Start A Blog
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Secrets Revealed: Are you interested in learning how to start a Food Blog? We started Natasha’s Kitchen in 2009 and I’m so glad we did! It has grown into a very fulfilling and seriously FUN full time career for my husband and I. We’ve gotten so much helpful advice from top food bloggers over the years and we are so happy to be able to do the same for you. We’ve found that the most successful people are also the most willing to help others. We created this page to share advice based on what we’ve done that worked and also mistakes we’ve made (and some were so time-consuming and stressful that we want to spare you the same troubles we had).
Your blog can be LIVE in less than 30 minutes; no technical skills required! Let’s dive right in to: How to Start a Food Blog 🙂
Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means we earn a commission if you purchase something after clicking the link. As always, we only recommend products and services that we trust.
How To Start a Food Blog:
First of all, I wanted to share a really great resource with you that I think would be super helpful for many of you.
If you have a blog or are considering one (even if it’s not a food blog), you need to look into Food Blogger Pro. It’s a membership website for food bloggers that shows you how to set up and grow your food blog step-by-step. It has 250+ video tutorials to teach you everything from:
- Starting a blog (step-by-step video instructions!)
- Building traffic and growing your blog
- Improving your food photography, and editing photos
- Social media setup and growth
- Utilizing all the “essential tools” for your blog (Google analytics, managing giveaways)
- How to generate an income through your blog
- Writing and creating an e-book
Food Blogger Pro is a membership-based website so you have the option of a monthly membership or yearly membership. It will take your blog to the next level and that’s why I’m so excited to share it with you!
(Step 1) Naming YOUR Blog
If you are serious about your blog, take some time to brainstorm a domain name. Pick something that is catchy, relevant and easy to remember. Run your ideas by your closest friends or fam and get feedback. I think my sister Alla gave me the idea for NatashasKitchen.com! Head on over to GoDaddy and plug in your ideas. This part is fun and you can stake your claim on your unique domain name asap!
Once you’ve purchased your name, also purchase domain privacy (so your home address isn’t floating on the internet) and also open accounts on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and anywhere else that you can secure your business name (i.e @natashaskitchen).
(Step 2): Webhost
1. The two biggest factors to consider when choosing a hosting company are reputation, customer service and performance. We recommend Rocket.net and signing up is easy, fast, and secure. Their hosting is delivered and optimized by Cloudflare Enterprise, making our website load quickly for all of our readers around the world. I am an affiliate with Rocket so let them know I sent you and you will get a 20% discount on your hosting plan.
(Step 3): Installing WordPress
After you’ve signed up with Rocket.net you will need to install WordPress (a blogging software). We have used WordPress from the birth of our blog and love it because of it’s simplicity; it’s very user-friendly and installation is a breeze. The team at Rocket.net can walk you through the process.
You’re there. You’re officially a blogger. Congrats!!
Choosing a Theme or Design for your Blog
Thesis Theme for WordPress
– We started out with Thesis and used it for about 2 years. Genesis is a very popular theme as well.
Free Themes for WordPress
– WordPress has tons of free themes available if you’re not ready to purchase a “premium” theme right. Please do some research and check the theme’s rating before downloading and install it onto your blog. Avoid themes with three stars or less.
If you’re serious about your blog and want it to the next level, invest in a custom web design. Cre8d redesigned our blog in 2015 and it was blog changing! We continue to work with them and I always recommend them; worth every penny. If you get a quote from them, let them know I sent you by using my referral code: NK.
Creating an Income With Your Blog
When you’re first starting out, if you decide to place ads on your site, they will help to cover costs. As your blog grows with time, dedication and hard work, it is possible to create a full time income from blogging. The primary ad network we work with is Adthrive.
Click Here for More: Blogging Resources
I hope you found this tutorial on how to start a food blog helpful and do let me know once you’ve published your first blog post. Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging. 🙂
Hi! I’m Natasha Kravchuk, a New York Times bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, food photographer, and writer. Here you’ll find delicious, reliable recipes made with simple ingredients, plus easy step-by-step photos and videos to help you cook confidently at home. 
Hi, Natasha, thank you so much for your blog. I recently have become a stay-at-home mom and have beeb rediscovering my culinary skills and joy of cooking for my family. Your blog is one of my greatest recipe sources!
Since now i’ve been cooking often enough I can justify buying a Kitchen-aid mixer (before i didn’t see a point of paying $400 for an item i rarely use) and I saw you had a link to the similar one you own, but can’t find that link anymore. There used to be a link to all the items that you recommend, but I can’t find that either.
Would you help me find it please? Thank you
Hi Luda, yes, here is the link for our “shop” I haven’t found a place to put it on my new site design: https://natashaskitchen.com/shop-3/
I’m also interested in it items you recommend, but when I click that link it says page not found 🙁
Ashley, I looked at the links on this page and couldn’t find any broken links. Can you send me page address, if you don’t mind so that I can get it resolved. Thank you :).
Do u make chicken encheladas in white sause?
I’ve tried a couple times but the recipes I were was using were not great. If I come up with something wonderful I will definitely share!
Hello Natasha! Ive started my own blog. Did you start out with the Thesis theme when you first started? If so how much did you pay at the beginning? email me directly at iramishkov@gmail.com. thanks!
Hi Irina, We are still using Thesis although we hired someone to redesign it (coming soon!) :), but it was a good starting point for us. You might also look into Genesis.
Thank you! Your information has been very useful. One other thing i wanted to ask- where do you find the genesis theme?. For some reason i cant find it.
Are you on wordpress? It should be searchable under the “appearance –> themes” portion of your dashboard.
Hi Natasha,
Thanks for sharing on how to start a food blog :).
Noticed that you need to pay the webhost for the blog. I remember there is free blog offered by google website. May i know whats the difference between this paid blog and unpaid blog?
Thank you for your time, i am thinking to set up one but wondering whether i can manage it or not.;)
Love your food blog.
God bless you!
Joo
Hi Joo! I’m not familiar with the free google website, but with wordpress, you don’t have full control when it’s the free one. For example, you can’t work with most ad networks and place ads on a free one, where you can on a paid one.
Thank you so much for sharing!
You’re very welcome 🙂 I hope you found the info useful 🙂
Hello Natasha,
I stumbled across your blog while googling “road trip snacks”, as my husband and I will be going to see The Who Wednesday night with friends, and wanted ideas for a take along dinner. I was drawn in by the chocolate cream cheese frosting and just started lurking. Thank you for your genuine kindness, that comes through on your posts and your “getting started with a blog” piece. I have toyed with the idea and currently have a list of subjects, but that’s about is. Your shared knowledge is truly inspiring – may you have continued success! – Christine
Thank you so much Christine and welcome to the blog! It’s awesome to know that we can be found through that search 🙂 I’m so glad that page is helpful to you about starting a blog. I’d definitely encourage you to start 🙂 It has become such a rewarding career for us.
Nice!
Just found your site by googling “chocolate cherry cake” I’m going to make drunken cherry brownies today and wanted to see if there was a recipe I could use to mingle w/recipe I plan on using.
Anyway, I found your page on starting your own blog too and I’m delighted and moved by your generosity and affection for your readers.
Thank you!
Welcome to the site! I’m so happy you’re here :). Thank you so much for your sweet comment 🙂
Hi Natasha,
Thank you for the information and tips on how to start a blog. I enjoy your blog and recipes. I am a graduate of California School of Culinary Arts, Le Cordon Bleu, and am planning to start a food blog. My fear of starting a blog was that it would take away any of my free time from my husband and 2 boys. How do you manage to do it while being a wife and mommy?
For us, it has become a family business. We try to do our work while our son is at school now. It was a little tougher to time manage while he was younger and before he started kindergarten. It was especially tough while I was in school and working full-time as a nurse. It was a gradual switch from working as a nurse and my husband working at Verizon over to both of us working full-time on the blog. I did not spend nearly as much time on my blog when I first started up compared to how much time I spend on it now. I would recommend doing what you can . If a blog is something that you are passionate about, it’s definitely worth starting. I wish you great success and blessings to your family!
Hi Natasha! Thank you for the information. It’s very and very useful. Could I ask you to visit my website to say your professional blogger opinion. It seems to me that my blog is the worst among all food blogs. I’m struggling with styling and taking pictures of the food I cook. Some pieces of advice? What helped you to take such beautiful pictures? And can I write you in Ukrainian? Thank you very much!
Your layout looks nice to me! I think you don’t give yourself enough credit. When we started our blog, we were way behind where you are. You have a great collection of recipes! As far as tips – there’s so much to go into :). What photo editing software do you use? Do you shoot in raw format? I’d suggest you only photograph in natural light if possible. I’d suggest getting the Tasty Food photography ebook that we linked to above if you want to improve photography – that helped us a ton. It’s much more difficult for me to try to read Ukrainian so I prefer English. Thanks for writing in 🙂
Natasha:
I love your site. I am just getting started and my focus is lower calorie home cooking. Would love for you to take a look. I am from Idaho originally and reside in the Spokane area. Hope to continue conversations.
Eldonna
Your website looks great! Thanks for writing. It’s always nice to meet other bloggers :). I love that you offer health-focused cooking classes. That’s brilliant and must be so fun!
Hi, Thank You very much foe sharing this information to start a blog.My daughter wants to start a blog.
Take Care,
Dave Olivia
San Diego, CA USA
My pleasure, Dave :).
I have a funny question…can i make money blogging??
It’s a perfectly legitimate question. Yes. 🙂 The blog became a full time job for my hubby and I. It got so busy and took so much of our time that we both chose to quit our jobs and work on the blog full time.
Hi Natasha, i am wanting to start a blog, and was thinking to go with wordpress. do you recommend to start only with that or would it be better to do a self host right away?
HI Tanya, Have you read my blogger resources page? It’s located under the about tab at the top. https://natashaskitchen.com/blogger-resources/ I talk about how I got started and when I made the switch. Hope that helps.
Hello Natasha! I am a huge fan of your blog ever since I found it a year ago. I’m Filipina and married to a Russian guy. I recently started a food blog through WordPress.com and paid extra to have my own domain name. I am planning to switch to self hosting as soon as I can figure this thing out. I am still learning though and the info you shared is a big help!My questions are, was it easy to switch to a self-hosted site? Where did you buy your theme for the site, and lastly how did you customize it to look as gorgeous as it looks now? Thanks!
It was definitely a good move since we knew we wanted our blog to grow 🙂 We went through inmotion hosting and they helped us get set up. We are using thesis 2.0 and we initially set up the design ourselves (through practice and trial and error, but they have templates you can start with). We recently hired a site designer to customize it the way we really wanted it and so we updated it in the past 6 months. Another great resource for getting started is with Pinch of Yum’s blog. Look into their food blogger pro program.
Thanks! I appreciate the reply 🙂
Natasha-
On your first website I see that you were able to categorize your recipes. Do you remember how you did that? Or know where I could find the information? I’m just beginning and very new to wordpress.
In wordpress, in the right column when you are writing a blog post, you can either choose or make a new category. I hope that helps 🙂
Sorry, I forgot to ask another question- in your video recipes there is a tune that plays, I was wondering where you downloaded/bought it. I can’t seem to find anywhere that has those things. I checked itunes but I can’t find it maybe I not looking in the right place?…
My husband gets free music from incompetech.com They have royalty free music.
hi , i’m really thankful for all the recipes that i found all of them are looking good and very delicious , and do you know a recipe named ( COCONUT MACAROONS )
I don’t have a recipe for coconut macaroons, but if I find a good one, I’ll be sure to share it 🙂
Hello!
I Juat found your site and the super good looking recipe for paska but I’m wondering where I’d find the paper bags you used. I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada, so a Canadian source would be helpful,
Lorna
I purchased them online on Amazon and I’m not sure where they might be sold in stores. I’ve seen them in stores like TJ Max on occasion. Sorry I can’t be more help!
Are there any others to design a logo?
Lots of people are using Adobe Photoshop.
Another question (sorry)
How do I start earning money for my blog?
Have you had a chance to read through this page where I talk about how I monetize my blog? Another great resource is: pinch of yum’s website 🙂
Hello. I’d like to know how I can create a logo for my site.
I used Microsoft Publisher to design ours, but that’s just the program I am most comfortable with.
Hello! I found your wonderful site when I was looking around online for a rose cupcake tutorial! I run a cupcake of the month club, where each month, subscribers receive recipes, decorating tools, liners and specialty ingredients. I was wondering if I could feature you and your tutorial for next month’s Rosewater Cupcakes. Basically, I’d like to do a brief Q&A with you (via email) and then feature a link to your site for them to watch the rose decorating tutorial. Please let me know if you think this is something that can be arranged! I am planning to ship out each BakeBox by Feb 10. Thank you!! I look forward to hearing from you 🙂 – Lindsey
Yes that would be fantastic! My email: natashaskitchen (@) yahoo.
Hi Natasha! I am very excited to have found your blog. I’m 2 generations removed from Ukraine and trying to get back to my roots with cooking Ukrainian recipes. I have some recipes that have been passed down but look forward to learning more Ukrainian recipes through your blog!!
I hope you find many more new favorites 🙂