Get Started With Toast Websites

In this Article: 

• Ensure Legal Compliance for Toast Websites 
• Toast Websites Overview
  • Preview Toast Websites
  • Before You Start
  • Saving and Publishing with Toast Websites
• Toast Websites Onboarding
  
  • Express Setup with AI-Driven Onboarding
  • Use a Web Crawler to Generate a New Website
  • Manual Setup
• Step 1: Branding and Basics
• Step 2: Pick Your Websites Pages
• Step 3: Websites Layout
• Step 4: Configure Online Ordering for Websites
• Want to Learn More?

Ensure Legal Compliance for Toast Websites

Note: Toast does not provide any advice or warranties regarding compliance with applicable laws, rules, or regulations in connection with Toast Websites.  

Toast Websites helps you build a fully customized website, including options like customizing footer colors to match your preferences. Please note that laws, rules, and regulations—such as those requiring ADA and/or WCAG compliance—may vary depending on your jurisdiction. It is your responsibility to ensure your website meets these requirements. 

Additionally, it is your responsibility to ensure that you own or have properly licensed rights to any content or other intellectual property displayed on or used in the creation of your Website. If you're unsure about your Website's compliance with ADA, WCAG, intellectual property, or other regulations, we recommend consulting an attorney for guidance.

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Toast Websites Overview

Once the Digital Storefront Pro Suite is added to your location(s), you can log in to Toast Web and start creating your restaurant’s website. To access these configurations, you’ll need the 6.9 Websites setup permission (learn more about permissions in our Permission Reference Guide). You can access Toast Websites from the left-hand navigation menu in the back end.  

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Preview Toast Websites

If you haven’t purchased Toast Websites but are interested in previewing your potential site, follow the steps below to preview it. This feature captures brand information and photos to help you build your site. 

1. In Toast Web, navigate to Websites. 
2. In the Toast Websites preview page, select Get started. 
3. If you have an existing website, paste the URL in the Add link field and select Next.
   1. The AI generator will begin crawling your existing website to capture brand information and photos to begin building the Toast Websites preview with the following information:
4. Once complete, select Generate Site. 

Based on the provided details, you will be able to preview your website on a desktop and a mobile version.

Your Toast Websites preview will be available to view and purchase for 7 days. To purchase, select Save & continue to editor. Select Buy Today, and you can purchase with the Digital Storefront Pro Suite or schedule a demo. 

Note: After seven days, the website preview will be deleted, and you will need to follow the steps above again to build the preview of your website. 

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Before You Get Started With Toast Websites

To complete all of the initial steps required to set up your website, it’s helpful to have the following information and files ready to go:

• Restaurant description - A brief description used by search engines, which will sometimes appear in search results.
• Logo image file - The highest quality image you have (.jpg, .jpeg, .png, .webp, or .svg), with a max file size of 5MB.
• Favicon image file (optional) - An icon that is used for web browser tabs. If you don’t have one, your logo image will be used. 
• Accent color - The hex code of the color that will be used for buttons and design elements. 
• Your domain name - The web address where you’d like your site to appear. 
• Font files (optional) - There are a number of font options available, but you can upload your own file (.otf, .ttf, .woff) for a custom font if you’d like.
• Any pictures you’d like to use on your website! Your menu images will be pulled in automatically.
• Video files - Choose a video relevant to your brand, with a max file size of 50MB and in landscape orientation ONLY.

The setup process involves three main steps:

• Branding and basics
• Pick your pages 
• Site layout
• Customize Online Ordering

Saving and Publishing with Toast Websites

Saving and publishing with Toast Websites functions similarly to any changes you make in Toast Web, but there are a few things to keep in mind while working in Toast Websites:

• The Sites editor has a Save button, a Publish button, and a Versions button
  • Selecting the Save button saves the site in its current working state, but does NOT publish changes to your website.
    • While in the Sites editor, any saved changes will be visible on your website within the editor as they are being worked on. These changes are not pushed to your actual Toast Website until you select Publish. These saved changes will be retained across multiple sessions until you select Publish.
  • Selecting Publish pushes your saved changes to your website. 
  • Selecting Versions shows your most recent saved versions of your website including time stamps for clarity. 
    
    • Selecting one of the listed versions reverts the site back to that state in the editor. You will still need to select Publish if you would like this version to be published. 

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Toast Websites Onboarding

You will start on the onboarding page to get started:

1. Log in to Toast Web and navigate to Websites.
2. Here, you will see the onboarding page below.  Select Get Started.
   
   
3. Select which products you intend to use: a Full Digital Storefront or Online Ordering Only page.
4. You will have the option to select:
   1. Express Setup: Provide a few brand details, and we’ll use AI to generate a website for you that you can continue customizing
   2. Manual Setup: Multi-step guide to craft each detail of your website and online ordering page.
      
      

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Express Setup With AI-Driven Onboarding for Toast Websites 

With Express Setup, you will be prompted to provide a few details to get started:

Note: Want to move information, color, theme, and images from your non-Toast website? See Use a Web Crawler to Generate a New Website in this article.

,

1. Enter the following information in the prompts:
   1. Required
      1. Brand Color
      2. Font style
      3. Tone of Voice
   2. Recommended 
      1. Logos & Images
      2. Tell us about your restaurant
2. Once complete, select Generate Website.
   1. The information provided will generate a basic Website for your location with the following:
      1. Homepage
      2. Menu
      3. Online Ordering 
      4. Our Story
      5. Community 
      6. Contact Us
      7. Note: If you subscribe to and use Toast Tables™, Toast Loyalty, Email Marketing, Toast Gift Cards, and/or Catering & Events, Toast will retrieve this information from your Toast Web settings to generate pages for these products. 
3. To make minor edits to the AI-generated page, select Remix layout.
   
   
   
   
4. Once you are pleased with your results, select Save & continue to editor, and your site will be created.
5. Now, you can select Edit Site on your Websites dashboard to continue making edits and customizing your site, including Toast product-specific pages such as Toast Tables™, Toast Loyalty, Email Marketing, Toast Gift Cards, and/or Catering & Events.

The following sections will cover these steps in greater detail, starting with the helpful information to gather before getting started.

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Use a Web Crawler to Generate a New Website

When generating new AI-powered Toast sites, use a web crawler to import color, theme, and photos from your old non-Toast site.

1. Log in to Toast Web and navigate to Websites.
2. Here, you will see the onboarding page below.  Select Get Started. 
3. Next, select Express Setup.
4. Enter the website link to import info and images for your new website and select Add link > Next. Toast will gather information, images, logos, and colors to help inform the brand identity for your new Toast Website. Toast will also gather site structure and URL paths already built into your old website making the transition to your Toast Website smoother by avoiding broken links, and ensuring there is no negative impact to your SEO. This information will be provided to the AI-driven workflow.
5. Once complete, you can select your brand details:
   1. Brand color
   2. Light or dark theme
   3. Image retrieval 
   4. About your restaurant 
6. Once complete, select Generate Site. The information entered will help generate the starter site. 
7. Your starter site will populate, and you can select Save and continue to editor.

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Manual Setup for Toast Websites 

Step 1: Branding and Basics

The first time you select Websites from the left-hand navigation menu in Toast Web, you’ll see the Toast Websites setup walkthrough. Select Get started and follow the guided instructions to add your restaurant description, colors, fonts, logo, and banner. As you update these fields, you will be able to see your changes in your preview window in real time. When you are ready to proceed, select Save and Continue. 

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 Step 2: Pick Your Websites Pages

Once you’ve completed the basic setup steps, you can select which pages you would like to have to start when your site is created.  Select from the list of available pages. Your Homepage, Menu, and Online Ordering pages will be selected by default. If you want to preview these pages, you can select the eye icon to view each page on the preview window. If you have additional Toast products such as gift cards, loyal, or email marketing, those products will be available to select from the list of pages. Visibility for all pages can be updated at any time. Select Save and Continue once you have made your selections.