Some things on a website are really lists: dishes and prices, staff and their roles, events and dates, questions and answers. Typing them into a page works until the third time you change one, and then the layout drifts and something gets missed. A data table keeps the list tidy, and the page lays it out the same way every time.
You decide what each row holds. A menu might have a name, a description, a price and a photo. A team might have a name, a role, a photo and an email address. Each of those is a field, and you choose what kind it is, so a price is a number and a photo is a picture.
Two kinds of publish are involved, and that is the part people miss. Putting the table on a page is a change to the page, so you publish the page once. After that, changing the rows is a change to the data, and you publish it with "Publish changes" on the Data tab. You do not need to open the editor again to add a dish.
A row can be kept as a draft, which keeps it off the live site until you are ready. Drag rows to change their order.
Step by step
In your dashboard, open Data. It may be under More in the menu.
Press "New table" and say what it is a list of, like Menu or Team.
Set the fields. It starts with Name and Description: rename them, add more with "+ Add a field", and choose a type for each.
The types are short text, long text, number, date, yes or no, pick from a list, picture, web link, email address and phone number.
Press "Save table", then "Add a row" for each thing on the list.
In the editor, add the section called "From your data" where you want the list to show.
Choose your table in the Data panel, then a layout, how many to show and what order.
Layouts: cards, list, testimonials, people, logos, questions and answers, or a table.
Publish the page.
From now on, change rows in Data and press "Publish changes" there.
If it does not go to plan
I added a row and it is not on my site.
Rows go live with "Publish changes" on the Data tab, not with the editor's Publish. Also check the row is not ticked "Keep as a draft".
A field shows in the wrong place.
In the editor's Data panel, "Which field goes where" lets you choose which field is the title, the text, the picture and so on. Each starts on "Kitset picks".
Can I put the same table on two pages?
Yes. Add the "From your data" section to each page and choose the same table. Change the rows once and both update when you press "Publish changes".
I deleted a table by mistake.
Deleting a table asks you to type its name first, because every row goes with it. If it has gone, tell us straight away.
I moved back to the $10 plan.
Your tables and the pages showing them stay as they are, and you can still change rows. Making a new table needs Pro.