In today's blog post, I want to show you how to set-up an auto-updating recipe index for your food blog on blogger. This has been one of the most requested tutorials of all time.
I can understand this, it is actually a very good practice to put your users (readers/audience) first, and with Google changing its algorithm ever so often it's even more apparent that the future of SEO is much more reliant on good design and user experience.
What does this mean for you as a blogger? It means, you want to make it extremely easy for your readers to find content that they are looking for on your website easily and without confusion.
One of the best ways to put years worth of content in front of your audience is through putting it up in a category that updates automatically as and when you publish a post. This is exactly what I'm showing you how to do in this post.
Here are some of the requirements of this tutorial:
You'll need a blogger theme that has a gallery page layout enabled on label pages or a theme can be easily customised to have gallery pages on label pages.
You'll need to have all your blog posts sorted into the labels you want
How to get a gallery-enabled blogger theme
One of the simplest ways to do this would be to buy a theme (usually not that expensive). I recommend this theme from my shop, or this one to completely forego having to go through this tutorial (Cookin' Daily is a responsive blogger theme which comes with a built in-recipe index and it updates automatically and the best part is the free installation that I offer with all my themes along with lifetime support for theme related issues).
If you don't have the budget for a blogger theme, I'll show you how to use a free theme from blogger to do so as well. Of course, I recommend upgrading to a premium theme whenever you can because of the added features and customisability.
TIP : If you intend to blog seriously and to make it a full-time or part-time income maker in your life, I do definitely recommend investing in your blog by having a functional and beautiful design and brand.
Let's get into it.
INFO : You need to have labels in your posts for this method to work!
Step 01: Grab The HTML Code
First, you will need to copy and save this HTML somewhere you won't lose it. I prefer using Trello or Evernote. But you can use whatever you like.
Step 02: Install The CSS Code In Your Blogger Theme
Now that you have saved the HTML for use, you will need to add the CSS to your blogger theme. To do this:
Go to Theme > Customise > Advanced > Add CSS
Then you will copy the following code:
Now that you have copied the code paste it in the "Add CSS" section then click Save.
You are now ready to set-up your Recipe Index page.
Step 03: Make A Recipe Index Page
The next step is to make a page in your blogger blog and call it "Recipe Index". You will then go to the HTML section of your blog and paste the HTML you saved in the first step.
Note: You will paste this same code in this page according to the number of categories you have. So, if you have 6 categories, you will paste this code in 6 times.
Step 04: Adding In Your Content
It is already mentioned in the HTML you copied how to customise the contents of your gallery, but for your ease of use, I'll mention it here as well.
THE LINK TO YOUR BLOGGER LABEL: This is the link to the label of the category you want to use. To grab the link of your label, just view a post with the label you want, then click on that label, once that page loads, just copy the link from the address bar.
THE ALT TAG FOR YOUR IMAGE: This is purely for SEO purposes and for people with disabilities like visual impairment when they read your website. You will write the name your image describing what it is here. For example, apple pie.
THE LINK TO YOUR IMAGE: You should have your image for the category uploaded in the media for your blog, just right-click the image you want to use and grab the link of the image and paste it in this section.
NAME OF THE CATEGORY: You will add the name of your category here.
And that's it. You're done! Now, this page will automatically enable people clicking on the categories to be taken to your most recent posts in that category, and it will keep itself updated.
Easy, right?
P.S. wanna forego all this hassle? I've got just the product for you!
This theme is completely customizable, you can change the colors and blog logo all by yourself. But we also offer free installation and a free one-time set-up.
You can also choose to purchase this via my Etsy Shop.
I hope you liked this tutorial! If you have any questions about this tutorial or a step confuses you, feel free to leave a comment below for help.
INFO: However, please do not attach your blog links in the comment, If I'll need a link to your blog I'll reply with further instructions to get in touch with me. Comments with links will not be published and will end up in the spam. You can use any social platform to log-in and leave a comment.
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