How to Turn a Notion Page into a Template

Table of contents

• Method 1: Adding the page to an empty database template
• 1. Open an existing Notion database or create a new one
• 2. Create a new template and leave it blank
• 3. Turn the preferred Notion page into a template
• 4. Create a new page using the template
• Method 2: Using Notion template buttons
• 1. Open the page that you want to save as template
• 2. Type ‘/button’ and click the Button block
• 3. Click the ‘Add action’ button and select the ‘Insert blocks’ option
• 4. Use the page template

Ever created a Notion page that is so effective and reusable that if you could go back in time and create it in the form of a template, you would?

The good news is, you do not need a time machine to do that. You just need to try either of these methods to save an existing Notion page as a template.

Method 1: Adding the page to an empty database template

This method uses the built-in capability of Notion databases to create templates. This section covers moving content from a page to a database template and rendering it in a new page when required.

1. Open an existing Notion database or create a new one

We will use a sample class timetable to demonstrate the process.

2. Create a new template and leave it blank

Click the tiny arrow icon next to the blue ‘New’ button and click the ‘New template’ option.

This will create a blank template page. Name the page but leave the rest empty. We will populate it with the content from the preferred page in the next steps.

3. Turn the preferred Notion page into a template

In this step, we will move the target page into the empty template we created in the last step and turn it into text to display its contents.

Start by opening the page that you want to save as a template - we will use the sample ‘Class notes template’ page for reference.

We will move this page into the ‘Timetable’ database because the user will benefit from using it as a template each time they take notes in Notion.

Click the three-dots icon at the top right of your screen and click on the ‘Move to’ option.

Notion will display the list of recent pages you accessed. It will also display a search bar which will help you find the right page.

In our example, the ‘Class notes template’ page is right at the top of the list. We will click on it to move the page into the template.

Let’s open the ‘Class notes template’ and ensure that our target page has moved into it.

Voila! There it is. But we do not want the page embed to appear in the template, we want to render the content it contains.

Let’s make it happen.

4. Create a new page using the template

Let’s step into the shoes of a student using the ‘Class schedule’ database. A class is about to begin, so let’s use the template we added to the database to take notes.

First, click the arrow next to the blue ‘New’ button and then on the ‘Class notes template’ option.

Notion will add a new entry to the database and open the ‘Class notes template’ in the side peek mode.

The template page has the target page embedded in it. To replace the embedded page with the content it contains, click the six-dots icon that appears when you hover over it, click the ‘Turn into’ dropdown and select ‘Text’.

Notion will replace the embedded page with text it contains. The students can edit this page without modifying the template.

Students can follow this workflow each time they need to take notes, enabling them to be more organized and eliminating the need to create a structure from scratch.

Method 2: Using Notion template buttons

The first method works great when you are working with databases. But what if you write content that’s independent of databases but still need templates?

One way to do that is creating pages within a database using a template and moving it to other folders but that can get cumbersome quickly.

You can keep things simple by using the Notion template buttons. Here’s how to turn a page into a template by using the ‘Button’ block.

1. Open the page that you want to save as template

2. Type ‘/button’ and click the Button block

3. Click the ‘Add action’ button and select the ‘Insert blocks’ option

Drag and drop the content from the target page into the template block.

With this step, the button containing all blocks of your template is ready for use.

4. Use the page template

Click the template button to render all content in the template into the page. You can now edit the content without modifying content in the template button.

Copy the template button to new pages when you need to use the template.

Creating reusable templates in Notion saves significant time and effort. Whether using database templates or template buttons, having pre-built content structures allows you to hit the ground running instead of starting from scratch.

Don't leave great page layouts as one-offs - turn them into templates. Having a library of templates for notes, tasks, wikis etc. allows focusing on core content rather than formatting. Make templates a habit to unlock higher effectiveness with Notion.

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