Bringing a Clean Design and Smart Structure to an Inclusive Recipe Blog
Liz Fetchin is a seasoned marketing and communications director based in Pittsburgh. After years of professional experience and personal exploration, she launched Octofree — a recipe blog where every recipe is free of the top eight food allergens: dairy, gluten, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and eggs. Her goal was to make cooking and eating easier, safer, and more joyful for people with dietary restrictions, while also creating beautiful, story-driven content around food.
To bring Octofree to life, Liz needed a site that would reflect her brand, support long-term content growth, and be easy to manage. She had a stunning custom design ready to go, but needed a developer to bring it to life — someone who could handle custom functionality, help structure her recipes and product reviews, and set her up for success with email marketing, affiliate tracking, and digital product growth.
A Beautiful, Functional Recipe Site Built for Growth and Flexibility
We brought Liz’s vision to life with a custom WordPress website, email marketing setup, and tools that support her growing library of recipes, reviews, and digital products.
Website Build
I implemented a custom WordPress site based on a design by Randie Snow, ensuring the final site matched Liz’s vision in both form and function. We created custom post types for Recipes and Love Letters (her take on product reviews), along with custom taxonomies for allergens, equipment, and more. I also integrated WP Recipe Maker and customized the templates so her content would be easy to input, display, and scale over time. Custom search and filtering with FacetWP makes it simple for visitors to find exactly what they need.
Extras
To support her growing content library, I provided training so Liz could confidently add new recipes, reviews, and blog posts. The custom setup allows for clear organization and long-term flexibility so the site can grow alongside her brand. Since launch, Liz has also expanded Octofree with two digital cookbooks: Weeknight SOS and An Octofree Thanksgiving, both beautifully designed, allergen-free collections available for purchase through Shopify. The foundation we built made it easy to launch and promote these new offerings without a full redesign.
Email Marketing
Liz wanted to start with email marketing right away, so we set up MailerLite to help Liz stay connected with her audience. I created signup forms throughout the site, along with double opt-in messaging, a welcome email that delivers a freebie, and a weekly newsletter template that highlights her latest recipe, product review, or how-to article. The system is easy for her to manage and designed to grow her list naturally over time.
Website Care
I continue to provide ongoing care and maintenance for the Octofree site, including plugin and core updates, backups, and uptime monitoring. This helps ensure the site remains fast, secure, and reliable—so Liz can focus on sharing great food, not fixing tech issues.
If you’re ready for a website that’s easy to manage (and support that sticks around after launch) let’s chat about your project. I’ll help you get clear, organized, and set up for what’s next.
Services for Your Business
Looking for help with your website, ongoing support, or email marketing? I offer a few different services designed to meet you where you are. Explore the options below to see what best fits your needs.