This is the first in a two-part series exploring the use of Notion as a platform for building websites. In this part, we’ll focus on the pros, cons, and considerations of using Notion websites (called Notion Sites) compared to other tools. If you’ve already decided to use Notion, feel free to skip ahead to Part 2, where I share lessons learned while building my site, Breaking Rocks, and how to overcome common challenges.

Introduction

When designing and implementing Breaking Rocks, I made a deliberate choice to use Notion. While it’s a newer option for website creation and comes with constraints, the decision aligned with my content and productivity focus on Notion. Building my website in Notion also allowed me to learn more about the platform by using it in a real-world project.

For context, I have a strong background in web design and development, and I’m familiar with a range of no-code website builders that are often bundled with hosting plans. Despite these options, Notion stood out for its unique features.

In this article, I’ll outline two key use cases where Notion websites excel:

1. Personal / Professional Websites / CMS’) Content Management Systems
2. Knowledge Sharing

The list of alternatives to Notion Sites is huge, but essentially we are talking about:

• Code your own website
• Use a website builder such Squarespace, GoDaddy, Wix, etc
• Specific use-case’s sites like WordPress, Shopify

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Want to learn how to use Notion or to do more with it then please check out my book.

For beginners to intermediate, with lots of practical, step-by-step examples that you can straight away.

Available globally, also available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.

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Using Notion for Personal / Professional Websites - especially with Content Management Systems

Notion offers unique benefits for building personal or professional websites, though it also has its constraints.

I am only going to cover the benefits of Notion websites compared to other products, or where its constrained. I won’t go into the pros and cons of all of the other alternatives.

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What is a content management system? A software tool designed to help users create, manage, and modify content on a website without requiring specialized technical knowledge. At its core, a CMS allows you to organize your website’s structure and content through an intuitive interface, managing elements like text, images, and multimedia with ease. For example, a blog system is a type of CMS that enables writers to draft, edit, and publish articles, categorise them, and manage user comments.

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Advantages

• Instant and Great Design: Notion websites look polished on both desktop and mobile devices with minimal setup. This is ideal for portfolios, resumes, or simple blogs. The design is minimalist.
• Seamless Content Management: Updating content is as easy as editing a Notion page. There’s no need to navigate through complicated CMS interfaces.
• Cost-Effective Solution: With free Notion accounts and low-cost third-party tools (e.g., Super.so, Potion.so) for custom domains, it’s an affordable choice. More on this in Part 2.
• Integration with Workflows: If you already use Notion for productivity, your website can integrate seamlessly with your existing workflows.
• Excellent mobile and desktop optimisation: Your pages will look good across all browsers with minimal effort—just monitor the block ordering for the best layout.

Challenges

• Limited Customisation: Unlike platforms like Squarespace or WordPress, Notion lacks advanced design and interactive features, which can make it harder to stand out.
• Basic SEO (Search Engine Optimisation Capabilities: Optimising for search engines is limited, with fewer tools for meta descriptions, structured data, or performance monitoring.
• Control of Images: You cannot control image dimensions in banners or pages, which can cause presentation issues depending on block arrangement. I will cover workarounds for this below.

Using Notion for Knowledge Sharing

Notion excels at storing and displaying knowledge, therefore Notion websites is a game changer feature. Essentially if you have a Notion page that you want to share you can now just turn it into a web page - for free!

If you’re working with teams or need to share data quickly and publicly, Notion can be a game changer.