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Whether you’re a beginner who just started your blog or an intermediate blogger who’s been blogging for months or years, you are here because you are looking for a new beautiful theme for your blog or website.
If you haven’t started your blog yet, I highly recommend you checking out my easy step-by-step tutorial here on how to start your blog for as low as $2.95 a month.
I often get many questions about the Foodie Pro theme from my readers because they like how it looks on this blog you’re reading right now, Blog Savvy Panda, and my other blog about personal finance, Finsavvy Panda, so I decided to post this today to help you choose and install a new theme that you’ll love.
On top of that, I know many of you are frustrated with the limited options that come with the free no-frills themes and you’ve decided to invest in a more premium theme to have access to better options and customizations.
As a side note, I also use the Simply Pro theme for my lifestyle blog and it’s another beautiful theme you can consider. If you want me to write a review on that, simply send me an e-mail at ling@finsavvypanda.com and I’ll post it on this blog for you. 😊
In this Foodie Pro Theme review, I’m also going to go through an easy step-by-step tutorial on how you can get it up and running for your blog in 15 to 20 minutes.
Even if you decide to go with a different theme, this tutorial should still give you an idea of how to choose and install the Genesis framework along with that theme for your blog.
Alright, let’s first dive into my honest review about the Foodie Pro Theme.
Foodie Pro Theme Review
I’m not a food blogger (I know, the name “Foodie Pro Theme” implies it’s for recipe bloggers), but I still chose this theme for my blogs because I just love how flexible this theme can work for literally any website.
Whether you’re a fashion, beauty, lifestyle, personal finance, business, or mom blogger, this theme was made to work for almost any blog niche, and it’s still a very popular choice in theme amongst bloggers who don’t blog about food or recipes.
I can’t say enough, but I absolutely LOVE everything about the Foodie Pro Theme due to its modern and clean look. It’s simple and minimalistic but it’s also beautiful and sleek at the same time.
The Foodie Pro Theme makes it extremely easy for your reader to navigate your website. To my surprise, I’ve had many readers who e-mailed me and told me they love the appearance of my blog. They appreciate how easy it is to browse around my site.
They’ve also said that although some of my articles are longer in length, they feel like it’s easy to go through without making their eyes feel tired.
The white space that comes with the Foodie Pro Theme gives your website a decluttered and clean feel. It’s also easy on the eye when your readers are going through your blog posts and pages.
You can also check out this post on how to write your first blog post for some tips and tricks about layout.
Trust me, you’d want to stay away from themes that look too complicated or fancy because this may distract, or even confuse, your reader when it comes to browsing around your website.
Less is always more. 😊
Centering my Image Logo with Foodie Pro Theme
The only one thing I found challenging with the Foodie Pro Theme is adding my logo image at the top center of my blog for Finsavvy Panda, but it was working just fine with the blog you’re reading now.
It kept shifting towards the left end, but luckily, I was able to change this with a quick simple code for the Finsavvy Panda blog. I don’t know anything about coding, but I was able to find someone who was able to do this for me. Anyway, I don’t know what it was, but I doubt you will see an issue with yours when you upload your logo or image at the top of your blog.
Like any other theme you purchase, you’re likely going to experience a few things that you don’t like. This goes for any pre-made theme out there because, for one, it’s “pre-made” or “pre-designed” meaning it’s already customed for you.
If you know a thing or two about coding, you can always make minor tweaks to your theme. You can click around the demo site and browse to see how you like it.
Therefore, it’s important to do a “Live Demo” view before purchasing your theme.
That way, you can see sample pages of how it would look on different devices by clicking through the desktop, tablet, and mobile view.
Again, you won’t be able to get exactly everything you want unless you tweak it with some coding knowledge or hire a professional designer.
I personally don’t know any coding (EEEK), but I was still able to get the Foodie Pro Theme up and running great on both my blogs without any coding or technical knowledge. And no, I have not hired any professional designer.
Overall, purchasing a more premium theme will give you a lot more customization options compared to a basic free theme. Plus, it’s generally better for site speed and is much more user-friendly compared to the free themes.
Free Strategy Bundle Bonus with Foodie Pro Theme purchase!
This nice little extra bonus will be helpful for you!
When you use this specific page here to purchase the Genesis framework + Foodie Pro Theme bundle, you’ll also receive the Bonus Strategy Bundle in your Foodie Pro Theme folder.
This BONUS Strategy Bundle is created by the creator of Foodie Pro Theme, and it includes PDF resources, worksheets, along with quick actionable tips for bloggers such as:
- 5 Extra Time Saving Tips For Bloggers
- 6 Best Places To Find Stock Images For Your Blog
- 6 Things To NOT Do When Writing a Sponsored Post
- Blog Post Checklist
- Creating Your Blog Work Plan
- Daily Reflection Worksheet
- Do I Really Need This Plugin For My Blog?
- Finding Your Most Productive Time of Day To Blog
- Pitch Your Blog With This Email Template
- Start Your Blog Checklist
- What Makes A Blog Graphic Pinnable on Pinterest
- Writing Your About Me Page
Once you’re ready to purchase and install The Foodie Pro Theme, you can click here to purchase your Genesis framework + bundle.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are a brand-new blogger, or a first-time buyer, who has never purchased the Genesis Framework before, you will NEED to buy the Genesis framework + Foodie Pro Theme bundle package. I will explain what that means in a bit.
On the other hand, if you already have the Genesis framework, you can just simply buy the Foodie Pro Theme alone.
When you use either link on this post, you’ll receive the Strategy Bundle by the creator of the theme as a bonus gift after purchasing it!
Genesis Framework and Foodie Pro Theme Bundle
In the remainder of this article, I will show you a step-by-step tutorial on how to install both the Genesis Framework and Foodie Pro Theme on your WordPress.
But before I move onto the tutorial, earlier I mentioned that if it’s your first time installing a theme, you’ll also need to purchase what they call the “Genesis framework” for your theme.
Without this framework, your theme won’t work or function.
You can think of the “framework” as the foundation for building your blog, which you need, and the “theme” is the cosmetic appearance where you can play around with the design such as colors, fonts, sidebars, etc.
To give you a simple analogy, think of your house with a strong support foundation as “the framework”, which you need before painting and decorating your home. You can think of the paint and decoration as cosmetic appearances much like the blog “theme” that looks beautiful on the surface.
You only need to buy the Genesis framework once, and when you have the Genesis framework uploaded onto your WordPress, you can purchase as many different themes and switch things up as many times as you like going forward.
I’ve had people e-mail me in the past asking me why their theme isn’t working and it’s because they didn’t buy the bundle package that comes with the Genesis framework. They only purchased the theme alone.
If you’ve already purchased a theme from studiopress, but without the Genesis framework yet, you can use this page to purchase the Genesis framework alone.
Buying The Genesis Framework and Foodie Pro Theme
Whenever you’re ready, you can click here to purchase the Genesis Framework + Foodie Pro Theme bundle package. This is the exact same bundle I purchased and use for my blogs!
By the way, there are many other gorgeous and popular themes to choose from such as:
- Niche Pro Theme Package (I love how simple, pretty, and chic this looks)
- Simply Pro Theme Package (Similar to the Foodie Pro Theme, I love how minimalistic and clean it looks)
- Modern Studio Pro Theme Package (You can’t go wrong with clutter-free simple black and white)
You can use still use and follow this tutorial even if you decide to go with another theme. I really do think the simpler you go, the easier it will be for you to customize a beautiful blog without feeling overwhelmed by too many options!
Okay, it will now take you to this page, so you can follow the steps to buy the Genesis Framework and theme.
Step 1: Click on “Buy Theme + Framework Package”.
Before buying, you can always click on “Live Demo” to get a quick tour of how it would look on your desktop and mobile
Step 2: Enter your information
Fill in the fields by entering your personal information.
This includes your first and last name, creating a password to create an account, address, and your credit card information.
Step 3: Check your e-mail
Once you’ve made your purchase, you should get an e-mail in your inbox that confirms your purchase along with the next steps of instructions.
It should also come with a user manual on how to upload and design your blog, but I will cover the part on how to upload it onto your WordPress here.
How To Install The Foodie Pro Theme With Genesis Framework Using WordPress
Follow these steps to install the framework along with your blog theme.
Step 1: Log in to your WordPress dashboard and go to Appearance >> Themes.
Step 2: Click the “Add New” button at the top of the page of your WordPress dashboard.
Step 3: Click the “Upload Theme” button at the top of your WordPress dashboard.
Step 4: Click the “Choose File” button and find the file for your genesis theme on your computer.
The file name may have an ending of .zip (example: genesis.zip or genesis-sample.zip). Mine was genesis.3.2.1.zip
Step 5: Once you’ve chosen the genesis zip file, click the “Install Now” button for upload.
Note that you do NOT have to activate the Genesis framework.
Step 6: Go back to Appearance >> Themes page.
Here you can see all your previously installed themes and you should now be able to see “Genesis Framework” here like this.
Step 7: Congratulations! You’ve installed the Genesis Framework, so now it’s time to install the theme of your choice.
You can repeat steps 1 – 5 to install the theme you just purchased (e.g. Foodie Pro Theme) and activate it. It should be in the Foodie Pro Theme folder and the name of the zip file should contain “foodiepro” along with the version. For example, when I installed mine, it looked like “foodiepro-v440” in the folder.
Step 8: Time to design your website with your new theme!
Inside your WordPress dashboard, go to Genesis >> Theme Settings and configure this to your liking.
This is how my other blog, Finsavvy Panda, looks with the Foodie Pro Theme:
And here is the current one you’re reading now with the same theme:
At the time of writing this, this new blog of mine is still a work-in-progress, and I didn’t add too many things to it yet.
Many people have asked me if they should prepare and get everything ready before launching their sites officially.
I am publishing my posts and building this blog at the same time. I don’t go by any “official launch date” because the truth is no one will see or read your blog unless you are actively sharing them on social media or Pinterest. So, it really doesn’t matter if you are putting it up live as you are building it.
This is what I did to my first website, Finsavvy Panda, and yet it was still consistently earning over thousands of dollars every month in income despite it not being “officially ready” or “complete.” The truth is, your blog will never feel ready for launch, so don’t be afraid to learn, build and make your content go live all at the same time!
Having that said, go ahead and play with all those options and settings and preview it on the right-hand side to see how you like it.
Also, please know that all pre-made themes are created differently, so the settings and customization options may be different.
That is it for today, my friends!
If you haven’t started your WordPress blog yet, be sure to check out my easy step by step tutorial on how to start a WordPress blog using Bluehost here.
For more blogging tips for beginners, you can check out this page with a ton of information that will answer all of your questions about starting your blog.
I hope you found this review and tutorial on the Foodie Pro Theme helpful!
Hi Ling,
I wanted to say thanks for all your excellent advice in setting up a blog. Your ebook has been invaluable to get me started and I’m enjoying seeing it coming together. I have made some progress with good quality blog posts and adding recipes although I’m quite frustrated that I’m not able to spend as much time on it as I’d like due to other work and family commitments.
I really liked the look of the Foodie Pro theme and was keen to download it. The company has however changed the pricing system and I wanted to ask your opinion on the new scheme. To get full support you now need to pay $249/year for the Feast Plugin. Do you think it’s necessary to pay the annual fee in order to run a successful blog or will I be ok with the classic version for $19? I’ve downloaded the classic theme to start me off and it seems fine for now but will there be things I won’t be able to do with this theme further down the road?
Kind regards
Liz
Hi Liz – I’m so thrilled to see you working on your food blog. Building a successful blog is something you work on consistently, so it’s ok to take your time and not rush through it due to other commitments.
I am definitely confident to say that running a successful blog has nothing to do with running it on a premium theme. In fact, there are many wildly successful blogs that still run on free themes without all the fancy stuff going on. It’s all about your content and how you help your readers – whether it’s a simple recipe, how to tutorial or something that’s informational.
For beginners, you can totally start with a free theme. If you want to customize it further, you can always pay extra for the added features that could improve the look of your blog. Some of those features may also improve your blog’s performance but it’s insignificant at beginner and intermediate levels.
Since performance and your website speed matters (something you’ll want to keep in mind as you become more experienced with blogging), I do recommend light weight themes like Astra, Kadence or even GeneratePress.
I have a tutorial on Astra theme to help beginners with a basic setup that will get them moving forward with their blogs. I also address the fact that you don’t have to worry too much about the appearance of your blog at the beginning. I always harp that keyword research for traffic and publishing your posts are priority over most other tasks when you first start – I recommend you going through my tutorial here:
https://www.blogsavvypanda.com/how-to-setup-astra-blog-theme/
And fyi in case you’re wondering, I have foodie theme when they used to sell a different package. It was different then. If I were to start a new blog, I would use one of the themes I recommended above. Astra for beginners because it’s simple/easy (plus really popular) and imo, it’s in the middle of Kadence and GeneratePress.
My final word is don’t worry about free or paid theme. You don’t need to spend $249 per year on a theme to become a successful full-time blogger. Definitely nice to have and something I recommend reinvesting in to build a stronger brand once your blog starts taking off.
Very useful content as always!! SO helpful. I recently upgraded my theme from a free theme to the FoodiePro theme and I noticed that my featured images had suddenly disappeared. I was stuck on this for weeks not knowing how to fix it until I read this blog post…and suddenly it was such a quick click-of-a-button thing. Thank you.
The comments section has suddenly disappeared though lol, not sure how to fix that. Any advice?
One thing I wanted to ask is, does one need to purchase the feast plugin when using either of the themes mentioned in this blog post? Would you recommend it?
Thanks Ling!
Hi Lebo
That’s great to hear you figured it out! 🙂
I haven’t personally purchased any Feast plugins.
Give me a link to your lifestyle blog, please! I want to check it because I really like FinsavvyPanda and Blogsavvy
Hi Diana
I haven’t disclosed my other blogs to the public for good reasons. I don’t want people to plagiarize and copy exactly everything I’m doing. I know no one can prevent this, but it reduces/eliminates the attention. This is a mistake and lesson I learned in my blogging journey. 🙂