How to Start a Food Blog in Less Than 60 Minutes

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2 How to Start a Food Blog in Less Than 60 Minutes Free ebook By JustPaleoFood.com 1

3 Thank you for downloading this ebook. Before we get started, please remember that you are allowed to share this ebook on the internet but you are not allowed to edit the content of this ebook in any way. A lot of effort has been put into making this ebook and we are very confident that if you follow the instructions which we have laid out in this ebook for you, it will be a cake-walk for you to start your own food blog in less than 60 minutes. So let s get started, shall we? 2

4 Contents How to Start a Food Blog... 4 Choosing a Domain Name... 5 Buying a Domain Name and Web Hosting... 7 Installing WordPress Choosing a WordPress Theme Installing WordPress Plugins Wrapping It Up and A Few Tips Resources

5 How to Start a Food Blog Do you like cooking? It doesn t matter if you follow the paleo diet or not but if you are a foodie then you should definitely think about starting your own blog. Now we know that most of the people don t have the technical knowledge to start a blog but it s really very easy to start your own food blog. Here are the three most important terms which you need to know: 1. Domain name (free) 2. Web hosting (as low as $3.49/mo) 3. WordPress (free) And that s pretty much it! Let s cover each of these in detail. 4

6 Choosing a Domain Name The very first thing that you have to decide is a domain name for your blog. A domain name is what people type into their address bar in order to visit a particular site. Think of justpaleofood.com for a second it is our website and to be very honest, it is a rather easy-to-remember domain name. You have so many options to choose from, and by that we mean you have to decide what kind of a domain you want. We believe there are two options for you: 1. Brand yourself 2. Build a brand If you want to brand yourself then pick a domain name which has your name and the niche of your blog. Let s assume your name is Jessica and your niche is Paleo, your options would be: - JessicaLovesPaleo.com - JessicaEatsPaleo.com - PaleoNJessica.com Your possibilities are endless! Now if you want to build a brand then you have to choose a domain name which is easy to remember and not too long. Here are a few domain names which are available (at the time of writing this ebook) and they are relatively easy to remember as well: - ThePaleoLove.com - FoodForPaleo.com 5

7 - LiveItPaleo.com Once you have decided the domain name, head over to Bluehost and check the availability of your domain name this is highly important and you should do it as soon as you have brainstormed a domain name. The last thing you would want is to brainstorm a domain name which is already registered. This is how the domain registration page looks like when you are on Bluehost: Your domain name is free when you purchase web hosting from Bluehost. In the next page, we ll show you how to purchase web hosting and register a domain name from Bluehost within a matter of minutes. Click here to get started with Bluehost and get a free domain name. 6

8 Buying a Domain Name and Web Hosting Never heard of the term web hosting before? Basically web hosting allows your website to remain live on the internet 24/7. It s where all of your website s data including your posts, images, video and other stuff is stored. In order to start your own food blog, choosing the right web hosting company should be your top priority because if your website is slow, you lose visitors every second. We recommend Bluehost because it is costeffective, easy-to-use and their support is top-notch. Click here to get started with Bluehost and get a free domain name. When you visit Bluehost, you will see a header image which looks something like this: Please remember the header image may not always look the same but you will see a Get started now button. Click on the button and proceed: 7

9 We suggest that you either choose the starter package or the plus package, the choice is totally up to you. If you want to host a single website, then choose the starter package, otherwise go for the plus package. The next step is to register your domain name which comes free with your web hosting: 8

10 Since you will be registering a brand new domain name, just type it in the new domain text field and click the next button. If your domain name is available, you will be taken to the billing and contact page: 9

11 Check the Domain Whois Privacy box and avoid the above checkboxes because you will not be requiring those facilities. The reason why Domain Whois Privacy is important is because it hides your personal information from people who do a background check on your domain name this is important to keep your inbox free from SPAM and protect your contact information as well. Go with the 12 Month Price option if you are tight on budget it will cost you $4.95/mo which translates into less than $60/yr. 10

12 Installing WordPress Click on the Install WordPress button and proceed to the next page: 11

13 Click on the Start button and proceed: Select your domain name and click the Check Domain button: Tick the Show Advanced Options checkbox and you will see important details about your blog such as your Site Name, Admin Username, Admin Password and Address: 12

14 Once you have checked the Terms and Conditions box, click on the Install Now button and you will be taken to the following page: 13

15 Voila! You have successfully installed WordPress and you are now ready to start blogging. Let s get into it! It wasn t that hard setting up your own blog, right? You have bought a domain name, web hosting and successfully installed WordPress on your web hosting account. We hope it took you less than 60 minutes to start your blog. Now you have to choose a theme, install a couple of essential plugins to make your blog look even more beautiful and secured. 14

16 Choosing a WordPress Theme You can either choose a free or premium theme for your blog. If you don t want to shell out money, then simply pick a free WordPress theme. As a heads-up, we would strongly recommend you to never download cracked or nulled themes from any website. You may find websites which allow you to download premium themes for free, but please don t fall for the trap; those themes are infected with viruses and other malwares. Click here to learn how to install a theme in WordPress. When choosing a theme, please keep in mind that it is: - A responsive theme (looks beautiful on every device) - A minimalist theme (doesn t have to be too fancy) - Extremely fast (one of the main reasons of a slow website) - Easy to customize (you re no Chuck Norris, sorry!) Free WordPress Themes Our favorite place to browse free WordPress themes is the official WordPress page for themes. Feel free to Google free wordpress themes and you will thousands of WordPress themes online. Premium WordPress Themes This is where you take your blog to a whole different level if you have extra money to spare, please buy a premium WordPress theme. Not only will it make your website look beautiful, but it will also make the userexperience better. Although there are several websites selling premium 15

17 WordPress themes but we d highly recommend you to check out ThemeForest if you are interested in purchasing a WordPress theme. ThemeForest is a platform where developers sell their WordPress themes at a fairly minimal cost and one of the biggest advantages of ThemeForest is that you get to see the reviews of other buyers and the ranking of a particular WordPress theme. 16

18 Installing WordPress Plugins Plugins are an essential part of your WordPress arsenal. Please keep in mind you only need a handful of plugins as installing too many of them can slow down your website or even mess up your blog too. Click here to know how to install a WordPress plugin. Here are some of our favorite WordPress plugins: - AddThis: Allows your visitors to share a particular blog post on various social networks including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and etc. - Easy Recipe: Formats your recipes for better search engine optimization and makes your blog look even more organized. - WordPress SEO by Yoast: We highly recommend that you install this plugin and play around with it! It makes your website highly optimized for search engines. - Contact Form Plugin: Adds a contact page to your website. - Sucuri Security: Makes your website secure and helps you protect it from hackers and malwares. 17

19 Wrapping It Up and a Few Tips Now that you have understood how to start a food blog in less than 60 minutes, it is time to add content and start generating traffic to your blog. One of the most important things that you have to do is create an online presence and by that we mean create an account on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Yummly and other social networks which you actively use. If you don t, please start using them more frequently because these are goldmines. Every source of traffic counts and you never know when you hit the home run. When you add content to your blog, make sure that you add photos of your recipes. If possible, invest in a camera and buy a decent one if you are serious about food blogging. A photo of your recipe is the most important feature (at least on Pinterest). Visitors are very picky and they would avoid sharing recipes with low-res photos. Imagine going to a restaurant and seeing photos of their food which look like as if the food had been cooked a week ago. We bet you wouldn t order that, would you? The same is the case with photos and recipes on the internet taking great photos means receiving more traffic to your blog. 18

20 Feel free to us at if you need any assistance. We are always here to help you! We want you to start your own food blog but that s only going to happen if you put in a little effort and are very passionate about it. We don t charge anything, so if you ever need help please let us know. We make money when you purchase web hosting from Bluehost or buy a theme from ThemeForest via our affiliate links this does not cost you any extra money even if you buy from them. But it helps us in paying our hosting bills and other expenses as these companies pay us a small commission for every sale we refer to them. Thank you so much for reading this ebook. Best Regards, Shaheryar Saleem JustPaleoFood.com Administration Team 19

21 Resources Bluehost.com The place where you can buy domain name and web hosting. WordPress.org Everything you need to know about WordPress. ThemeForest.net Premium WordPress themes at extremely reasonable prices. 20