| | By Katie Koteen on November 6, 2024 |
You’ll likely need the help of several WordPress plugins to build a successful food blog, but none are as important as the mighty recipe plugin. To put it in perspective, if I were thinking of a recipe blog as a pie, the recipe plugin would be the biggest piece of that pie and the ice cream à la mode. It’s that big of a deal. A recipe plugin is basically a tiny little translator that meticulously parses and organizes the details of a recipe into robot-ready pieces of data that search engines need to display your content accurately and beautifully in search results. But that’s not all it does. Recipe plugins serve three main purposes: They supply search engines with the structured data needed to display your recipes accurately in search results with rich snippets. If this sounds like gobbledygook, don’t worry—we’ll explain it more below. They provide an easy-to-use recipe template for you, making it simple to add a recipe to your WordPress post without hassle. They give readers a visually consistent, well-organized recipe format, often including useful features like ingredient checkboxes, unit converters, and serving size adjustments. Search Engine Optimization Recipe plugins work behind the scenes (as the tiny translators) to add structured data to every recipe you publish. This structured data (specifically JSON-LD) makes it easy for search engines to understand and showcase your recipes in search results with extra details like images, videos, ingredients, cook times, ratings, and more. When these enhanced details appear in search, they’re known as rich snippets, and they’re what makes your recipe stand out. This can increase your click-through rate (CTR) and boost your search rankings because of the extra information shown for your content within the search itself. Luckily, you don’t need to worry too much about structured data. Just know that a good recipe plugin adds this data to display rich results, like Google’s rich snippets or Pinterest’s Rich Pins. Here’s a fun fact: Pinterest, essentially a visual search engine, is a major traffic driver for food bloggers. With constant algorithm changes in search, diversifying your traffic sources is always a smart strategy. Here are a few examples of how rich snippets are displayed in Google and Pinterest search results: Templates for adding a recipe to a post Let’s not forget that recipes are really just instructions. Using a clear, organized template helps you include all of the important details that your recipe plugin needs to create the structured data. Here’s an example of a recipe card template from the WP Recipe Maker plugin. You’ll find a similar template with each of the plugins we recommend. Improved reader experience Recipe cards come jam-packed with reader-friendly features designed to make cooking easier—like the popular “jump to recipe” button at the top of recipe posts. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all the options. Try to focus on a handful of features that truly add value for your readers. For instance, if your site is focused on baking, a unit converter is a must-have. Some of the most useful reader-facing features include: Accurate unit conversions – Test these out, as not all converters are created equally! Recipe scaling options – Adjust servings by 1/2x, 2x, or 3x. User ratings display – Helps readers feel confident in the recipe they’re about to make. ‘Jump to recipe’ button – A shortcut to “jump” the reader from the top of the post to the recipe. Hands-free cook mode – Keeps the screen awake for readers while cooking. Customizable templates – Allows you to easily style the recipe card to match your brand without the help of a developer. Here’s an example of hands-free cook mode in Mediavine Create: How to choose a recipe plugin Starting a food blog often comes with a bit of a learning curve, but being a great recipe writer doesn’t mean you also need to be a tech expert. When deciding on a recipe plugin, choose one that aligns with your current comfort level and can support your needs as you grow. When evaluating plugins these are a few of the most important things we recommend looking for: Actively maintained plugins “Actively maintained” means the plugin receives regular updates, ideally every few months. Recipe publishing evolves quickly, and it’s essential that the team behind this vital part of your site stays on top of the latest changes in search, ad placements, and performance optimization. Community feedback The next thing you want to consider is reviews. If it’s free in the WordPress.com plugin repository and the WordPress.org plugin repository, then you can find reviews there. If it’s a premium plugin that’s not in the repository, you can look on the website for testimonials or reviews. It’s also helpful to ask for recommendations from other food bloggers; Facebook groups and Reddit forums for food bloggers are excellent resources. Evaluate support Free plugins on WordPress offer a support forum—take a peek to see if questions are promptly answered. Premium plugins may handle support through a dedicated support channel or email. Try reaching out with pre-sales questions, and if you get a helpful response, that’s a great sign. If support seems lacking, you might want to keep looking. The technical parts JSON-LD is the preferred schema markup for search engines like Google and Pinterest, so verify that your recipe plugin includes it. For search engines to interpret your recipe accurately, your plugin needs to support all required and recommended structured data fields. Google provides a list of these fields, so double-check that your plugin covers them all. Once installed, test the plugin by completing the fields in the template and running the recipe post through Google’s Rich Results Test to catch any errors or warnings. Popular recipe plugins Investing in a paid recipe plugin may seem intimidating at first, but it’s one of the best (bite-sized) investments you can make as a food blogger because it offers you so many benefits that are important to get right from the start. Many plugins offer a lighter free version or a trial period, so I strongly encourage you to test out a few options before making a decision. WP Recipe Maker WP Recipe Maker (WPRM) is a powerful recipe plugin, with over 50,000 active installations. They offer a free version, along with premium upgrades that are definitely worth considering. This plugin is the most feature-rich of all of the options. The main drawback is that WPRM can be somewhat complex to set up with so many features to enable, disable, and customize. It will require some effort, and if you have an eye for design, you may need to customize the templates to achieve a polished look. Tasty Recipes Tasty Recipes is part of the WP Tasty plugin suite of plugins, all built for bloggers. While they don’t offer a free version, they do have a 14-day free trial. It’s the easiest of the bunch to set up, and the cards are beautiful right out of the box. It has everything you need and nothing you don’t! Create Create is a popular free option developed by Mediavine, a full-service ad management company. With a selection of well-designed card templates and a responsive support team, it’s a solid choice for food bloggers. Create also offers built-in functionality for list and how-to cards if you publish more than recipes. The only downside of Create is that it doesn't receive updates as frequently as some other plugins. Start a food blog on WordPress.com Start sharing your favorite recipes with a blog hosted on WordPress.com. 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