Once you get a hang of Notion, you would want to access all other tools and screens right from your Notion dashboard. Centralizing your tools boosts productivity — It’s surprising how the tiny convenience of not having to switch screens can save so much time and avoid distraction.
This makes capability to embed widgets an indispensable feature for anyone managing projects in Notion. Be it a Google calendar, to keep an eye on your schedule or a Spotify playlist, to play music from your Notion page, embedding content in Notion will help you access other tools fast — it makes for those micro-optimizations that add up to make a big difference.
In this article, we will discuss how you can add widgets of choice to your Notion page. Here are four steps to that:
1. Choosing the Right Widget
Notion offers a variety of widgets that you can embed in your pages. You can choose your widgets based on your requirements. For example, if you want to access music from Notion, you can simply embed your Spotify playlists and songs. But if you want to track your meetings, you can add your Google calendar.
Similarly, if your purpose is just to make your page look aesthetic, you may want to embed Pinterest images.
Type of widgets that Notion supports
1. Calendar Widgets: These allow you to view and manage your schedule directly from your Notion page. Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, and iCal are among the many options available.
2. Weather Widgets: These provide current weather information and forecasts for a specific location.
3. Note-Taking Widgets: These allow you to take quick notes on your Notion page. Examples include sticky note widgets and quick jot widgets.
4. Social Media Widgets: These display live updates from your social media accounts, including Twitter feeds, Instagram photos, or LinkedIn profiles.
5. Music Widgets: These can play music directly from your Notion page. Examples include Spotify and SoundCloud widgets.
Here’s a list of all the widgets that Notion supports:
2. Obtaining the Widget Embed Code
After choosing the right widget for your purpose, you need to obtain the embed code from your favorite tool. The embed code is a snippet of HTML code that allows Notion to read the widget and insert it into your Notion page.
Here's how you can find the embed code — we will take the example of Spotify but the same general method works for all platforms.
- Visit the widget provider's website.
- Locate the option to share or embed the widget. This is usually found in the settings or share options. Here’s what the embed URL screen for Spotify looks like:
- Copy the HTML snippet. You can customize the embed URL for color and size for some widgets. Here’s what the Spotify embed URL screen looks like.
Now that you have the embed URL from your preferred tool, it’s time to add it to Notion.
3. Adding the Widget to Notion
Go to the page where you want to add the widget or create a new one and click into the page where you want to embed the widget. Type "/embed" to pull up the list of widgets you can add and select the right option from the dropdown menu that appears as shown in the below image.
A new window will pop up. Paste the widget's embed code into the 'Embed Link' field.
Click on the 'Embed Link' button. Your widget should now appear on your Notion page. Here’s what an embedded Pinterest board looks like:
4. Adjusting the Widget Settings
Once the widget is available in your Notion page, you can modify it to as per your needs. This includes resizing the widget, changing its position, or modifying its functionality. You can also adjust the size of the widget by clicking and dragging the widget’s corners.
An easier way to embed a widget in Notion is by simply copying and pasting a link in Notion. In fact, you can embed almost any link in Notion without even grabbing the embed code or initiating the embed block.
Common Use-Cases of Embedding a Widget in Notion
Integration of calendars
One of the most common uses of widgets in Notion is the integration of calendars. This adds a significant level of convenience to users by allowing them to seamlessly manage and visualize their schedules within Notion. By embedding a calendar widget like Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar, users can view upcoming events, set reminders, and stay on top of deadlines, all without leaving their Notion workspace.
This integration is particularly useful for project management and team collaboration, as it allows team members to keep track of project timelines and milestones in one centralized location. This ultimately enhances the overall efficiency and productivity of project management processes.
Inclusion of video widgets
Another valuable use of widgets is the inclusion of video content directly into Notion pages. Embedding video widgets, such as YouTube or Vimeo, enables users to incorporate instructional or informative videos into their workspaces.
This feature proves particularly useful for educational purposes, project documentation, or sharing presentations within a team. It allows users to create multimedia-rich notes or documentation that not only improves understanding but also engages the audience more effectively. In addition, it facilitates communication within teams, enabling members to share important visual information easily through Notion comments.
Embedding form and survey widgets
Form and survey widgets, such as Google Forms, offer a powerful tool for data collection within Notion. This use-case facilitates the collection of data and feedback, streamlining information gathering processes.
For businesses or teams running projects, this can be incredibly useful for collecting client information, running internal employee surveys, gathering user feedback, or conducting market research. The advantage is that all this information can be stored and managed in the same Notion workspace where the project or business operations are being managed.
Embedding social media feeds
Social media widgets allow users to monitor and engage with their social media accounts without switching between platforms. By integrating widgets from platforms like Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn, users can stay up-to-date with their social media feeds, and interact with their audience directly from their Notion workspace.
For businesses and individuals who rely heavily on social media for marketing or customer engagement, this can be a significant time-saver, reducing the need to switch between multiple platforms and improving overall workflow efficiency.
Centralized Hub
Above all, the integration of various widgets in Notion enables the creation of a centralized hub for managing various aspects of work or personal life. Whether it's managing schedules, viewing instructional videos, collecting data, or staying connected with social media, the ability to do all these within a single Notion workspace streamlines workflow and boosts productivity. This advantage of having a unified workspace is the key reason why widgets have become such an integral part of Notion.
