A navigation bar (navbar) enhances your Notion site’s usability by providing easy access to important pages—boosting user experience, organization, and visual clarity.
While Notion’s native navbar (available on paid plans) offers basic functionality, it lacks flexibility. That’s where Bullet.so steps in—allowing you to design a customizable, responsive navbar in Notion without any coding.
In this complete guide, we’ll walk you through how to set up a navigation bar in Notion using Bullet, explore native options, compare alternatives, and share pro tips for better site navigation.
Method 1: Create a Navigation Bar in Notion with Bullet
Bullet.so is a powerful Notion website builder that lets you publish Notion pages with advanced design features—like sticky headers, branded themes, and of course, a responsive navbar. Here is a Step-by-Step on How to Add a Navbar with Bullet
Choose the Notion page you want to turn into your homepage.
Bullet takes care of theming, responsiveness, and publishing.
2. Access Navbar Settings
In your Bullet dashboard, go to the Navbar section.
Choose Custom from the navbar configuration options.
3. Customize Site Branding
Add a logo (text or image).
Adjust size, positioning, and the notion site header styling.
Customize colors and fonts to match your Notion theme customization preferences.
Enable site search to help users quickly find what they need.
4. Add Navigation Links
Define each menu item with:
Title (e.g. “Docs,” “About”)
Link type (internal Notion page or external URL)
Open in new tab? Toggle as needed
Create dropdown menus in Notion navigation bar for grouped links
Rearrange links using drag-and-drop
5. Add Call-to-Action (CTA) Buttons
Highlight important actions like “Subscribe” or “Contact” to make your responsive navigation bar for Notion pages more interactive.
Set destination URLs and customize appearance
Here is the final look of example site after setting up Navbar completely.
Does Notion Have Built-in Navigation Bar Features?
Yes, Notion allows you to create a basic navigation bar with the Plus plan ($12/month). Here’s how to set it up:
Open the Notion page where you want to add the navigation bar.
Click the ‘Share’ button at the top-right.
Select ‘Publish’ and click through to ‘Site customization’.
Customize the navbar and click ‘Publish changes’. The type of customization are given below:
Upload a Favicon or Site Logo: Click the current image and upload your logo or favicon.
Optimize the Navbar Menu: Options include removing breadcrumbs, turning off the search icon, duplicating the site as a template, and removing the Notion watermark.
Add More Pages: Click ‘Add page’, search for the page, and Notion will insert it into the navbar.
Publish Changes: Once done, click ‘Publish changes’.
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Note: These features are available on the $12/month plan. The free plan doesn’t offer these options, but you can access similar features with Bullet.so’s free plan.
Why Choose Bullet.so Over Notion for Navigation Bars?
While Notion offers a basic top navbar, Bullet.so provides advanced customization options that give your site a professional edge. Bullet.so allows you to tailor your navigation bar, guiding visitors to key pages and increasing conversion potential.
In contrast, Notion’s default navbar lacks flexibility, resulting in uniform designs across sites. This limits your ability to differentiate your site and stand out from competitors. Bullet.so makes it easy to build a custom Notion navbar without coding using an intuitive interface.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a breadcrumb menu in Notion?
Breadcrumbs display the path from the homepage to the current page, making it easy to navigate through hierarchies.
What are the navigation shortcuts in Notion?
Mac: CMD + [ (up), CMD + ] (down)
Windows: CTRL + [ (up), CTRL + ] (down)
How do I turn on the navigation bar in Notion?
There’s no direct toggle for the navbar in Notion. Instead, once you publish a site under the Plus Plan, the top navigation is auto-enabled through the Site customization settings. You can choose to show/hide breadcrumbs, logo, and search icon.
Does Notion’s navigation bar support dropdowns?
No, the built-in navbar is basic. For dropdowns, use external tools like Bullet.
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