I’m so thankful for all the information I was able to gather online when I first decided to start a food blog. Without it, I’m not sure if I would’ve had the courage to begin. What I want to do today is give you as much information as I can so that you are one step closer to starting your food blog! If along the way you have any questions, just write them down and send me an email! I am more than happy to help!
Step 1
Identify your blogging goals. Do you want to have a space where you share your recipes from time to time or do you have bigger plans to grow and monetize your blog? These are essential questions to ask so that you don’t make the same mistake I did in the beginning. I didn’t think long and hard about what I wanted to do so I shied away from paying a little money to host my blog. You are either someone that wants to start a blog for the first time or someone who is thinking about making the switch to a self hosted site (like I did).
Basically you have two options
- Sign up with a free blogging platform like WordPress.com or if you already have and want to switch…
- Buy a domain name and pay for a self hosted site (domain name is free if you purchase a hosting plan through Bluehost)
Since I was unsure about what I wanted my blog to be, I decided to sign up for through WordPress.com for free. This was great because I didn’t pay anything but when I decided that I wanted to grow my blog I wasn’t able to customize and monetize it how I wanted. So, after a few months I decided to make the switch and pay for a self hosted site. At first I was so scared, thinking it would be such a hassle to make the switch, but I did it in one day!!!
So how did I make this switch? I used Bluehost! I can’t say it enough, this was so easy! To transfer all my blogging contents in one day and to have my site running smoothly was amazing. They have a wonderful customer service team that helped me out via chat. I’m still amazed to this day how smooth the transition was.
So no matter if you are starting a blog that you want to grow or you’re needing to make the switch to a self hosted site, I recommend Bluehost. You’ll be able to have so much more control of your blog and its future by using this route. Don’t feel overwhelmed by all the different plans because the cheapest plan is all you need!
Step 2
After you’ve signed up with Bluehost, install Wordpress. You’ll be able to do this through your Bluehost dashboard. WordPress has been rated as the #1 blogging platform out there! Best part, it’s free!
Step 3
Choose a WordPress theme for your blog. What’s great is that there are tons of free ones that will make your blog look professionally done! Free once again, you gotta love that!
Step 4
Download some useful plugins through Worpress. My favorite for my food blog is Recipe Card. It allows you to create beautiful recipe cards that you can customize to include pictures, nutritional information and so much more.
Step 5
Start blogging! My number one suggestion for food bloggers is to invest in a DSLR and take good quality photos which you should then submit to websites like Foodgawker, Tastespotting, and Tasteologie. If you want to learn more about what I use and my photography recommendations visit my Food Photography and Blogging Resources page.
I hope this information gets you one step closer to starting your dream food blog. Please contact me if you have any questions!
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