How to Capture Website Thumbnails for a Notion Link Database

To show website thumbnails on cards in a Notion link database, add a Gallery view, then choose a card preview source: Page cover, Page content, or an image in a Files & media property. Add the image to each record using the source you choose. Notion’s documented settings do not establish that a URL property automatically fetches a website’s thumbnail, so plan to provide the image yourself.

1. Set up a Gallery view

Open the database.
For an existing database, select the plus sign beside the database name or current view, then choose Gallery. Notion’s Gallery view guide describes gallery views and their layout options.
Open the database settings menu at the top right and choose Layout.
Open Card preview and select where each card should get its image.

The image source is configured for the view. The source options differ in where you maintain the image on each database page.

2. Choose and fill in a card preview source

Preview source	Where to add the image	Best fit
Page cover	Set a cover image on each database page.	You want the image stored as the record’s cover.
Page content	Put the desired image or video in the first block of each page.	You are comfortable with the first block controlling the card preview.
Files & media property	Add a Files & media property, put an image in it for each record, and select that property as the preview source.	You want the image maintained in a dedicated database property.

Use a page cover

Select Page cover under Card preview. Open a record and set its cover image. Repeat for records that need a thumbnail. This keeps the image on the record page rather than in a database field.

Use the first page-content block

Select Page content, then put the image or video you want shown at the very top of each record’s page. The first block matters: moving another block above the image can change what appears on the card.

Use a Files & media property

Create or use a Files & media property, add an image to the records, and choose that property under Card preview. This makes the card image visible as a database field, which can be useful when you want to maintain thumbnail assignments alongside the link and other record data.

3. Fit or crop the image

In the gallery layout settings, use Fit image to control how the image sits in its card frame:

On: fits the whole image inside the frame, which can leave unused space around it.
Off: crops the image to fill the frame, so part of the image may be cut off.

To adjust the visible area, hover over the image and choose Reposition. Preview the result in the gallery, especially if thumbnails have different proportions.

4. What happens when you save a website link?

Notion’s Web Clipper can save pages and links from the web into lists, as described in its Reading List guide. Saving a link and assigning a gallery card image are separate tasks: the available official guidance does not say that clipping a page automatically sets a page cover, places an image in the first block, or fills a Files & media property.

Likewise, the reviewed documentation does not settle whether a URL property automatically fetches the website’s thumbnail. For a predictable gallery preview, add the image yourself through one of the supported sources above.

5. Capture an image of the website yourself

If you want the card image to show the website as it appears in a browser, capture a screenshot of the page, then add that image as the page cover, first content block, or Files & media value. The capture step creates the image; the Gallery card-preview setting tells Notion where to display it.

For manual capture, open the website at the viewport you want represented, capture the page using your browser or an appropriate screenshot tool, save the resulting image, and add it to the Notion record using your chosen preview source. Check that the saved image is readable at the size of the gallery card.

6. Troubleshooting

What you see	Likely cause	What to check
No image on the card	The Gallery preview source is unset, or the selected source has no image on that record.	Check Layout → Card preview, then confirm that each record has a cover, first-block image/video, or image in the selected Files & media property.
The wrong image appears	Page content is selected and a different block is first, or the chosen property contains another image.	Move the intended image to the first block, or correct the image in the selected property.
The image looks cropped	Fit image is off, so the image fills the frame by cropping.	Turn Fit image on to show the whole image, or use Reposition to adjust the crop.
The image appears with empty space around it	Fit image is on and the image does not match the card frame’s proportions.	Turn Fit image off if a full-bleed crop is preferable, then reposition as needed.
The link is saved but there is no thumbnail	Capturing the link and assigning a gallery image are distinct steps.	Add an image to one of the supported sources and select that source in Card preview.

7. Keep the gallery reliable and easy to maintain

Choose one source deliberately. Use page covers for cover-based records, the first content block when its ordering is stable, or a Files & media property when you want a dedicated image field.
Check new records. A view can use the same preview source for every card, but each record still needs an image in that source.
Keep first-block ordering in mind. With Page content selected, adding a new block above the image can change the preview.
Review framing. Fit image and Reposition affect how source images appear in cards; they do not change the source image itself.

This workflow is a Notion configuration task; the cited guidance does not specify a cost, performance target, or automatic website-image extraction guarantee.

Or skip the browser setup

ScreenshotNeo is a website screenshot API and MCP server. A single GET request can return an image or PDF; add the resulting image to a Notion page cover, first content block, or Files & media property, then select that source in Gallery settings. See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options.

curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webp

import requests

r = requests.get(
    "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot",
    params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"},
    timeout=90,
)
r.raise_for_status()
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)

const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://stripe.com' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Screenshot request failed: ${res.status}`);
await import('node:fs/promises').then(fs => fs.writeFile('shot.webp', Buffer.from(await res.arrayBuffer())));

Cookie banners, newsletter popups, and chat widgets are removed before the shot; each cleanup step can be turned off.
Bot checks, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed. Response headers report the page verdict and billing status.
An MCP server provides take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf tools for AI agents and MCP clients.
The Free plan includes 1,000 screenshots a month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000. Every feature is on every plan.

FAQ

Does Notion automatically fetch a thumbnail from a URL property?

The official material reviewed for this guide does not establish that it does. Add an image to a documented card-preview source for a predictable result.

Can I show a video as the card preview?

Notion’s guidance says a video can appear when it is the first block and Page content is selected.

Does Web Clipper set the Gallery thumbnail?

The Reading List guide supports using Web Clipper to save pages and links. It does not establish that clipping also assigns a card image.