Build your website

Build is the tab between Home and Run where your websites live. Each website sits on one board as a card. Open a card to see the website page by page, ask Ted for changes, and publish it when you’re ready. Ted does the building. You tell him what you want in your own words, and he designs, builds, checks and saves the website. You decide what goes live.

Build with five website cards on a board; the first is Live and shows 5 pages, Visit site and Edit, with Your work and Tools at the top and the board’s toolbar at the bottom.

Preview and change

See each page on a computer, tablet or phone, and point Ted at what to change.

Publish

Put your website online at its own address.

Version history

Look at any earlier version and go back to it.

How a website gets made

You never build a website by hand. You describe it to Ted, and he makes it. Your first website starts from a plan Ted writes with you:

Tell Ted about your business

Chat with Ted in your own words. He turns what you tell him into a plan and saves it.

Press Start build

When the plan is saved, the chat offers Start build. Only the owner can start the first build.

Watch Ted build it

A card appears on your board, marked “Starting”, then “Building”. It says “Ted is building your website” and shows about how long it usually takes. If it runs long, it says “Taking longer than usual”, and Ted keeps working.

Look at your new website

When Ted saves it, your website opens in the preview. The first time, a short tour shows you around Build.

To see Ted start a business from scratch, see Start your business with Ted.

Changes and new websites

After that, ask Ted in the chat for whatever you want: new words, another page, a different look, or a whole new website. Before Foundable saves any change, it checks that the website works. Each saved change becomes a new version, and Ted’s reply says “Build saved” with Open website. Nothing you or Ted change reaches visitors until you say so: you publish it yourself, or approve a change Ted hands you.

If a build doesn’t finish

Your website is safe when a build stops. Ted’s reply tells you what happened:

What you see	What it means	What to do
“Build stopped. The last version is unchanged.”	The build stopped before it saved.	Ask Ted again when you’re ready.
“Build was interrupted. The last version is unchanged.”	Something cut the build short.	Ask Ted again.
“Build stopped: the changed website failed its tests. Nothing was saved.”	The change didn’t pass Foundable’s checks, so nothing changed.	Ask again, maybe in other words.
“Build finished without changing anything, so no new version was saved.”	The build ran, but nothing on your website changed.	Say more about what you want.
“Paused — out of credits”	Your credits ran out partway through a change.	Press Get credits, then Continue.

Your board

Every website you have is a card on the board, with a picture of the website and its name.

On a card	What it means
“Live”	This is your published website, the one visitors see.
A page count, like “5 pages”	The website has more pages. Press the count to lay them out beside the card, then press a page to open the website there.
“Phone”	Ted made this website for phones. It opens in the phone-size preview.
“Starting”, “Building”	Ted is making this website now.
“Publishing…”	The website is going live now.
Visit site	Opens your live website. It shows only on the live website’s card.
Edit	Opens the website in the preview. You can also click its picture or name.

Right-click a card for Edit, Visit site and Show in chat.

Move around the board

The toolbar at the bottom of the board arranges your cards. It never changes your websites.

Control	What it does
Cursor	Click a card to open it, or drag it to move it.
Hand	Drag the whole board around.
References	Example websites and your own pictures for Ted to follow. See References.
Tidy up	Arranges your cards neatly. It needs two or more cards.
Undo, Redo	Takes back or redoes a move on the board.
Zoom out, the zoom level, Zoom in	Press the zoom level to fit every card on screen.

Scroll to zoom and drag to move around. Right-click an empty spot for Tidy up, Undo, Redo, Sort by (Default order, Name, Newest or Oldest), Zoom to fit and Zoom to 100%. On a phone, the toolbar keeps References, Tidy up, Undo, Redo and zoom to fit.

The board’s arrangement resets when you reload the page. Your websites stay exactly as they are.

Your work

Your work, at the top right of the board, lists every website with the date it was last edited. Type in “Search your work…” to find one by name. A website Ted hasn’t saved yet reads “Not saved yet”.

Rename, duplicate or delete a website

Open the website, then press ⋮ (Website actions) at the top of the preview.

Rename: type a new name under “Website name” and press Save. To change its web address instead, see Your web address.
Duplicate: makes a copy with “copy” added to its name, and opens it. A copy of a website that sells starts with no products: “The copy has no products yet; add them in Payments.” You can’t duplicate a website before it’s saved, or while its database is being set up (“This website can’t be duplicated yet.”).
Delete: asks “Delete website?” first. The website leaves Build. A website linked to GitHub keeps its repository there.

Deleting your live website takes it offline. The dialog warns you: “Its live site goes offline.”

References

Press References in the board’s toolbar to give Ted pictures to follow.

Explore shows example websites in families like “Food & hospitality” and “Local services”. Pick one and press Use for new website: Ted will use that layout for your next new website. Foundable prepares the message in the chat: “Nothing starts until you press Send.”
Your uploads holds your own screenshots and photos. Press Upload image to add a PNG, JPEG or WebP picture from your computer. Then press Use as reference, and it guides Ted on your next message.

References guide Ted. They don’t appear on your website by themselves. When you leave Build, your picks clear.

Tools and Publish

Tools, at the top right of the board and of every open website, holds what runs behind your website: Payments, Database, Security, GitHub, AI and Emails. See Tools.
Publish, at the top right of an open website, puts it online. See Publish your website.

Who can do what

Everyone in your foundable can see Build. What they can change depends on their role:

Role	In Build, they can
Owner and admin	Everything a member can, plus Viewing as and the Emails tool. Only the owner starts the first build.
Member	Ask Ted for changes, use Select, Edit text and Swap photo, publish, go back to earlier versions, and rename, duplicate or delete websites.
View only	Look at every website and its history. They can’t change, publish or delete anything.

To add people, see Invite your team.

FAQ

Can visitors see my website while Ted is building it?

No. Visitors see only what you publish. Your website stays out of public view until you press Publish, and later changes wait until you publish an update.

Can I have more than one website?

Yes. Describe a new website to Ted in the chat, and it appears on your board. Only one website is live at a time, though: publishing another one replaces it. See One live website at a time.

Do I need to save my work?

No. Every change Ted saves becomes a new version, and every version stays in Version history.

Does Ted change my website without asking?

In the chat, Ted works on your website when you ask him. While Run is on, he can also work on it by himself, but he never publishes. A change to your live website waits on its card until you press Approve or Deny. See Decisions and website changes.

What if I run out of credits during a change?

The change pauses and says “Paused — out of credits”. Press Get credits, then Continue, and Ted finishes it. Your first website’s build never pauses for credits. See Plans and credits.

How do I see the Build tour again?

Open the account menu, choose Tutorial hub, then pick “Your website, and how to change it”.

Tools

Payments, your database, security, GitHub, AI and emails.

Chat with Ted

Ask Ted for changes and follow his work.

Get paid with Payments

Sell from your website.

Use your own domain

Give your website an address like yourbusiness.com.

Getting started

Work with Ted

Build

Run

Domains

Payments

Inbox and Schedule

Account and billing

Help

Preview and change

Publish

Version history