I run a food-centric content business that's supported by a number of income streams including:
- ads
- sponsored content
- recipe classes
- commercial food photography
- ebooks
- cookbooks
- my own products
This page contains affiliate links to some of these services, which may earn me a share of sales. These recommendations are 100% mine regardless of this, and there are higher paying alternatives out there that I'm not recommending because I don't believe in them.
Domain
I recommend registering your domain at either Cloudflare or Namecheap, as these are two companies whose core business involves domains. I would not register my domain at the same place as my hosting company because it puts too much risk in one place.
Hosting
I use BigScoots for hosting! They're great for:
- pagespeed
- properly configured servers that reduce my tech headaches
- great support
Quality hosting is something most people don't really understand the value of, until long after they've wasted hours on incompetent support or been led down the wrong path.
Don't be tempted by cheap hosting from other companies - this will always come back to haunt you and will cost you far more than doing it right from the start.
Theme
I run the Feast Plugin with the Foodie Pro theme.
The best option if you're just getting started is the Feast Plugin Starter plan with the Fresh Site White Glove, which gets you set up and configured very quickly so that you can start putting out content.
The full Feast Plugin helps to:
- optimize WordPress
- improve pagespeed
- improve user experience
- write high quality posts for my readers
- comply with accessibility standards
The Feast+ plan is perfect for sites that want help customizing their site to enhance their brand image, which can drive additional income once you hit a base recipe count and social following.
Recipe card
I use WP Recipe Maker for structuring my recipe data in a way that's user-friendly and provides the schema that searches engine need. There's a free version that has everything needed to get started, but the premium has lots of great features like the nutrition calculator.
Tech support
Even with everything running optimized with hosting and your theme, there's third party plugins and general tech questions about running an online business that you need guidance with.
Nerdpress works with the top food bloggers and has run into every issue there is - they've had a solution or provided guidance that would've taken me hours each month.
Learning
Running a digital business is a life-long learning experience, and Food Blogger Pro is the best resource out there for learning about all the different parts involved in the recipe content space.
Equipment
My equipment includes:
- Nikon D500
- Lighting from Amazon
- Backdrops from backdrops
Products
I sell ebooks/physical products through my Shopify store. Ecommerce functionality would slow down my food blog so I keep it on a separate platform that specializes in sales and payment processing.