How to Create an Elegant Food Blog: 8 Tricks from Fantastic Foodies

Top food blogs are elegantly displayed with tons of visuals. These 8 food blogs do a fantastic job at presentation and engagement. I’ve included links to the blogs, as well as information about what platforms they are on (Blogger or WordPress) and how you can do the same thing on your blog. Not just for foodies! Many of these features will touch up any blog.

1. Seasaltwithfood.com: Slideshow or Photo Gallery Header

Platform: Blogger

How: To achieve this look on Blogger, you’ll need to seek a template that features a photo gallery in the header, or see Rainy Day Templates, who designed this and other AMAZING Blogger templates.

Self-hosted WordPress users can easily accomplish something similar with a gallery or slideshow widget.

Tip: Slow-page loading can be an issue, so avoid that by using a caching plugin (on WordPress; not sure what you can do about that on Blogger).

See: 15 wordpress plugins for galleries and slideshows (WordPress), Rainy Day Templates (Blogger)

2. Omnomicon.com: Author Profile Box in the Sidebar

Platform: WordPress

How: This can be done on any blogging platform that allows you to add a text/HTML box. Simply find a fairly large photo of yourself, upload it to Flickr and grab the HTML code for it. Place that code in the box, and then add your text above or below the photo (or both).

3. ItalianFoodForever.com: Printer-Friendly Posts

Platform: WordPress

How: Self-hosted WordPress users can use a simple plugin to do this rather easily. Blogger users can also do this, just not so easily. Both links are below.

See: PrintFriendly for WordPress, Create Printer Friendly Blog Pages (Blogger)

4. Picky-Palate.com: Adding copyright to your images

Platform: WordPress

How: Use a photo editing tool, like Paint.net (free) or Photoshop (nowhere near free but well worth it). Simply open your photo editor, add a new layer with a transparent background, and then use the text tool (it usually looks like a capital T) to add your name or blog name to the photo near the bottom. Use whatever color makes sense for the text, as you want it to show up. And then save the photo back in its original format (jpeg, gif, png, etc.). Be sure to save a copy of the actual Paint.net (.pdn) or Photoshop (.psd) file, too, in case you need to make changes to it again later.

5. SteamyKitchen.com: HUGE opening photographs

Platform: WordPress

How: Just use large images. Food blogs need to be visual, so go for it. Her blog is gorgeous and the secret is that those freakin’ huge, beautiful photos just really pop out at you.

6. Cravingfor.com: Gallery-style front page

Platform: WordPress

How: Self-hosted WordPress users are in luck . You can download this exact theme – free! UpThemes offers a free and premium version of a theme featuring a gallery-style front page (Gallery Pro). UpThemes doesn’t create templates for Blogger, however, you could do a search for premium Blogger templates to find something similar (or get in contact with them and see if they will do it). Or, you could search for a WordPress to Blogger theme conversion.

7. ThePioneerWoman.com: Recipe thumbnails in sidebar

Platform: WordPress

How: For WordPress, there’s actually a great tutorial on how to do this, but it’s a bit techie. If you can spend a little money, I’d suggest hiring someone to get it done in 15 minutes (you could even give them that tutorial as guide), or contact me and I’ll make it happen.

For Blogger, I’d consult someone really familiar with specialized Blogger templates (like Rainy Day, mentioned above).

8. TheFoodInMyBeard.com: Amazon.com theme-matching widget

Platform: Moveable Type

How: Dan (my newest favorite food blogger) over at thefoodinmybeard.com uses Amazon’s My Favorites Widget. If you click that link, you’ll be taken to a page where you can create that widget. However, if you’d like to make some money off of it potentially, be sure to follow their link to join Amazon Associates. Once you join you’ll see all of the options for adding widgets and banners to your blog.

BONUS: FoodBuzz

Many of the great, top food blogs you see listed here are part of the FoodBuzz network. If you have a food blog, head on over there and join. And browse these food blogs and more on their network to get a feel for how incredibly stellar your blog can be with a little elbow grease.

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Taylor

These sites are truly amazing. After looking through all of these sites I don't think I have ever been hungrier. The sites all have fantastic taste (no pun intended) and are perfectly functional. Great choice of sites!

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Tia Peterson

Thanks, Taylor. I have to do more of these next year. I LOVE looking at food blogs. It could be an opposites attract thing. I can't cook and have no creativity. lol So I'm naturally drawn to things like that.

Cheers,
Tia

John from CD Duplication Services London

Food blogs are all interesting especially to those who love to cook like me. I always wander around the net to search for new recipes and food blogs satisfies me. Oh I am looking forward to make my own so I am glad you made some tips here.

seospidy@Internet marketing

Excellent Post :)

Michelle @ Italian Mama Chef

I am wondering if I have to have a wordpress.org blog for the plugins to work. Can you let me know? I am terrible with all this techno stuff! I was so busy when you posted this that I missed it. Good thing I was browsing on Twitter and found the tweet about this post.

Denis Wintringham

I personally have embraced the new technologies and the CMS platforms, I think the new tools only make the web designs better. I am glad that new technologies are coming out in web design that make things easier, improved, and better looking for design.

bert@restaurantsmelbourne

Thank you for the information provided. The best content I've seen on this topic

Dan

Hello Tia

Just wanted to tell you my blog is actually on Movable Type.

Thanks for the link!

Hey Dan! Thanks! I made the correction. Glad you stopped by. Cheers, Tia

GreenLava

Hey thanks for linking to my post (Create Printer Friendly Blog Pages).
.-= GreenLava´s last blog ..5 reasons why you should switch to Windows Live Writer blog editor =-.

Greenlava - You're welcome! Thanks for stopping by.

Sure Kristin. Here's the deal! I'll answer it if you use the NEW **Ask Me** feature in the sidebar. :-) It's a GREAT question. Everyone can benefit from the answer!

In short, I'll be taking 2-3 questions per week and answering them here on the blog. You'll get your question answered as well as some exposure for your blog, and all of BCB readers will benefit from the answer.

It helps me out, too, since the whole purpose of this blog is to provide solutions to real problems and answers to real questions.

So if you submit the question, I'll feature you in a post as a Q & A next week. And you can double-up your questions to your heart's content, lol.

Kristin Glasbergen

Thanks TIa! Can I pester you with another question? Is it necessary to invest in a domain name and hosting? I am reluctant to spend money when I can get a pretty good option for free. It seems like more wordpresses have taken that route. Oops, that's 2 questions.
.-= Kristin Glasbergen´s last blog ..Just Keep Chopping =-.

Hey Kristin! Not necessarily; there are excellent Blogger goodies, too. The move to Wordpress would be a smart one but I'd be a liar if I said it wouldn't be bumpy. But ultimately there are just more things you can do w/a Wordpress blog.

I what I hear you saying is that I should defect over to wordpress? I've been on the fence about what to do.
These are great tips! I have a budding food blog, this post will really help me get it fancied up.
.-= Kristin Glasbergen´s last blog ..Just Keep Chopping =-.