Start with your first recipe

Wondering what to do first? Get one of your recipes onto a page you can preview. You can choose colors, write an About page, and organize categories later.

1. Add a recipe, or open one that is already there

Sign in and open your publication. If it is empty, choose Paste a recipe or caption on the dashboard. Include the ingredients and instructions, then choose Format recipe. Crumb creates a draft for you to check. You can also choose Write from scratch.

If Crumb has already prepared recipes for you, open Recipes and choose a dish you know well. You do not need to review the whole collection before trying the editor.

See how to import or write a recipe for an example and import help.

2. Check your draft and preview it

Open the recipe and check:

• ingredient names and quantities;
• preparation and cooking times;
• instruction order;
• the cover image, title, and introduction.

Crumb uses automated tools to turn complete captions into structured recipe drafts. They save time, but they can misunderstand a quantity or leave out context. You remain the final editor.

Choose Save draft, then Preview recipe. The preview lets you see your recipe on your website while the draft stays private. If you make more edits, save again before opening a new preview.

3. Publish the recipe, then launch your publication

When the recipe is ready, choose Publish and review the publishing dialog. You choose whether to send an email announcement. For your first shared recipe, keep its visibility public and its access free so a new reader can open it.

Return to the dashboard. A published recipe is still private to readers while the publication is private. Use Publish website to make the publication public. If you see Subscribe to go public, open your Crumb plan, complete checkout, then choose Make publication public.

Creating, editing, and previewing is free. New publications pay $15 USD/month for public access; existing publications keep their publishing terms. Checkout does not launch the publication automatically. Read the publishing steps.

4. Share the recipe

Choose View website on the dashboard and copy the homepage address into your Instagram bio. Open a free, public recipe and copy its address for a Story link sticker. Check the public link in a signed-out browser before sharing it. Do not share a private preview link.

See how to share your first recipe and check for subscribers.

What can wait?

About text, theme changes, a custom domain, and categories can be added whenever you need them. Instagram connection is optional and available to eligible publications; you can keep pasting or writing recipes without it.

You do not need to offer paid memberships or a cookbook to launch. First give readers a recipe to cook and a reason to subscribe. Your Crumb plan pays for your publication; reader purchases are a separate choice.

Next guideImport, write, and manage recipes →