I want to design my own kitchen

2. Blogging Platform

WordPress, the blogging platform I use for Kitchen Konfidence, is simple to install, use and customize. It’s really the best option out there. If you’ve decided to host your blog with with Bluehost, check out this video on how to install WordPress:

3. Design and Theme

When I first launched Kitchen Konfidence, I designed my own WordPress theme. Looking back, I wouldn’t recommend doing this unless you are a web design professional. I taught myself some basic web design skills; however, this knowledge faded over the years, and I lost the ability to upkeep and troubleshoot my own design! Now, I am happily using a premium WordPress theme, and I’d definitely recommend going that route to all beginners. There are many options out there, but here are my recommendations:

1. The Genesis Framework provides a solid foundation for your design. It’s easy-to-use, secure, well-supported, and highly customizable. After you install the framework, you’ll need to also install a Child Theme to make things pretty.
2. StudioPress Themes has a wide-variety of Child Themes available, including the Foodie theme that I use for Kitchen Konfidence.

4. Google Tools

Before I dive into the next section, I wanted to stop and say, “Congratulations!” If you’ve been working through this process, then you’re officially the proud owner of a brand new food blog!! Yay!!

The final two sections of this guide will help you supercharge the blog that you’ve so thoughtfully crafted thus far. Let’s start with three of my favorite Google tools:

5. WordPress Plugins

Here is my list of my top WordPress Plugins (in no particular order):

1. Askimet. Helps to block comment spam without the use of CAPTCHAs. CAPTCHAs are the worst, and you should never have them on your site. Use this plugin instead.

Well that’s it! I really hope that these 5 steps help you start your own food blog. Once you start working through each step, you’ll be amazed at how easy the process is. So stop waiting, and just do it! If you have a question that I didn’t answer in the instructions above, please email me at brandon [at] kitchenkonfidence [dot] com. Thanks and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Some of the links throughout this article are affiliate links. Each of the services, tools and plugins I’ve described in this article are ones I am currently using or I’ve used in the past. I only link to products that I trust, and would highly recommend. Thank you!