• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Feast Design Co.

WordPress Themes for Food & Lifestyle Bloggers

  • Themes
  • Feast Plugin
  • Blog
  • Support
  • Tutorials
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Feast Plugin
  • Support
  • Tutorials
  • Account
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Feast Plugin
    • Support
    • Tutorials
    • Account
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Tech and Plugins

    The Best WordPress Plugins for Your Food Blog

    Published: Jan 25, 2016 · Modified: Feb 28, 2019 by Skylar · 2 Comments

    I love WordPress plugins. They're an effective and simple way to increase the functionality of your site and take your blog to the next level.

    But having lots of plugins can also affect your site's speed and usability. How can you tell which ones to use and which ones to skip?

    Plugins are fun—and it's easy to think more is better. But, too many will bloat your site.

    When it comes to plugins, sometimes that age-old advice of "less is more" actually holds some water. So, be selective about the ones you install, and resist that urge to load your blog up with every option under the sun.

    I've curated this list of recommendations to get you started, no matter what your experience level with blogging. Everyone has slightly different plugin needs, so pick ones that offer distinct value to your site: you know your blog best!

    Beginner Food Blogger

    Photograph 069 by Ashley Schweitzer found on minimography.com
    Photograph 069 by Ashley Schweitzer found on minimography.com

    You're just getting started food blogging, but that doesn't mean you want it to look like you're a newbie. Not only are you searching for ways to grow your audience and reach new readers, but you'd also like to up the functionality and presentation of your site.

    Akismet

    Responding to comments is a great way to engage with your readers. But nobody wants to waste time replying to a robot. This plugin automatically checks your comments for spam and deletes it.

    Ninja Forms

    You want your readers to be able to get in touch with you. Nothing makes that easier than a simple contact form on your blog. With a user-friendly drag and drop interface, this plugin makes creating any type of form a breeze—even if you're a complete novice!

    Genesis Enews Extended

    When you're just getting started with your blog, collecting emails might seem unnecessary. But I recommend building your email list from the get-go! Whether you want to use MailChimp or Constant Contact, this plugin adds mailing list integration to your Genesis website.

    WP Recipe Maker

    This is the most feature-rich, constantly updated recipe plugin on the market right now. You can get started with the free version right now, and upgrade to the premium version when you're ready.

    Simple Social Icons

    As a blogger, social media is your best friend. If you want your posts to develop a life of their own on social, make it easy for readers to share your content by using this plugin to enable blog post share buttons.

    Experienced Blogger

    Photograph 068 by Ashley Schweitzer found on minimography.com
    Photograph 068 by Ashley Schweitzer found on minimography.com

    You've been blogging for a while. Along the way, you've learned that you're never truly done learning. Even with some experience, you're always looking for ways to take things up a notch!

    Yoast SEO Premium

    You know optimizing your posts is important, but you're not an SEO expert. Consider this plugin your SEO partner. With pre-determined fields for you to fill in, Yoast makes it easy to ensure your posts are as searchable as possible.

    ShortPixel

    Say goodbye to uploading huge image files that slow your site down. This plugin automatically resizes those giant images to a size that's more reasonable for display in browsers, balancing file size for pagespeed loading and image quality for your visitors.

    Feast Plugin

    Our very own Feast Plugin adds a number of improvements to your blog, keeping it up to date with modern best practices, making customizations easier and more persistent, and introducing elements that are used by the top food blogging companies worldwide.

    Blogging as a Business

    blogging-as-businessYour blog is your main source of income, or at least some decent side cash. You're looking to improve its design and functionality for readers and for tools and plugins that make blog management easier.

    Email Marketing by Drip

    Whether you want to build your email list or offer an e-course to subscribers, Drip is what you need. This plugin makes your life even easier with one-click installation!

    Post SMTP

    If you're sending emails directly from your website—automated notifications, for example—you'll want this plugin. It allows you to easily send, log, and troubleshoot your outgoing mail.

    Note: Post SMTP replaced Postman SMTP a few years back.

    WP Rocket

    As a large, established blog, additional caching is something you might consider to speed up your site. Caching is already included in many managed hosting services. But if you're looking for something more, this plugin guarantees extra-fast load times.

    Note: With our Food Blogger Hosting package, caching plugins are a thing of the past. We use a server-side built in cache that's up to 10x faster than a WordPress cache.

    Free Download ?

    Stay on top of SEO, pagespeed and compatibility updates via the newsletter!

    Final Thoughts

    There you have it! My favorite WordPress plugins for each stage of your blogging career.

    Carefully evaluate every plugin you install, and consider a quarterly evaluation of them to ensure they're under control. Yes, plugins are fun—and it's easy to think that more is better. But an excessive number of plugins will bloat your site and increase its load time.

    Pick the ones that best fit your goals and needs, and you're sure to take your blog up a notch!

    More

    • Modern 404
    • Full Site Editor (FSE)
    • Convert Recipe Acronyms
    • Why we don't recommend minifying

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jere Cassidy says

      April 10, 2020 at 1:36 pm

      Does Enable Media plug-in work with Foodie Pro?

      Reply
      • Skylar says

        April 10, 2020 at 4:49 pm

        We've never tested (or used) the Enable Media Replace plugin, so we couldn't comment on its compatibility.

        The themes have no impact on the media library or upload functionality, so I don't see any potential incompatibility with the theme.

        Anecdotally, we've been told by customers it works fine.

        As always, if you're nervous about doing an update or installations, test it first on a staging site.

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Primary Sidebar

    Themes

    • Feast Plugin grants access to all 5 themes
    • Not sure where to start? See the getting started guide

    Feast Plugin

    • Feast Plugin
    • Modern Homepage
    • Modern Sidebar
    • Modern Footer
    • Modern Mobile Menu
    • Modern Menu
    • Modern Recipe Index
    • Modern Categories
    • Modern 404
    • Recipe Update Checklist
    • Recipe Post Template

    Resources

    • Image optimization
    • Recipe Guidelines for Foodie Bloggers
    • How to write a recipe post
    • Page headings
    • SEO for Food Bloggers
    • Tutorials
    • Pagespeed Audit
    • Comments
    • Internal links

    more resources →

    Categories

    • Modern Recipe Index
    • Modern Categories
    • Posts per Page
    • How to use categories
    • Category pages need content
    • How to configure the category pages
    • Food blog site structure
    • Food blog page structure

    Classic themes

    The classic themes are only for hobby sites and any food blog interested in monetizing or SEO needs the Feast Plugin.

    • Foodie Pro Classic
    • Brunch Pro Classic
    • Cook'd Pro Classic
    • Cravings Pro Classic
    • Seasoned Pro Classic

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Topics

    • Food Blog Design and Appearance
    • Productivity
    • Tech and Plugins
    • Food Blogging and Promotion
    • Minimalist WordPress Themes
    • Simple WordPress Themes
    • Travel blogs
    • Knitting + DIY blogs

    Help

    • Documentation & Tutorials
    • Food Blogging Resources
    • Open A Support Ticket
    • Login
    • Your Account
    • Subscriptions
    • Downloads
    • Discounts and Coupons
    • Compatibility

    Company

    • Subscribe to newsletter
    • Privacy Policy
    • Refund policy
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Principles and Best Practices
    • Affiliates
    • Contact

    Copyright © 2023 · Feast Design Co.

    Results not typical or guaranteed. Our themes and plugins are just a small part of the overall effort involved in running a food blog. Nothing on this website shall constitute legal or financial advice, always consult a local lawyer and accountant. Accessing this website and all transactions herein are under the laws and jurisdiction of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.