Feedback on Daughters Website - Cakeshelf.com

Associatedjustinh93 @ cakeshelf.com on 13/10/2015 - 10:02
Last edited 13/10/2015 - 10:44

Hey guys,

My friends daughter (14 years old) recently started a blog on cake recipes and other tasty morsels, at the moment it is just a hobby, but she is putting quite a bit of time on it in terms of taking photos and creating new recipes.

Personally I am not very good with websites either but I have found that getting real feedback is the best way to improve. I believe she is using wordpress at the moment.

By the way the recipes are seriously good, I tried the Cherry Ripe cake and it was on point!

If you had time I would really appreciate any feedback you can provide on how she can improve the site, also can post any comments you may have to her directly on her website. I know she would really appreciate the support. :)

www.cakeshelf.com

Cheers

Justin

Food & Grocery

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Comments

  • altomic on 13/10/2015 - 10:15
    +4

    don't take photos of dark objects with dark backgrounds.

    • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 13/10/2015 - 18:30
      +1

      Thankyou for the advice. Il definitely try and lighten up my photos

    • Noblejoker on 14/10/2015 - 15:20
      +4

      A lightbox could be the go
      Google up DIY lightbox or if u have a few $$ there are items like this on eBay
      http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Portable-Photo-Studio-Table-Top-P…

      • centrelink on 16/10/2015 - 11:50

        How do you use these? I got one a while ago for my shop but they don't ended up looking good? As an amatuer non-skilled photographer what should I be doing? The lights give off a yellowish type lighting effect trying to make it look clear on background.

    • ghostdom on 14/10/2015 - 15:49

      spot on

  • drdolphin on 13/10/2015 - 10:25
    +11

    It looks good, well done to her. The only thing I would say was make the images all the same direction. Some are "sideways" which is very minor, but irritates petty people like me!

    • redlover on 13/10/2015 - 10:28

      agree ^ . sideways pictures irritate me too!

    • Associatedjustinh93 @ cakeshelf.com on 13/10/2015 - 10:36
      +1

      Thanks for the feedback guys, I will pass it on. Actually I might get her to become an ozbargainer so she can discuss with you guys herself :P

    • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 13/10/2015 - 18:31
      +1

      Thankyou for pointing this out. I'll head straight onto it and fix it up :)

  • Axelstrife on 13/10/2015 - 10:36

    Man That cake look so good.

    • Associatedjustinh93 @ cakeshelf.com on 13/10/2015 - 10:43

      haha, it definitely tastes as good as it looks!

    • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 13/10/2015 - 18:31

      Thankyou!

  • spackbace on 13/10/2015 - 11:18
    +4

    Yeah photos need better light, maybe she needs to try messing around with an SLR camera to really make them stand out? That or get as much natural light into the photos as she can.

    • Associatedjustinh93 @ cakeshelf.com on 13/10/2015 - 11:48

      Thanks for checking out the site Spackbace, cool username as well :P haha.

      Which SLR would you recommend? I know there are the new mirrorless ones that are quite popular now.

      • serideth on 15/10/2015 - 18:43

        The Sony a6000 can be had for a good price or the next level up would be the A7 series.

    • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 13/10/2015 - 18:35

      Thankyou for the advice. I'll try and choose a good time of the day to shoot my photos as I don't have editing software and my camera quality is limited. I'll definitely take on board your suggestion.

      • spackbace on 13/10/2015 - 18:46

        Otherwise all good :)

      • PVA on 14/10/2015 - 23:53

        do you have a mobile, if that does OK photos you can always edite a bit (and easy) with snapseed (a google app). It may even have a Food photo setting (my mobile and my panasonic camera has).

        any camera will take decent photos, no need to spend money. windows has photo apps that a free .Picasa (google again) is good for editing on a PC.

    • HYX on 14/10/2015 - 09:27

      I like your username!

  • eatwell365 on 13/10/2015 - 11:20
    +3

    Can't believe the page was done by a 14 yo. Well done!

    • Associatedjustinh93 @ cakeshelf.com on 13/10/2015 - 11:49
      +3

      Thanks for checking out the site. Definitely not a bad hobby eh. So much negative views on the effects of technology on kids these days but I guess it really just comes down to how they use it.

    • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 13/10/2015 - 18:36

      Thankyou! I really appreciate you visiting the blog :)

  • DarkOz on 13/10/2015 - 11:21
    +5

    The photos could be better. They all seem to be slightly out of focus and a little too frosty.

    • cupcake on 13/10/2015 - 11:44

      I agree. The photos should be a little clearer and brighter and look fun.

      • Associatedjustinh93 @ cakeshelf.com on 13/10/2015 - 11:46
        +1

        Yes, I will check what camera she is using, do you think flash would make the difference required?

        • cupcake on 13/10/2015 - 11:49

          I don't think a flash is needed.

          Jamie Oliver's photographer takes the best food photos.

          I know she is 14 but if you have a look at Simon Food Favourites, his food photos are very sharp.

          I think the camera she is using might need a different lens. It's perfect for wedding photos though, as it looks a little dreamy/foggy.

        • Associatedjustinh93 @ cakeshelf.com on 13/10/2015 - 11:54
          +2

          @cupcake:

          Definitely Cupcake, she is at school at the moment, so has limited time to work on the blog, but all these tips are very helpful.

          I am sure the pictures will improve very quickly given all the great feedback.

        • kolorijo on 14/10/2015 - 13:17
          +1

          Utilize window lighting
          http://www.lightstalking.com/photograph-indoors-window-light…

    • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 13/10/2015 - 18:38

      I agree. I'll definitely work on my photography and might have to invest in some editing software. That or I need to watch some photography lessons haha!

      • whykikiwhy on 14/10/2015 - 08:56
        +2

        You don't need to invest money. Look at pic monkey it's easier than photo shop there are heaps of videos and tutorials on how to use it and it's completely free and Web based.

        www.picmonkey.com

        • Associatedjustinh93 @ cakeshelf.com on 14/10/2015 - 09:59

          This is a cool find! Thank you!

      • JH100 on 14/10/2015 - 13:50
        +3

        A couple points on photography and software.

        Shoot in .jpg (which you probably already do) and download Picasa (free) from here - https://picasa.google.com/ - it's a good photo organiser and an intuitive visual editor with lots of effects and not overly technical.

        I noticed your earlier photos are shot at f4 (aperture) and the later ones at f1.8. You will notice the ones at f4 have more in focus than those at f1.8. Basically you get more focus with a bigger f-number - try f9 or f11.

        The camera flash can help control the light but it's better if it bounces off a white a4 page first. Get a cardboard box big enough for your setting. Paper the inside walls with white, place your subject in the box and direct any flash to the walls instead of at the subject.

        For a simple photography starter see this - http://digital-photography-school.com/13-lessons-to-teach-yo… - (not associated)

        Experiment and practise is the way to mastery.

        *** Also, go to other WordPress blogs on baking, or what you like, and ask for advice. They are a great bunch of people and the forum is also very helpful.

  • 17731773 on 13/10/2015 - 11:44
    +6

    Great effort for a 14 year old. As said above my suggestion is shoot with natural light. I have a cooking blog also www.elliluca.com I try and shoot in natural light or not at all.

    • Associatedjustinh93 @ cakeshelf.com on 13/10/2015 - 11:45

      Oh wow, nice! did you make that elsa cake yourself? Do you mind if she messages you for some tips? haha

      • 17731773 on 13/10/2015 - 11:50
        +2

        I sure did, I love baking / cooking too. Happy to help her out :)

        • Associatedjustinh93 @ cakeshelf.com on 13/10/2015 - 11:52

          That's awesome, I will pass on the details of your website to her. How long have you been blogging for? What's the best way to build a bit of traction?

          I know she has signed up to one of those foodie networks, I think the pintrest for food bloggers?

        • 17731773 on 13/10/2015 - 11:55
          +1

          @Justing197: started blogging in January 2011. I used to have a Facebook page too which was great as others would share my recipes and gain me followers. I created it to keep an archive of my favourite recipes. It just went from there. I didn't really join food blogging communities or anything. Although Pinterest was great for getting some of my stuff out there also,

        • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 13/10/2015 - 19:19
          +1

          @17731773: Thankyou for the help! I'll definitely be contacting you in the future ;) I love the look of your crepes! They're on the list for the next weekend breakfast!

        • misu p on 14/10/2015 - 20:56

          @cakeshelf: Exchange links u 2, it will help both your websites.

      • hahaboy on 16/10/2015 - 23:30

        can she teach us how to make a website?

  • lenlynn on 13/10/2015 - 12:41
    +3

    Makes me hungry :)

    A few suggestions:
    1. Maybe make the font smaller to the same size as the recipe font?
    2. Add in "Preparation time" and "Serving size".
    3. Link up the email address in the "About Cake Shelf" page.
    4. Open up the twitter, facebook etc links in new tabs instead of new windows, and
    5. Some description of Payton? like how bloggers usually write in their About Me page- I'm from Perth WA, a student and I absolutely love to bake etc etc.

    • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 13/10/2015 - 19:22
      +2

      I LOVE your suggestions and will be making some changes to Cake Shelf very soon. I find it hard to record preparation time as I think everyone has their own pace and some people work faster than others. For example, I'm a very slow cooker and take my time, however I will try and find a general pace to work at and record it. As for the 'About Me' page I think that's a great idea! I'll get to work on that tomorrow afternoon! Thanks for your feedback :)

      • lenlynn on 15/10/2015 - 12:19

        Haha thanks. Yeah I'm slow too so usually for the prep time on recipes I add like a half hour to it to estimate how long I have.
        I noticed you had prep time and serving size on your older recipes though.

        Yeah About Me pages are important so readers can bond with you and then they are more likely to come back. Good luck!:)

        • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 16/10/2015 - 09:49
          +1

          I've taken your advice and posted an 'About Me' page this morning :)
          You can find it under 'About' in the header menu

        • lenlynn on 21/10/2015 - 16:13

          @cakeshelf: Nicely done! Though I didn't have a red velvet cookie :p I like how you subtly linked a recipe in too hahaha

        • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 21/10/2015 - 16:46

          @lenlynn: thanks :) I had seen a few other food bloggers do it and thought it would be a nice little addition

    • diddy50 on 14/10/2015 - 18:31
      +4

      Serving size? One cake = one person haha

  • kyttiekat on 13/10/2015 - 13:00
    +8

    Congratulations to your friend's daughter for a great effort! Lots of good initiative shown here, and it sounds like she's really enjoying it.

    A few tips from a web designer:

    • 'Install' Google Analytics. This will provide valuable insights into how much traffic she's receiving, how they arrive at her site, the most popular pages / recipes, which social media channels may be directing traffic, and so on. It's totally free to use Analytics. I can see she already uses quite a few plugins, so I'm sure she'll be able to sign up and install the tracking code onto her site in a breeze (either in a separate plugin, or if the current theme offers a section for it).

    • Move 'search' form to the top. I can see there's a 'search' field in the sidebar on the right. As best-practice, it should be moved as high as possible (preferably in the header!) or just at the top of the sidebar. Particularly with a site like this, where users may want to search for specific items.

    • Add standard pages (Home + Contact). It's standard / best practice to have a Home link on the navigation menu, to help people get back to the home page. eg if I'm on the pavlova page, it would help if there's a Home link. (Of course you can go 'back' perhaps multiple times, or click on the logo, but it's typically best to add a Home link too to increase usability.)

    Also, I know there's a contact form in the sidebar already, which is great. But again for best practice and improved usability, I'd recommend adding a dedicated 'Contact' page that just includes the contact form again. Sometimes users will blindly search for a Contact page, and if they don't find it immediately, they won't bother scrolling down and finding the sidebar.

    • 404 / Broken Links. I'd recommend running the site through a 404/broken link checker (there are online tools or WP plugins for this). For example, when I click on the image in the sidebar (of the cakes on the bookshelf), I get taken to a 404 error page. I imagine the image needs to be unlinked, or if it is supposed to go somewhere, then that needs to be fixed.

    These are just the first ones off the top of my head.. I could go on and on, there's always improvements to be made. But for now, congrats again on a brilliant effort, and don't hesitate to reach out or PM for more info.

    • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 13/10/2015 - 19:28
      +3

      Thank you so much for your feedback and suggestions! I'm so lucky to have all this support and feedback and soaking in all the advice. Funnily enough, I was trying to set up Google Analytics this morning but was finding it difficult. I'll keep trying as it sounds like a great program! I'll start setting up those pages you suggested as soon as possible along with the 'About Me' page. I'm glad you mentioned those broken 404 links as they have been bugging me! I'm trying to fix them but am finding it challenging with all the various URL's and copying and pasting that's going on haha! It's on my to-do list for Cake Shelf :)
      Thankyou so much for all these suggestions as they are very important to me. I really appreciate the help. I'm still learning and if you don't mind me contacting you later on for some more suggestions that would be great.

      • JH100 on 14/10/2015 - 13:58
        +1

        Go to the WP.com forum - https://en.forums.wordpress.com/ - and ask for specific help. You'll get all you need specific to your theme and WP dashboard.

        You will probably meet TimeThief, one of the best …

        • kyttiekat on 14/10/2015 - 23:53

          Hm, the WP.com forums won't be very helpful if she's running open-source WP and self-hosting (which is what I assumed).

        • JH100 on 15/10/2015 - 05:57

          @kyttiekat:

          Hn, you might be right. I assumed it was WP.com since OP knows so little about it and beginners usually begin there.

        • kyttiekat on 15/10/2015 - 15:06

          @JH100: Thus why I'm extra-impressed that she's gone the self-hosting route! :) Cool hey.

      • kyttiekat on 14/10/2015 - 23:59

        No worries, happy to help! Just message. :)

        And once again, congrats on an exciting endeavour.

    • lemontree on 14/10/2015 - 23:30

      Currently if you click the picture of Payton under "Welcome" It should link to the about us page but is currently 404.

      • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 15/10/2015 - 16:44

        Hmm yes I'm trying to fix that but don't know how! I might research a little about if and try and fix it :)

  • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 14/10/2015 - 08:41
    +4

    Thankyou everyone for all the suggestions and advice. I really do appreciate and will be making these changes as soon as I have time :) Thankyou Justin for posting this forum, it's really helped me out!

    • Associatedjustinh93 @ cakeshelf.com on 14/10/2015 - 10:00
      +2

      Haha no worries Payton, the Ozbargain community is the best for supporting new ideas

    • diddy50 on 14/10/2015 - 18:34
      +1

      I think you should bake us all cupcakes to say thank you……. It's the nice thing to do after all. Plus practice and we could leave positive feedback haha

      • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 15/10/2015 - 18:08
        +1

        Haha very funny ;)

  • HYX on 14/10/2015 - 09:33

    Already plenty of good feedback here but here's my 2 cents.
    • body copy point size could come down
    • try to use natural lighting when taking photos (not direct sunlight though)
    • have a look at popular recipe blogs and foodie Instagram accounts and study them. Learn about photo composition, it's not always about the gear. A lot of people take photos with their phones and with some editing apps, they can look amazing.
    Photos will be the key that drives people to view the recipes, so I think that's quite important!

    • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 14/10/2015 - 18:47

      I 100% agree that we eat with our eyes and I know that I personally am attracted to good-looking food pictures so I'll try and work on my photos and composition. I'm still trying to figure out what time of the day the light hits best in our house and trying to get the food prepared on time is one of my weak points but I'm working on it :) thanks for the feedback!

  • [Deactivated] on 14/10/2015 - 13:01
    +1

    It made me hungry, so if that is part of the plan it worked. :)

    I will echo the comments about lighting. You don't need to spend a lot of money on gear, just try to get plenty of natural light on the situation and your pictures will be a lit nicer.

    As a side note, adding some actual cherries to that cherry ripe cake would be a nice touch.

    • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 14/10/2015 - 19:37

      I'm glad it made you hungry haha! I've definitely taken in the suggestions about lighting and photography and will try and put them into action in my next shoot.
      I love your suggestion for the cherry ripe cake! I might have to make it again to reshoot it with the extra cherry decorations. Or am I just making an excuse to have that cake again haha!

  • cyrax83 on 14/10/2015 - 14:06

    I like the concept, the photos really need work however, they are the wrong way around, out of focus, blurry. I think she is using a phone camera.

    Here is some photos I took on the weekend http://imgur.com/a/1MHwI (mirrorless Olympus M43 camera)

    She doesn't need expensive camera gear, what would make a world of difference is a nice clean background, and make sure everything is in focus. Natural light is great

    • Associatedjustinh93 @ cakeshelf.com on 14/10/2015 - 17:00

      Oh wow, those photos are really nice. did you make the food yourself as well?

    • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 14/10/2015 - 19:38

      Thank you for visiting Cake Shelf! I'll try and find a better spot in the house for lighting and might try a different background. Thanks for the suggestion! I love the photos you took by the way!

  • QW3RTY on 14/10/2015 - 15:17
    +4

    I hope to have a daughter this cool.

    • Associatedjustinh93 @ cakeshelf.com on 14/10/2015 - 16:59

      haha, don't we all

  • pandabun on 14/10/2015 - 17:20

    As others have mentioned, natural light is the best.

    My tips are:
    - keep your prop simple. Eg white desk set up against the wall outdoor
    - no direct sunlight but bright light
    - some dslr are cheaper than the 3/4 camera (I can't remember the name on top of my head now but they are very popular nowadays like the Panasonic Lx series)

    This is a sample of photo I took for a restaurant. http://i60.tinypic.com/2ppajx4.jpg

    • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 14/10/2015 - 19:41

      Thank you for the tips! I like the idea of putting a white desk as the background. Am going to try that next.
      I love the photo you took of the dessert! It looks so yummy!

      • pandabun on 14/10/2015 - 22:35

        I think that white is the safest colour option. If you need a white background, you can use cardboard and stick it against the wall.

  • xyron on 14/10/2015 - 18:04
    +1

    I was going to also say that I think the website is great "for a 14 year old" but realised how condescending that sounds. It's just a good website, full stop. The recipes definitely look tasty and worth trying.

    One thing I will strongly recommend you do - change the 'copyright' notice at the bottom to your name - I assume 'Cakeshelf' is not itself a registered entity (you may also want to get someone to register it as a business name in your State or Territory, in case you want to expand on it in the future - this is not expensive to do). Registration is of course not necessary for copyright protection (nor is a copyright notice) but I would hate to see another site steal your recipes and photos and potentially get away with it. Remember, copyright vests in the author of a literary work (which includes recipes!) and it runs both ways - so don't go stealing other people's recipes without their permission (or at least acknowledging the source).

    once you set up a whitebox and get better at taking photos, you may quickly find people start "borrowing" them. don't let them - or at least insist on acknowledgement if you do. I recommend using a light watermark on photos you post to make it practically difficult for other websites to steal them.

    oh, and remember to regularly scour the internet to see if people are stealing your recipes or photos and send them notices to take it down or acknowledge your site as the source. Recipes are a hot form of intellectual property and part of a multi billion dollar industry!

    • Katie2014 on 14/10/2015 - 19:15

      Really good suggestions, xyron.

      I've noticed a lot of blogs these days have a couple of sentences regarding crediting images (often at the bottom of their 'About' page or on the side of the homepage). Something along the lines of "Contact me for permission to reproduce photos for commercial uses. Please do not steal." or "Please do not use images or content without my permission and proper credit. "

      You can also run your images through tineye.com to do a reverse image search to see if they appear elsewhere on the web.

      Great blog btw :-)

    • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 15/10/2015 - 11:48

      Thanks for the tips! It makes the Internet sounds like a bad place when you realise how many people steal each other's photos but I understand that will be part of the deal and I'll just have to put up with it.
      I appreciate the comment. Thankyou

      • xyron on 15/10/2015 - 11:56

        Sadly, not just the internet, but the world is a pretty unfriendly place. I won't tell you what my profession is (although no prizes for guessing based on my previous post) but I tend to see the worst of it. People will steal ideas, property and even money itself, in order to make money. If they get away with it, it was all worthwhile. :(

  • phillystyle on 14/10/2015 - 19:52
    +1

    Great job :)

    From an IT security point of you view you should look into beefing up the .htaccess file for the site.

    Having the wp-login.php page exposed to the internet is going to lead to unwanted brute force attacks. There are a lot of chumps that try and do this.

    You'll also want to prevent anyone from accessing the wp-admin folder too.

    You can lock this down via IP address.

    Let me know if you need any pointers and I can steer you in the right direction. Htaccess is pretty powerful and if you get it wrong you can break access to your site until you fix it :)

    • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 15/10/2015 - 11:52

      Thank you so much for pointing this out! I would she never have thought of it and am glad you brought it to my attention. If you don't mind, I might contact you later on for some help with this as I'm pretty clueless when it comes to things as complex as this

  • AssociatedDiscoJango @ cakeshelf.com on 14/10/2015 - 20:47

    interesting that your posting this, and not the girls dad.

    • Associatedjustinh93 @ cakeshelf.com on 14/10/2015 - 23:34

      As much as we think we have world domination, not everyone is an ozbargainer haha

  • Hirolol on 14/10/2015 - 22:05
    +1

    Oh man.
    I got to the brownies on the second page and had to stop.
    I would like to be able to try the cake, only suggestion i have really.

    • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 15/10/2015 - 11:53

      Haha this comment made me laugh! Those brownies didn't last 2 days in my house.
      Give the cake a try, you never know what you can achieve

  • IdBuyThat4aDollar on 14/10/2015 - 23:37

    I agree with others, the site looks good - well done :) but the photos could be improved. They look a bit dull and low on contrast. Can be improved with minor tweaks to brighten up and add contrast. As an example I took one of the photos and edited in lightroom here (hope you don't mind) but you could probably use a free photo editor online like picmonkey and play around with sliders like brightness, contrast, saturation, etc.

    Regarding lighting, I would avoid using the camera's flash as the built in flash usually make these sort of photos worse - plus it only comes from one direction…straight on. Ideally you would have an external flash going through some sort of diffuser like a soft box to soften the light. Probably at least 2 flashes as well. This would be quite expensive and overkill for this purpose (unless your already into photography) so you can improvise with stuff you probably already have at home. eg. a lamp shining though a piece of paper. Go to 9:30 in this clip to see what I mean.

    Might also help to get a tripod. For food or product photography (anything where your subject doesn't move) this helps as you can go back and forth between taking photos and making adjustments to the positioning of your food, etc. Also if you end up getting a camera with manual controls, using a tripod you can set the ISO to the lowest (minimises digital noice), f-stop at something high like f8 or f11 (this increases your depth of field so more is in focus), and slow the shutter speed to whatever speed necessary (slow shutter wont matter as your shooting on tripod and your subject doesnt move).

    BTW if you do begin an interest in photography I highly recommend this book.

    • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 15/10/2015 - 13:52
      +1

      Thank you so much for all this information! It was like a photography crash course. I've taken notes and will try using pic monkey as I can't afford Adobe Lightroom yet. I've heard that a lot of food bloggers use a tripod and I have a feeling we have one in the garage somewhere hahah so I will try it out soon.
      I appreciate the effort and detail you've gone into to explain all this

  • laurence on 14/10/2015 - 23:40
    +2

    ignore anyone who says you need to improve your photography, that will happen with time.

    You should consider using social networks to build up a traffic following > For food niche, I would recommend using tumblr, weheartit or pinterest (Instagram is worthless with clicks through to your website- Source I have over 200k across a few accounts). Post photos of your recipes with links to your post on the website. Youtube is a very good source of building quality subscribers that will click through to your website.

    Monetise it with either adsense (google - but make sure not to click on your own ads or ask your friends to click on ads, you will get banned very quickly). To make the most money, research high cpc keywords perhaps "Italian food" pays $2.5cpc whereas "French food" might only pay $1.50 cpc.

    Amazon associates (affiliate program) - find cooking equipment that might people might need > they will click through and purchase.

    On the wordpress side of things (if you're using wordpress.org, not wordpress.com), use YOAST seo to optimise your titles / keywords - so you can get more traffic from google. Plugins - WP performance booster and WP fastest cache will significantly improve your website speed > less visitors clicking away from your website due to slow loading time.

    I recommend using photoshop lightroom, its pretty cheap but very user friendly.

    • Associatedjustinh93 @ cakeshelf.com on 15/10/2015 - 07:54

      So informative! This makes it sound like anyone can start a profitable website! Thank you :)

    • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 15/10/2015 - 18:13

      This was very helpful! Thank you. I've already installed Yoast Seo and it's great! I'm in the middle of setting up a Pinterest account which will hopefully improve traffic. Thank you for these tips! I really do appreciate you spending the time to write all this down :)

  • GameChanger on 15/10/2015 - 00:40
    +2

    Can't help but feel that this 'friends daughter' is actually you.

    • bich.light on 15/10/2015 - 01:00
      +1

      Seconded haha

    • Associatedjustinh93 @ cakeshelf.com on 15/10/2015 - 07:51

      Haha, I understand your concerns and I wish it was me, but I really haven't got time to create a recipe blog. I work in a big 4 accounting firm so baking is off limits, but ozbargaining under my privacy screen is encouraged.

  • bich.light on 15/10/2015 - 01:08

    Surprising no one has mentioned this yet but consider bringing down the size of the website down?
    It's currently a relatively large download for a user to view the page, at around 7MB. Since you're using a website that scales to the browser size, ie mobile friendly, it would be wiser to have a smaller download footprint.

    My suggestion is to scale down your photos so that they're not super duper high-res. Also experiment with the file types as well as the bits of data that each image stores. ie Photoshop -> Save As -> Jpeg and select maybe medium quality. Sure you'll lose some detail but I guarantee that since you're not a photography website it won't matter too much. As others have said, improve photography, angles and lighting.

    Good luck girl, because I don't think you are the 'friends father' or whatever.

  • LeavingTheWheel on 15/10/2015 - 08:16
    +1

    Food blogs have been done to death, but I'm assuming this is a business venture. So let's proceed on that notion.

    The one thing that most bloggers fail to do is proper keyword research, either in google Adwords or using a professional tool http://www.startablog.info/increase-your-organic-traffic-wit…

    What words are your readers searching for in Google?

    For example

    Cinnamon Teacake - 1,300 - global monthly searches
    Cinnamon Cake - 4,400

    easy cinnamon cake - 320
    cinnamon tea cake recipe - 170
    how to make cinnamon cake - 140
    easy cinnamon cake recipe - 110

    The first two are the common terms, but the last few end up in what's called the long tail and are just as important. Use these Long Tail keywords and phrases in your Blog Posts and Google will better match you with search traffic.

    It takes time to get ranked in Google but do the groundwork early and you'll reap the rewards down the track.

    However, that said if you've just started your blog then your initial traffic will come through social media platforms and Pinterest and Instagram should be your main focus. Keeping that in mind you'll want to spend a lot of time on photo's. A lot of food bloggers are keen photographers, which isn't that surprising.

    Yes, blogs are now the domain of the professional blogger. Hobby bloggers have moved to using Facebook as their creative outlet.

    At 14, there is plenty of reading to be done. But it's an awesome effort that she is actually doing something positive with her life, from such an early age.

    If she needs any help, I'm around.

    Happy Blogging

    • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 15/10/2015 - 18:22

      Thank you so much for this comment! It was actually very helpful and I appreciate you taking the time to write all of it haha! I'm starting a Pinterest account and am thinking of starting an Instagram account but am scared no one will follow me and it will look pathetic. I've taken noted on what you said about the key words and will try and work on it. I agree that there are LOTS of food blogs out there and I find it hard not to compare my baby blog to all the other big & successful blogs out there. Hopefully one day I will be as successful as them! Thanks for all the tips and advice!

      • LeavingTheWheel on 16/10/2015 - 07:01

        Remember they all started as baby blogs. :-P

        The quickest way to get a following is to follow and comment on other people's work.

        Everything takes time. If you're committed to the long game then you will be successful with blogging. Post regularly and using common keywords and phrases and over time the traffic will come. I'm a full-time blogger so reach out if you need a hand. Find me on twitter @DIYBlogGuy

        PS: Don't monetize until you have a steady flow of traffic as you'll scare more away than you attract. Good Luck.

        • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 16/10/2015 - 09:45

          Thankyou for the support and advice. I'm aware that it's a long process and will take time to gain readers and look forward to one day reaching my goal.
          Just a quick question, what does monetize mean?
          Thanks

        • LeavingTheWheel on 19/10/2015 - 12:53

          @cakeshelf: It's the process of trying to earn money from your blog. Usually, people start with google adsense as this is the easiest way to earn a few dollars although it's heavily dependent on your website traffic flow.

          Just concentrate on building your recipe library and the traffic will come eventually. Good Luck.

  • yeahyeah on 15/10/2015 - 16:47

    The favourite posts section doesn't need an apostrophe in posts :)

    • Associatedcakeshelf @ cakeshelf.com on 15/10/2015 - 18:22

      Thanks for brining this to my attention. I often make spelling mistakes haha!

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