Publish menu and design changes
Know exactly which changes go live instantly and which need publishing, across menu items, specials, Design Studio themes, and branding, then verify the guest view.
The one rule to remember
Ding has two kinds of changes. Menu content is live the moment you save it. Design themes are a draft you publish when ready. Knowing which is which prevents surprises.
- Menu items, availability, and specials go live instantly with no publish step.
- Design Studio themes are a draft first, then Publish to push them live.
- Branding in Settings applies as you save it.
Menu edits are live instantly
Everything you change in the Menu tab reaches guests immediately. There is no draft or publish button for menu content, so treat every edit as live.
- Creating or editing an item, including name, price, description, and section, takes effect right away.
- Marking an item sold out hides it from guests and stops the Waiter Agent recommending it the instant you toggle it.
- Starring an item as a special makes the Waiter Agent lead with it immediately.
- Bulk uploading a menu file runs OCR. Review the extracted items, then import, and they are live once saved.
Design Studio is a draft-then-publish flow
Unlike the menu, your customer-facing design stays a working draft until you publish it. This lets you experiment freely without guests seeing half finished changes.
- Pick a theme world as your starting point. Only themes marked ready can be selected.
- Tune atmosphere, motion intensity, effects, and color palette in the live preview.
- Toggle the desktop and phone preview to check both guest devices.
- Watch for the Unpublished changes badge. It means your edits are still a draft.
- Press Publish to push the design live. The studio then shows Live now.
Branding lives in Settings
Logo, colors, and imagery are separate from theme design and are managed in Settings. Design Studio uses these as your brand defaults.
- Open Settings and then Appearance to set your logo, hero image, mascot, and brand colors.
- These carry into customer-facing surfaces and give Design Studio a consistent starting palette.
Always verify the guest view
After any change, instant or published, look at what guests actually see. The public menu is the source of truth for the live experience.
- Use the View Menu link to open your public page at /restaurant/your-slug.
- Inspect it like a guest: prices, availability, specials, photos, and the design theme.
- If something looks off, fix it at the source and refresh. Menu fixes are instant, while design fixes need another Publish.
Quick checklist
Run through this before and after you publish anything guests will see.
- Before: item names, prices, availability, and descriptions are correct.
- Before: specials are starred and sold-out items are marked.
- Before: preview the design on both desktop and phone.
- After: press Publish for design changes, since menu changes need no publish.
- After: open the public menu and confirm the guest view matches your intent.