Guides
Notion Databases 101 : Everything a Business Owner Needs to Know
A complete guide to Notion Databases — learn what they are, how they differ from spreadsheets, explore all database views, properties, inline vs full page databases, and avoid common mistakes.
By Sanat Biswal · 2026-08-07 · 12 min read
If you are running a business, you must have come across this common pain point, i.e. How to manage notes, spreadsheets of data and other information at one place.
Using a spreadsheet only allows you to enter data into each row and column but there's no way to add any additional notes for each row of the data entered.
Eg : A client's database can contain the information of the client but it can't store any information related to client details such as client proposals, client agreement etc.
This is where Notion Databases are super powerful and helps fulfill the needs of a spreadsheet + notes powered solution at one place.
We will cover the following topics in this post:
- What is a Notion Database
- Types of Database Properties
- Types of Notion Database
- Difference between Notion Database and Spreadsheet etc
- Notion Pages and
- Database Properties and
- Database Views
- Table View
- Board View (Kanban type)
- Gallery View
- List View
- Calendar View
- Feed View
- Dashboard View
- Timeline View
- Map View
- Inline Database
- Full Page Database
Let's understand more about this in detail below…
What are Notion Databases?
To put it simply, notion databases are just like spreadsheet but also allows users to add content (images, notes, tables etc) inside each row in the form of notion pages.
What are the key building blocks of a Notion Database
A Notion Database is built up of the following building blocks:
While Notion Pages control what content is added in the form of notes, images, tables etc.
Database Properties define what information is to be added to the Notion Database (discussed later).
Database Views define how the database would look like (discussed later).
How is a Notion Database different from spreadsheet
Here's the key differences between Notion Database and a spreadsheet:
| Notion Database | Spreadsheet |
|---|---|
| A Notion database stores data in rows, and each row is also a page containing different blocks for storing the information. | Spreadsheet can contain only information in the form of cells structured in rows and columns |
| Each row of the notion database containing full page of its own content including files, comments etc | Each row in a spreadsheet is merely a collection of cells stacked together |
| Notion Database you can switch between different views such as Table, Kanban, Calendar, Timeline, Gallery, List views etc | Spreadsheet is a grid of rows and columns tied together with data |
| Use of relation and rollups to connect multiple databases | Use of formulas and references across sheets to keep everything tied |
| Allows collaboration with use of mention, comments, permissions etc | Allows collaboration but with limited flexibility built around the notion pages |
Types of Notion Databases
Notion databases can be classified as per the following types based on their views:
Here's what each Notion Database view offers for the users:
| View | What is it | Best used for |
|---|---|---|
| Table View | Default view which is the spreadsheet style view of data typically represented with pages as rows of data and database properties as columns | Client Databases, Invoices Database, Inventory List, Financial Trackers etc |
| Board View | This shows drag and drop cards interface that shows the state of each object | Sales Pipeline data, Task Management of clients etc |
| Gallery View | Useful to highlight images from a database. Shows content from any files and Media type property, can be edited to show the images from selected media type properties as well | Useful to build product catalogs, directory of team members etc |
| List View | Entries of the database are displayed in single vertical list | Usually used for lightweight note taking use case or simple database management |
| Calendar View | Display your list of items in a calendar style format | Ideal for content publishing and social media scheduling |
| Feed View | Card style display showing the progress of each update as it happens in a chronological order | Best for team announcements, product changelogs or any updates on news |
| Dashboard View | This view helps to combine and summarise information from linked databases into one overview page | Ideal place to see KPIs, status of projects, priorities of a projects etc |
| Timeline View | This view presents a timeline of events in sequence showing the start date and end date of the event using date properties | Projects Road maps, Product Launches and other such style of content |
| Map View | This view offers entries on a map with places added as pins using a place property. Allows use of maximum upto 100 pins for a map | Client site visits, Delivery Service areas, Event venue plans etc |
How to create a Notion Database?
Creating a Notion Database is really simple and requires a simple understanding of how the database must look like.
A notion database can be of the following 2 types:
What are inline database and how to create an inline database?
An inline database is a database that's created as a part of the main page.
It's like a block created inside a main page.
Here's how to create an inline database:
Alternatively after step - 3 you can directly add a particular layout from there you can choose to add a +New data source which allows to add a new data source for the new database created.
How to convert an inline database to a full page database
What are full page database and how to create a full page database?
A full page database is a database which is created as a new page entirely on the sidebar.
So selecting this option would simply convert the database to a new page altogether on the sidebar for the user.
Here's how to create a full page database:
How to lock the database created as a page?
In order to lock the database created as a page, simply click on ••• on the top-right corner of the database and then enable the Lock database.
This will prevent the database from being edited and thus locks everything in the view for the user to disallow editing of the database any further.
How to convert a full page database to an inline database?
What are the types of properties of a Notion Database?
A notion database has the following properties:
| Property | Used For |
|---|---|
| Text | Used to add notes and that can be formatted as per user |
| Number | Used to add numbers which can be formatted as a currency or a formula bar used |
| Date | Used for a date range or a single date which is useful for setting any deadline (required for calendar or timeline related views) |
| Checkbox | This property is used to indicate if a condition is set as true or false for tracking any tasks |
| Select | This is used for categorization of the elements created (eg: choosing from a list of options) |
| Multi-select | Useful for choosing multiple selections in one go (useful for tagging multiple properties in one go) |
| Status | Used for tracking the progress of a task created (such as To-Do, In Progress or Completed) |
| Person | Defines a person assigned to or mapped to in context of a task (Useful for any task assignment or referencing any team members) |
| URL | Defines a link to any website which can be clicked and navigated to |
| Defines the email of the user to whom an email is to be sent for any purpose | |
| Phone | Used to add a phone number of a person who can be called upon when needed |
| Place | Used to define a location using address of a location by adding a name or an address |
| Files and Media | Upload any files and images which are useful for storing any documents or photos for the user |
| Formula | Defines the formula for performing calculations using other properties of the notion database |
| Relation | Connects multiple notion databases and it adds notion database pages (used to setup connection between different databases) |
| Rollup | View the properties of the databases that are connected with each other that aggregates and summarizes the data into one property |
| Button | Used to perform a task or an action when clicked that can help automate tasks and actions |
| ID | Creates a numerical based ID for each item created that are unique in value and can be manually changed as well |
| Created time | Shows the timestamp when an item is created (auto created and not editable on its own) |
| Created by | Shows the name of the person who created the item (auto created and not editable on its own) |
| Last edited time | Shows the timestamp when the property was last edited (auto updated and not editable on its own) |
| Last edited by | Shows the name of the person who edited the property last time (auto updated everytime and not editable on its own) |
If you are looking to simply get started right away and just duplicate a template and get started right away now.
Related Reading : Difference between Notion Pages, Databases and Templates
Common mistakes while creating database in Notion
Following are generally the common mistakes by users creating database for first time:
PDFOutput is one such automation built specifically for Notion users which can help generate PDFs directly from your Notion Database with the use of templates and placeholders.
It can help produce any document at scale such as Invoices, contracts, proposals or anything you might need which would be needed on a repeatable basis day in and day out.
Related Reading : How to use Relation and Rollup properties in Notion
Conclusion
This makes notion a truly powerful tool that helps business owners or regular users manage not only their businesses but also helps to keep everything organized at one place.
If you are looking for a tool that can help you bring clarity in your business and day to day affairs you must look to start using Notion and implement database effectively to manage everything cohesively and in conjunction with each other.