Data from Notion loads inconsistently — some blocks stay empty for several minutes

[LV-Moortgat]

Hi everyone,
I’m experiencing an issue with my Softr app where data coming from Notion sometimes does not load when a page is opened. This is becoming a concern as this app is intended to be used by external clients in production.

Description of the issue:

When opening certain pages, several blocks (tables, lists, charts, etc.) appear empty, without any error message (“failed to fetch”) and without any loading indicator.

After a few minutes (around 3–5 minutes), the data eventually appears, without refreshing the page.

Refreshing the page does not resolve the issue.

The behaviour occurs mostly during the first seconds after accessing the app, but not systematically.

The issue affects all block types (Lists, Charts, Item Details, Tables, etc.).

It does not affect all datasets equally.
Example: when a page is primarily based on the “Journées” table, data coming from other related tables often takes much longer to load (either via rollups or via filtered blocks linked to “Journées”).
When I’m opening a page, data from previous may stay a few seconds before disappearing

(On the second screen, the emails are coming from the previously visited page, not from the current one. The rating out of 5 should be empty or set to 0, as it does not exist in the database. The last list is not displaying either.)

Data configuration:

I’m using Softr’s Notion Data integration.

For instance, some database sizes:

“Journées”: ~500 rows

“Formations”, “Groupes”: fewer than 500 rows

“Inscriptions” and “Participants”: several thousand rows

The data model includes multiple relations and rollups across databases. (necessary)

Observations & troubleshooting:

No errors appear in the browser console.

Only some blocks remain empty while others load correctly.

Tested on Chrome and in private navigation.

The data eventually loads by itself after a few minutes.

__________________

This app is designed to be used by customers of our company.
Having pages randomly display empty data for several minutes creates confusion, reduces trust, and is not acceptable in a production client-facing environment.

Is this behaviour expected due to Notion API latency or throttling with large datasets?

How does Softr handle caching and data hydration when multiple related tables are involved?

Are there recommended best practices to optimise initial page load when using rollups and large Notion databases?

Thanks in advance for your help and guidance! I hope my message is complete — please let me know if any additional information is needed

[Jjenglert]

Hi there! Sorry you’re experiencing this. It’s not something we’re seeing wide spread though. Can you contact live support so they can have an engineer view your app to see what is going on?

[LV-Moortgat]

Thanks for your answer!
I’ll do that and get back to the community if I receive a response

[Mads]

Did you find a solution? I just sent the below note in the live support. I have expressed load-concerns before, and not gotten a clear answer.

I only have a few hundred items in the database, it should be babyfood to eat. I do have 4 blocks on one page (three inside the same block) hence why I asked if Softr combines API calls which it should, as it could otherwise be the API limit from Notion, but even that should be easy to fix. @Jjenglert great that you are taking this serious as I too have lost trust in the backend.

Hi Customer Support,

I am experiencing unacceptable latency and fall-out issues in my. App. A few technical questions in order for my team to understand the root cause. We use Notion as database.

1. Is Softr able to render all 4 blocks on the same page from one API call, or does ot make one API call for each block/seperate calls. I need to understand this to make Notion API call limits.
2. I experience errors in the app where content even from a single-block page does not load, sometimes in the beginning of login. It may then load after a reload of page, and drop back off after a few seconds. So I need to understand if your backend uses Retry with backoff, and why the enabled cache in your backend does not protect the UI.
3. Are Notion side API calls pr logged in users? Ie will the issue accelerate with multiple users on the platform at the same time?

Please, can I get a technical response to this request, as I need to contain this issue to understand if Softr is able to support our frontend needs.

We have considered migrating to Supabase to expand api-call rates, however I would need to fully understand the above questions, as our developer does not see that the Notion API limit is a logical root cause of the Softr issues we are experiencing.

[artur]

Replied you in a different thread Performance issue - #12 by artur