marbel Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 I love food blogs. I am always looking for new recipes and inspiration. But please, please please: If you are going to post a photo and commentary about every step of the cooking process, please put a link to the actual recipe at the TOP of the page so I can click right to it. This morning I am looking for a recipe for red beans and rice that uses canned beans (don't judge me) and I am wading through photos of sliced andouille sausage, sauteing rice, chicken broth being poured into a pan... I don't need to see these things. I get that sometimes people want to see photos. I love a photo of the finished dish. I know that photos of the proper color of a roux or the size of dice for the peppers can be helpful to people. But I don't need a photo highlighting every ingredient. And, raw sausage? Come on. Not attractive, even with great photography skills. You can say "scroll past, scrooge" but on a kindle fire it is not that easy. Just please put a link to actual recipe at the top of the page. Then I can get to what I need. And if I like your recipes, I'll come back to your site. But if I can't get to the recipe without a lot of work... buh bye. 22 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Can I add a request for a print button? Or at the very least have the recipe condensed and all together in one spot and not mixed in with the pictures. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 100% agree! I had to cook blueberry muffins scrolling up and down trying to find ingredients and instructions because there was no one place where everything was listed. There was no way to copy and paste the recipe unless I transcribed it. Big shocker, I messed up the recipe and my muffins were awful because I missed an ingredient sandwiched between pictures. I prefer a print link but at the very least, just list ingredients and instructions at the bottom or top of the post so I can look at everything in one place. One of my favorite recipes has a ridiculous number of pictures. I need to see a picture of you pouring smoked paprika into the pan? No, I've an excellent imagination, I can just imagine it. But that's ok, because the recipe is at the bottom, so I can scroll past and see everything in one place, easy peasy. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in OR Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Agreeing like crazy over here. On one popular site, I do keep trying to scroll to the bottom to get to the recipe, but as the photos continue to load, it keeps pulling me back up the page so I can't reach the recipe. I'm amazed we've been able to cook properly with these old school paper cookbooks--you're lucky if there's one picture of the finished product. ;) Erica in OR 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 ITA! If I like a recipe I cut and paste into my own file and never go back to the website again. It's just too much of a pain to wade through all those pictures to even get to the ingredients list. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyacinth Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 And while we're on the topic, please use only high-quality photos. Far too many food bloggers (and, frankly, FB friends) post food pics that are simply unappetizing. But with some better lighting and composition you'd more likely get the reaction you were going for. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 :iagree: I hate having to scroll through photos of eggs being cracked into a bowl, or onions sauteeing. I'm not sure of the point. Do they want to show off their (or their cousin's) amazing food photo skills? Are they trying to make the post seem longer than it is? From the reader's side, there really is no point to some of the photos. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Also, there's no need to post 10 mouthwatering photos of the finished product. One or two will be fine. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 And while we're on the topic, please use only high-quality photos. Far too many food bloggers (and, frankly, FB friends) post food pics that are simply unappetizing. But with some better lighting and composition you'd more likely get the reaction you were going for. I have seen some pretty disgusting facebook food photos. Sometimes it's at a restaurant, sometimes it's a dish the person cooked. Rarely do they look appetizing, yet the person usually posts something about how delicious it is. Soup is one of the worst. Not photographed properly (and I'm pretty sure I can't do it right either), soup can look like some nasty stuff. :ack2: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 I hate scrolling past all those pictures and descriptions. :-P I guess I'm just not a food blog person. Emily 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganCupcake Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Drives me crazy too! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 For those who monetize their sites, it's all about the money. The more time you spend on the page, the better the "time average user spends on the page" stats are. That also speaks to the idea that you weren't there by mistake (clicking quickly out of the page), which helps make your site more attractive to advertisers. The more words on the page, the better the search ranking (potentially). If your page says "paprika chicken" a bazillion times, that helps make it one of the top suggestions for people searching "paprika chicken", giving you more viewers (thus, again, looking better to advertisers). The more pictures on the page, the more likely someone will pin one to a pintrest board, or find the page through a Google image search. And so on... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeachyDoodle Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 For those who monetize their sites, it's all about the money. The more time you spend on the page, the better the "time average user spends on the page" stats are. That also speaks to the idea that you weren't there by mistake (clicking quickly out of the page), which helps make your site more attractive to advertisers. The more words on the page, the better the search ranking (potentially). If your page says "paprika chicken" a bazillion times, that helps make it one of the top suggestions for people searching "paprika chicken", giving you more viewers (thus, again, looking better to advertisers). The more pictures on the page, the more likely someone will pin one to a pintrest board, or find the page through a Google image search. And so on... I'm all for good bloggers making money off their hard work. But more and more they seem to be overloaded with ads down both sides of the pages, embedded in the blog's photos, showing up between lines of copy... on and on and on. My browser inevitably crashes when I'm on one of those sites. It's so frustrating to just want to get some info and not be able to because of the sheer amount of junk added to the site! I would be far more likely to click on an Amazon link or whatever to support the site if I didn't have to close it out before I can even find what I'm looking for! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*lifeoftheparty* Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 I'm sorry. You lost me and "canned beans" for red beans and rice... I couldn't make it past that point. ;) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RioSamba Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 For those who monetize their sites, it's all about the money. The more time you spend on the page, the better the "time average user spends on the page" stats are. That also speaks to the idea that you weren't there by mistake (clicking quickly out of the page), which helps make your site more attractive to advertisers. The more words on the page, the better the search ranking (potentially). If your page says "paprika chicken" a bazillion times, that helps make it one of the top suggestions for people searching "paprika chicken", giving you more viewers (thus, again, looking better to advertisers). The more pictures on the page, the more likely someone will pin one to a pintrest board, or find the page through a Google image search. And so on...I had no idea! I so agree about the recipe. Just give it to me. I don't have time to scroll! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted October 12, 2015 Author Share Posted October 12, 2015 I'm sorry. You lost me and "canned beans" for red beans and rice... I couldn't make it past that point. ;) I know, I know. I should have left that part out. But I am just that desperate today. What else does one make when there is no time, but there is sausage, rice, beans, tabasco, red peppers... ? :-) And just so you know... every recipe I saw had a sort of disclaimer that for proper RB&R, dried beans are a must. But, reality. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamanthaCarter Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 I refuse to use blogs like that. There are plenty of food blogs, so I move on for a recipe with a reasonable number of photos. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 This *just* happened to me. I ended up using Bobby Flay's recipe because there was just too much commentary and excess gobbledy-gook at a food blog with the same recipe idea. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 I love the step-by-step photos, but I DO wish the recipe was first. (I'm talking to you, Pioneer Woman.) When I revisit a recipe, or I'm just ready to cook it after reading the blog, the scrolling is tedious; especially with floury hands. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikin' Mama Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 I love food blogs. I am always looking for new recipes and inspiration. But please, please please: If you are going to post a photo and commentary about every step of the cooking process, please put a link to the actual recipe at the TOP of the page so I can click right to it. This morning I am looking for a recipe for red beans and rice that uses canned beans (don't judge me) and I am wading through photos of sliced andouille sausage, sauteing rice, chicken broth being poured into a pan... I don't need to see these things. I get that sometimes people want to see photos. I love a photo of the finished dish. I know that photos of the proper color of a roux or the size of dice for the peppers can be helpful to people. But I don't need a photo highlighting every ingredient. And, raw sausage? Come on. Not attractive, even with great photography skills. You can say "scroll past, scrooge" but on a kindle fire it is not that easy. Just please put a link to actual recipe at the top of the page. Then I can get to what I need. And if I like your recipes, I'll come back to your site. But if I can't get to the recipe without a lot of work... buh bye. YES! (Because liking was not enough.) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in OR Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I love the step-by-step photos, but I DO wish the recipe was first. (I'm talking to you, Pioneer Woman.) When I revisit a recipe, or I'm just ready to cook it after reading the blog, the scrolling is tedious; especially with floury hands. I didn't name names in my post, but... finger duly pointed at PW. Erica in OR 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 One of my favorite food blogs, Simply Recipes, has great recipes with minimal photos and advertising. She has photos that show the completed recipe and a few steps along the way. She has it monetized with ads. Neither are intrusive or too much. It's food blogging the way it should be done. (And no, I don't know this person or get anything for linking to her blog). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I'm all for good bloggers making money off their hard work. But more and more they seem to be overloaded with ads down both sides of the pages, embedded in the blog's photos, showing up between lines of copy... on and on and on. My browser inevitably crashes when I'm on one of those sites. It's so frustrating to just want to get some info and not be able to because of the sheer amount of junk added to the site! I would be far more likely to click on an Amazon link or whatever to support the site if I didn't have to close it out before I can even find what I'm looking for! And this is why so many of us have ad blockers installed now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 One of my favorite food blogs, Simply Recipes, has great recipes with minimal photos and advertising. She has photos that show the completed recipe and a few steps along the way. She has it monetized with ads. Neither are intrusive or too much. It's food blogging the way it should be done. (And no, I don't know this person or get anything for linking to her blog). Yes! Love her blog. I use a lot of her recipes. Besides being a great and easy-to-use site, the recipes never fail. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvToRead Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I'm glad I'm not alone! I can't stand pictures of half eaten foodl Please don't take a bite from your burger than show us the cut-a-away. To me, that is so gross. I would love it if the recipes were at the beginning, but I guess people wouldn't scroll through if they were?? I want to see the recipe, a picture of the finished product, and maybe a picture of an important step. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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