In the years I have been blogging I have had many people ask me how they too could start a food blog. I love my blog and I can’t imagine my life without it. If you’re considering starting a food blog I would give you one piece of advice: Just Do It. Seriously.
While food blogs do take work it isn’t nearly as hard as you think it is. You don’t have to be an expert photograph or a web developer. In fact you don’t have to know how to code at all. I made an easy to understand guide to creating a food blog that you too can use. I hope you find it easy to follow and it helps you get started! If you do leave a comment at the bottom with your blog so everyone else can come and check it out!
How to Start a Food Blog
I started my blog on Blogger years ago. It worked for me at first but I quickly grew out of the functionality and wanted more control and support. With self-hosted WordPress blogs you can get support from your hosting company which Blogger doesn’t offer. If I were to do it all over again I would definitely start out with WordPress. But if you want to try out Blogger first (because let’s face it – it’s free!) here is a tutorial: Create a Blogger Blog
If you want to start a WordPress blog simply follow the steps below.
Step 1: Pick a Domain Name
This is the fun part! I would start by writing down what you want your blog to be about. Pick a few different names and think them over. You’ll be stuck with this choice for a while so choose wisely! This is a great time to sit down and think about your goals with the blog and why you’re doing it.
After you have found some names you like check to see what is available. There are plenty of places to do this like: http://www.checkdomain.com.
Step 2: Pick a Hosting Service
There are plenty of hosting services available. I personally use bluehost for my blog and love it. They have a great customer support and as a new customer you can sign-up for Quick Start phone sessions where an IT professional calls you and walks you through how to get started and set-up your new blog.
Step 3: Install WordPress
After you create your account with your host you’ll need to install WordPress. This process is super easy but depends on the host you choose. If you choose bluehost here is an awesome video that walks you through how to install WordPress in a few easy steps: Install WordPress on bluehost
Step 4: Install a Theme
There are a lot of WordPress themes out there. There are some easy free ones available. To install one of the free themes you will navigate in your WordPress dashboard to Appearance | Themes.
There are a lot of different themes to choose from. They each offer different things. If you’re just starting out and want something that is easy and offers a lot of support considering purchasing a premium theme. These are a little easier to use out of the box and offer support for people that are feeling unsure.
The most commonly used is probably the Genesis Framework from StudioPress. It’s what runs this blog. While it costs a little bit of money it definitely was very helpful for me when getting started.
If you do go with this option you’ll purchase the theme and download it from StudioPress. Then when in Themes in your WordPress Dashboard you’ll choose “Add New” at the top and upload the file.
After you’ve chosen your theme be sure to click “Activate” then you’re ready to go.
Step 5: Install Plugins
Plugins are your new best friend. They are the way you’ll add functionality to your website without having to write any code! Some of the Plugins I think every blog needs include:
All in One Favicon: This lets you change the favicon at the top of your site. (Hint: Favicons are those little icons you see next to the website name in tab of the browser).
Simple Social Icons: This gives you the pretty little icons that link to your Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. accounts. It looks like this:
Akismet: This helps to keep spam comments off your blog because no one likes spam.
Step 6: Get Blogging!
Now that your blog is all set up it’s time to start blogging. Don’t worry you’ll be great! Try to post as often as possible at first to engage more readers. After you post be sure to put your posts out there for people to find. Some places I use are:
Seriously – go – blog! You’re going to love it. Be sure to post a link to your blog below so we can all go and check it out!
Some of the links on this page are affiliate links to which I may receive commission if you purchase.
