Notion Sites vs. Next‑Gen Notion Website Builders: The 2025 Ultimate Guide
Table Of Content
Notion now lets you publish any page as a website in seconds—but the built‑in Notion Sites feature is still a far cry from a production‑ready blog engine. In this guide we benchmark seven popular solutions (Notion Sites, Feather, Super.so, Potion, Simple.ink, Fruition, DIY static export) and map them to the use‑cases they serve best.
What Is Notion Sites?
Notion Sites is a zero‑click publishing toggle released in April 2025 that turns any Notion page or database into a public website. Think of it as “/publish → done”:
- Pick a page → Share → Publish.
- Choose a free
*.notion.sitesub‑domain or connect a custom domain. - Optionally enable navigation, breadcrumbs, search, and dark mode.
- Hit Publish. Edits sync instantly without redeploys.
At its core, Notion Sites is the same Notion document rendered via their CDN, plus a thin layer of routing and theming.
Strengths of Notion Sites
| Benefit | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Ultra‑fast setup | Publish a microsite in under 5 minutes—ideal for hackathon demos or hiring pages. |
| No code, no build pipeline | Non‑technical teammates can iterate freely. |
| Native Notion AI integration | Draft or translate content in‑place. |
| Live database views | Turn a Notion table into a searchable directory or changelog. |
| Free tier | Comes with every Notion plan; you only pay for the domain. |
If your goal is a single‑page portfolio, help center, or internal wiki, Notion Sites gives you 80 % of the value with 0 % of the hassle.
Limitations & SEO Caveats
Technical SEO Gaps
- No meta title/description overrides
- Flat URL structure:
/page‑slugonly - Missing
robots.txt,sitemap.xml,rss.xml - No JSON‑LD schema
- Lower Core Web Vitals (LCP ~4.1 s)
Content & UX Constraints
- No tags, categories, or author pages
- Cannot inject custom analytics or scripts properly
- Public/private only access control
- Limited design control via Notion CSS
Meet the Competitors
| Tool | Tagline | USP |
|---|---|---|
| Feather | Blog engine built for Notion users | SEO suite + newsletter |
| Super.so | Design‑focused sites from Notion | Custom themes |
| Potion | Fast static sites using Notion | HTML exports |
| Simple.ink | Launch in 60s | Automation integrations |
| Fruition | Open-source Notion wrapper | Full code control |
All of them offer custom domains, password protection, SEO tags, and better performance.
Feature‑by‑Feature Comparison
| Feature | Notion Sites | Feather | Super.so | Potion | Simple.ink | Fruition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custom paths | ✖︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Meta tags | Limited | Full | Full | Full | Full | Code |
| Sitemap & RSS | ✖︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | Code |
| Newsletter | ✖︎ | Built‑in | Integrate | Zapier | Mailchimp | Code |
| Core Web Vitals | 4.1 s | 2.0 s | 2.4 s | 1.9 s | 2.5 s | 1.8 s |
| Free Tier | ✔︎ | ✔︎ (limited) | ✖︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ | ✔︎ |
| Price/mo | $0 | $9 | $16 | $15 | $12 | $0 + hosting |
| Tech Skill | None | None | None | Low | None | High |
SEO & Core Web Vitals Benchmarks
Potion and Fruition export static HTML that scores 90+ on Lighthouse. Notion Sites remains around 65–70 due to heavier JavaScript.
Only Feather and Potion auto‑generate complete sitemap.xml, rss.xml, and schema.org metadata.
Which Tool Fits Your Scenario?
| Use Case | Recommended | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Solo portfolio | Notion Sites | Fastest + Free |
| Blog + Newsletter | Feather | Custom paths + SEO tools |
| Marketing site | Super.so | Design flexibility |
| Docs site | Potion | Static + searchable |
| Budget site | Simple.ink | Low-cost & automated |
| Developer site | Fruition | Full control |
Migration Path If You Outgrow Notion Sites
- Audit content structure
- Choose builder (Feather, etc.)
- Set up custom domain + redirects
- Add sitemap to Google Search Console
- Track Core Web Vitals post‑migration
FAQs
Is Notion Sites good for SEO? — For small sites, yes. For blogs, limited.
Can I install analytics? — Not cleanly. Use external wrappers.
Are themes customizable? — Only with third‑party tools like Super.so.
🔗 Further Reading
- “Notion to Website SEO Best Practices”
- “Blogging with Notion + Feather”
- “Open-source: Fruition Notion Site”
📥 Looking for a deeper dive?
We’ve also published a companion post: Top 7 Notion Website Builder Alternatives You Should Know in 2025 — with detailed reviews, pricing breakdowns, SEO metrics, and our verdict for each tool.
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