's enabled on your home page, it will be enabled for all children's pages.
If you have a Notion paid plan, you can activate the "Search Engine Indexing" button. This will make your website and content searchable on Google. It's almost necessary if you want to play with SEO and increase traffic to your site.
⚠️ If you have linked databases in your Notion pages, they won't appear on your website unless the original database is also on your website.
You can then review each page and make sure everything is as you expected.
Notion web builders
Notion websites are great. However, there are several website builders available that can make your website look even better and add functionality such as a search bar, SEO optimization, a navbar, and more. Here are a few examples:
- Super: Super is a Notion web builder that allows you to create a website or landing page in minutes. With a wide range of templates and customization options, you can create a professional-looking website without any coding knowledge. This is the most widely used web builder, and its interface is user-friendly and visually pleasing.
Pricing: $16/mo (billed monthly)
- Feather: Feather is a web builder for Notion that focuses particularly on blogs and other types of content websites. I personally have never tried using it, but I have heard only good things about it. If SEO is your main source of traffic, it can be an excellent option.
Pricing: $39/mo (billed monthly)
- Fruition (FREE!): This website builder is free and open-source, and it doesn't require coding. You can host your website on a custom domain and use pretty URLs. Styling options include dark mode, Google Fonts, and JavaScript code injection. If you want to add more features, I recommend some paid alternatives, such as Super or Feather.
Pricing: 100% free
There are a bunch of other website builders such as Potion, Simple.ink, Popsy, etc.
Whether you're a beginner or an experienced web developer, these Notion website builders make it easy to create a website that looks and works great. So why not give them a try and see just how easy it can be to create your own website with Notion?
Start with a free template
If you don’t want to start with a blank page, I get it! That’s why we (Notion creators) build Notion templates: to allow you to save time & energy.
Below, I listed 3 of my own templates. Feel free to use them as you wish to build your stunning website.
Portfolio Website
This template is a single-page website that allows you to showcase your skills and projects. It also displays all your links, as a Linktree-type website.
Download for free ⚡
Blog Website
If you want to publish articles or any type of content, this is the best template to start your journey as a writer or creator.
Download for free ⚡
Resume Website
Online resumes are the new resumes. Stand out from other applicants with this good-looking online resume.
Download for free ⚡
Conclusion
If you're looking to create a website quickly and easily, Notion is the perfect solution. With its intuitive interface and powerful features, Notion makes it easy to create a website that looks and works great. So why wait? Get started with Notion today and see just how easy it can be to create your own website.
Start now & create your Notion account 🙃
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