Starting your own blog can be quite daunting, especially if you don't know where to get started. Luckily, you are not alone. There are many resources out there (on the interwebs) to guide you through it all.
My husband, Konrad, helped me take the plunge (some 6years ago). And I am hoping, that sharing the programs, tools and resources I use below, will help you on your way.
If you are stuck on something or have any other questions, please don't hesitate to send me a note (regina (at) leelalicious (dot) com) and I (or even Konrad) will help you as best as we can.
NOTE: The following are tools and resources I am using (or have used). Some of the links are affiliate links and if you decide to purchase through them, I may earn a small commission. I will never recommend something though unless I use(d) it myself and think it will be helpful to you as well.
Techie Stuff
WP Plugins
Easy Recipe Plugin is a great multi-functional tool. If you enter your recipes via this plugin, readers have the option of printing it out directly. Your recipes will automatically show in Rich Snippet format in Google's search results - which helps in getting higher rankings and click-through rates.
Akismet does a wonderful job filtering out all the spammy comments that come in all day long. Check the spam folder once in a while to see if a real comment got filtered out accidentally.
Fast Secure Contact Form is another way to guard off spam messages heading your way. Instead of publishing your email address, have your visitors fill out the contact form and their messages will be forwarded to your inbox.
Other Resources
Monetization
It is difficult to make money from a blog, if no one ever sees your posts. To tap into the free traffic source of Google search, I do extensive keyword research before writing any post. Google Adwords used to have a free keyword tool which has since become useless. So I have switched over to Keysearch as my go-to tool to research search phrases and analyze competitiveness. You can try it out with 50 free searches. After that make sure to use discount code KSDISC for 20% OFF your subscription.
Thanks to the Moolah Course I learned how to grow and monetize my Facebook page.