Multi-Column Layouts

1. Preparing Your Page for Columns

Before you start arranging blocks, it's a good practice to give yourself as much space as possible. By default, Notion pages have large margins on the sides. For dashboards and complex layouts, you'll almost always want to use the full width of your screen.

To do this:

1. Click the ••• icon at the top-right of your page.
2. Toggle on the "Full width" option.

2. The Core Method: Drag and Drop

The fundamental way to create columns in Notion is by dragging blocks next to each other. Any block in Notion—be it text, a heading, an image, or a callout—has a six-dot handle (⋮⋮) that appears when you hover over it. This handle is your key to moving things around.

The process is simple:

1. Click and hold the ⋮⋮ handle of the block you want to move.
2. Drag it to the right or left of another block.
3. When you see a vertical blue line appear, release the block. This indicates that you are creating a new column.

This technique is the foundation of all page layout design in Notion. To see it in action, let's watch a demonstration.

As you saw, you can also select multiple blocks by clicking and dragging your mouse over them, then moving them all at once into a new column. This is incredibly useful for reorganizing existing content.

3. A Quicker Start: The /column Command

While dragging and dropping is flexible, sometimes you know you want to start with a specific number of columns. Notion has a dedicated slash command for this.

Typing /column will bring up options to instantly create a two, three, four, or five-column layout. Notion will pre-populate the space with empty blocks, ready for you to fill in.

This is a great way to start a new section of a page when you already have a layout in mind. You can read more about this and other methods in the article "How to Create Columns in Notion?".

4. Handling a Common Challenge: Inline Databases

As you build more complex systems, you'll frequently use inline databases (we'll cover these in depth in the next module). There is a critical limitation you must know: you cannot drag an inline database block to create a column.

This is a frequent point of confusion for new users. Fortunately, there are two straightforward workarounds.

To summarize the workarounds from the article:

1. The Dummy Block Method (Recommended): Create a placeholder block (like a heading or simple text) and drag that to create your column structure. Then, simply drag your inline database underneath the placeholder block within the desired column. You can then delete the placeholder.
2. The Page Conversion Method: Use the database's ••• menu to "Turn into page." The database becomes a simple page link, which you can easily drag into a column. Once it's in place, use its ••• menu again to "Turn into inline."

5. Designing for Mobile

An important consideration for template design is how your pages will look on a phone. Multi-column layouts do not appear on mobile. Instead, Notion stacks the columns into a single vertical feed, starting with the leftmost column and moving right.

This means you should consider the order of your columns carefully. What information is most important for a user to see first when they're on the go? Place that in the leftmost column.

Thomas Frank explains this concept and offers tips in his video.

✍️ Exercise: Build a Multi-Column Layout

Let's transform your "Q4 Initiative" page from a single-column document into a more dynamic layout.

• Open your "Q4 Initiative" page.
• At the top-right, click ••• and enable "Full width".
• Create a Two-Column Layout:
  • Drag your Key Objectives heading (and the list below it) so it remains on the left.
  • Grab the ⋮⋮ handle for your Core Tasks heading and drag it to the right of the Key Objectives heading until the vertical blue line appears. Release it.
  • Now, select all the task items under the Core Tasks heading and drag them into the new right-hand column, underneath their heading.
• Create a Separate Three-Column Section:
  • Below your new two-column layout, use the /column command and select "3 columns".
  • In the first column, add a heading ### Team.
  • In the second column, add a heading ### Resources.
  • In the third column, add a heading ### Timeline.
  • Add some placeholder text or bullet points under each of these new headings.

Your page should now have a two-column section at the top, followed by a full-width divider, and then a three-column section below. You've just created a basic dashboard structure!

Lesson Summary and Next Steps

Fantastic work! You have now mastered one of the most powerful design features in Notion, transforming you from a content creator into a page architect.

Key Takeaways:

• Drag and Drop: The ⋮⋮ handle and the vertical blue line are the keys to creating columns.
• Full Width: Use the "Full width" page setting to give your layouts room to breathe.
• /column Command: A fast alternative for creating structured layouts from scratch.
• Database Workaround: Remember to use a dummy block (like a heading) to position inline databases in columns.
• Mobile First: Columns stack left-to-right on mobile, so place your most important information in the leftmost column.

In our next lesson, we'll learn how to bring your pages to life by embedding media content such as images, videos, and files. You'll see how to place this rich content within the beautiful column layouts you now know how to build.