Jan 27, 2013 / Community Pool

Community Pool

Community Pool

The Community Pool is for those of you looking for input, whether on post ideas, writing, blog design and layout, or anything else. If you have a post, page, or idea you want to bounce off someone, leave a comment. Your fellow bloggers can then click through and offer input either on your site, or in the comments here (feel free to indicate which you’d prefer).

Read on for the ground rules and to leave a comment . . .

  • You’ll get the best feedback if you can be as specific as possible about what you’d like people to respond to or where you’re struggling.
  • Please keep all comments civil and constructive. We’re here to help and support one another, not to beat anyone down.
  • If you haven’t looked at our Commenting Guidelines in a while, now might be a good time.
  • No running on the deck.

Photo by t_a_i_s.

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  1. Hi everyone! I would love some feedback on my blog, http://adaywithdepression.wordpress.com

    What do you think of the layout, banner, & colors? Is it easy to navigate? Are there any additional widgets you would recommend?

    What do you think of my writing? Is it easy to read and understand? How can I make my posts more interesting? Is their length okay? How can I engage readers more and encourage comments?

    You are welcome to comment here or on specific posts. All constructive criticism very welcome!

    thanks,
    Ziya

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    1. I like your blog and I am now a folllower. I think you might want to break up some of your longer posts with photos or clip art. The only way I know to get more comments is to find blogs you like and leave comments. If you have conversations with others bloggers that you like, they will also converse with you. I hope this helps.

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      2. Thanks so much for your advice. I’ll give breaking up my longer posts with images a try. I also look forward to participating a bit more in the blogging community. There are a lot of great writers on WordPress; sometimes I think I just need to push myself a little to comment on the great stuff I get to read.

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  2. I would just like to say that a fellow blogger and friend recently changed to WP.org and now wishes she hadn’t because she didn’t understand what some of the changes would mean to her…She wasn’t well enough informed which was her responsibility but she had a third party ‘helping’. So when I tried to find out information about this from WP.com they said that she needed to go to WP.Org for help…But this person said she would never suggest changing to a site without being knowledgeable about how to take care of your own site.

    As a side note…my friend now wants to go back and from what I’m reading that is just as complex…. So maybe to others …beware!…

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      1. You’re welcome…my friend thought she knew what was involved but she has found out differently and not being too knowledgeable about these things she jumped into it too fast….Now it’s going to be a process to get things back …Diane

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  4. I’m a fairly new to the blogging world and was looking to get a little feedback on the structure of my blog. This is mostly outlined here: http://lifeaccordinglee.wordpress.com/about-this-blog/ but feel free to browse through my posts to get a sense of what I mean. I just feel like each category I have is attracting one type of reader instead of readers who are interested in my blog as a whole. Is this a bad thing? Should I try to become more niche-oriented? I would be looking to change this soon before I get too far into my blog, so please let me know what you think.

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  5. Any comments welcome, my blog is just my thoughts on life and a portal to update my family and friends on my travels and adventures. Sometimes it feels very egotistical but any feedback on structure, content, SEO or anything that stands out would be welcome, many thanks

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  6. I think that a bit of variety makes for an interesting blog. I do not think you should have a narrow focus. You will attract more readers who love your whole blog in time.

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    1. I enjoyed your blog. I think you have a real niche hailing from India and utilizing this will be very beneficial as niche blogs tend to take off very well. This is especially true if they are targeted to the right audiences. Congrats on getting so many followers so fast! Several ways you could improve would be to add some more pictures to your main page and also a personal picture and some links to your gravitar. There are many occasions when people leave no pictures on their gravitars and this impersonal piece will make it difficult for anyone to recognize when you have liked their posts or if you are a regular frequenter of other blogs they frequent which would in turn bring more potential readers and future followers with similar interests back to your own blog. I can tell very quickly that you have a great passion for your country in your blog and I would let that shine in its design with pictures of items or places that have interested you related to India. Cool blog and hope this helps!

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      1. Thank you for your wonderful feedback and advice. I have noted the points you’ve mentioned and will be making necessary changes soon. I just opened up your website, your pic on your About page is hilarious. I love to have a good laugh so I am following you now. See you around and thank you again for taking out time to read my blog!

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  8. I’m brand new to WordPress, but have been writing and blogging for a while now. I’m moving my main site over to WordPress and would like any feedback on either the format (seems to have some difficulties in Internet Explorer) and on any ways to improve my writing or engage more readers. My site is primarily humor, but has become a hodgepodge of various topics. I’m also not an English major and would like any feedback on grammar or even excellent resources I could check out. I’ve studied Strunk and White and other books on grammar, but still need loads of improvement. Thanks!

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    1. Another good resource may be checking out some stylebooks, like Associated Press or Chicago Manual of Style. It can give you a good idea of how things should be written, how words should be hyphenated or not, etc.

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  9. Hi,
    I’m absolutely new to blogging and wish to write a mini-novel in my blog.
    I’d love to hear what you all have to say about my writing. Please check it out.
    Also, i believe in sharing techniques and styles. So, you’re welcome to share your opinion and i hope we help each other in growing mutually as good bloggers.
    Cheers!

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  10. Hey!
    I’ve started a new blog, and I’ve finally found an area of focus but I’m not exactly sure what areas of interest to zero in on, or what readers would be interested in? I’ve recently taken a vow of celibacy for a year,and intend on writing about my experiences and thoughts along the way. Any type of feedback would be appreciated! Happy blogging everyone. 🙂
    Andie

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    1. It’s well worth the work to share blogs you like with other people…..I tend to ignore the rules on telling people seven interesting things about yourself or answering questions about my favourite colour…that’s just icing.
      the cake is the sharing.

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  14. I’ve been blogging for many years now but have never managed to garner many comments, likes and/or follows and was wondering if it’s because I blog about a huge range of topics (gadgets, books, food, personal life events etc.) rather than a specific niche area. (Or maybe it’s just that my writing isn’t anything to, well, write home about).

    What do you guys look for when you consider following a blog? Would you only follow one that writes primarily about the one niche area that attracted you to read it in the first place?

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      1. okay Chris under discussion I removed people making comments via email and has to be done via moderator, and I also removed the check at the bottom of the community pool. so I hope this will do it, thanks so much, partner!

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    1. if you want to stop emails from this post in community pool, there is a link in each email. at the bottom of the email click. Want less email? Modify your Subscription Options.It will take you to a page with all the post comments you are following.
      Find the post you want to stop following, check the box and hit delete or use the drop down menu to stop following.

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  17. Hi. I am a recent active blogger on wordpress. I like to share my thoughts. Sometimes its in the form of poetry, and at other times its just random thoughts, or articles that I have liked. I feel my blog isn’t very organised. Can someone suggest me apt categories (I have a lot of posts piled up, so its confusing :/) For now, I have used lots of them, but it doesn’t look very nice. 😀
    Have a look please. I hope you’ll like something. 😉 Here is the link:
    http://au1688.wordpress.com/
    Suggestions/ feedback awaited!

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  19. Hi all, I am very new to blogging; my blog is an ancient three days old. It is there to regale mine and my partners life adventures, hence the title – Allnutt is our surname, not some rude reference ;). I imagine it will mainly be travel and funny stories. As we housesit its also there so people who may want us to sit can find out more about us.

    http://allnuttadventures.wordpress.com/

    Be gentle, please.

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    1. I like your blog! Adding the map to the house hunting post was a good idea. I have a general idea of where places are in the UK, but I will often just check a map just to be sure. Having renovated a 100 year old house, it will be interesting to read how you like updating your house. Good luck!

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      1. Hi Peter, thank you for replying and glad you like the blog. Adding the map came to me at the last minute, I know my awareness of other countries geography isnt that great so figured not everyone is going to know the layout of south england. Ours is 100 years old too! There will certainly be posts about the renovations. Best wishes,

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  20. Just a general question about word count — do any of you limit the word count for your own posts or the posts you read when browsing? I’ve been trying to limit mine to under 500 words, but it can be hard to say much of anything in that length post.

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    1. I don’t worry about word count unless I feel like I’m rambling. It is my opinion that if the topic is interesting and every sentence/word is necessary, it will hold the reader’s attention even if it is a bit long. Good luck!

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    2. I do not limit word count. I say what I intend to and if the post looks busy with words, add an image or two to provide relief. I believe if a post is truly interesting the reader will continue reading; however, if you feel the post is too long, you can always part it out and join with links.

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    1. I love the photography on your page for the most part. The header photo is not particularly eye-catching, but once you begin reading and scrolling through the content I really enjoy it. I thought the post about Parenting Lessons was great, especially with the photos of your daughter to complement it. Otherwise, I enjoy the layout and the content quite a bit…I think you’re doing pretty well. 🙂

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  24. I’m a brand new blogger. I started a few months ago, but only have five posts. I have a hard time squeezing in time to write because I’m a bit of a perfectionist. I’m challenging myself to write shorter posts.
    I haven’t been brave enough to tell more than a handful of people about my blog, therefore I’m lacking in views and comments. I’d like to get ANY input….don’t worry about hurting my feelings! 🙂 Thanks so much!

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    1. Rhonda, challenge yourself by releasing a post which isn’t perfected up to your highest standards. Also, in order to hold yourself accountable for releasing more posts, brainstorm some subjects that you would like to write about, then make a calendar to show which dates you would like to release each a blog based on each of those ideas. The blogging community is pretty relaxed, and even though it is important to only release something which you feel comfortable with, don’t over scrutinize your work. Also, some advice that I received recently from another community pool viewer was to maybe divide my posts up so they won’t be as long. Maybe you could try that, as well. I hope something I said was helpful! =)

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      1. These are very good suggestions….I like the calendar idea. I actually have MANY ideas scribbled into a notebook, so coming up with ideas isn’t my problem…Worrying that no one cares about what I’m saying is one problem. 🙂 That and just the busy-busy of life that eats up my time.
        Funny thing about dividing up posts….Two of my longest posts actually originated as one post….I divided them and they are STILL long! Brevity has never been my strong point, but I’m working on it! Thank you for the suggestions. I’ll go check out your blog, now!

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    2. I definitely agree with not striving for perfection. Definitely look over your work to make sure everything makes sense and to check for typos/grammatical/spelling errors, but don’t overanalyze it. It looks like you are providing good content, just take steps to increase traffic to your blog: posting here, participating in the Weekly Writing Challenge, reading and commenting on other blogs, utilizing Facebook/Twitter and other social media to get the word out. 🙂 Good luck! 😀

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    3. Rhonda,
      Your experience is fairly normal for first time bloggers. When I started blogging, I wrote one post a month or so and I was concerned about being prefect… Be patient and compassionate with yourself and realize that blogging is a great way to work on improving our writing not delivering show pieces at every turn. Heck, you can edit a post, make corrections, change information after the fact so go easy on yourself. As for comments, visit and comment on other blogs, make a number of regular blog friends, build you social media presence and some will reciprocate.
      best wishes,
      E

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      1. Thank you! These are great suggestions and things I’m trying to do. It can be quite time consuming, but I’ll get there! As for the pursuit of perfection, the people who know me know me as someone who finds every little mistake (I don’t try, they just seem to jump out at me everywhere I go!), so it feels like some are ready to pounce on every mistake I make. I read each post so many times before I hit “publish” that I’m usually so sick of it by the time I do, I don’t even like it anymore. Ha ha. But, even so, I’ve had typos pointed out 2 or three times already. So, I guess my obsessing might just be a waste of time…or worse, it works against me. By the time I’ve edited a thousand times it all runs together and it’s easy to miss stuff. This is more information than you wanted or needed…again, brevity is not my strong suit. 🙂
        Thank you for your input! It really helps!

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      2. TY! It’s all good. We are allowed to make mistakes and perfection is not required for blogging success. Keep in mind that the best, most successful writers in the market place often have a team of editors combing through their work. The great thing about blogging is we can go back and correct our errors. I’m glad this helped and I look forward to seeing you shine in your blogging efforts.
        All the best!
        Eliz

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  25. Hi, bloggers! This is the first time I comment in tDP. I might call myself an old blogger as I have had several personal blogs over the years. But still, I feel as a novice! I really encourage all newcomers to brace this wonderful world with enthusiasm. I always say blogs are MUCH better than social networks. See, Facebook, Twitter and almost all of the like promotes inmediatism, content-to-be-forgotten. Just try to find what you wrote on your favorite social netwrok last year by this date and you’ll see how difficult it is.

    So, as someone that really believes in blogging, I made a move last year. I created a blog for my 11 years old daughter, so she can start creating her own storyline in their own space. Do you think that’s a good idea? Is there anyone over here that has the same idea? If so, how do you coach your children to blog? What are the best tools to help them love blogging by themselves?

    My blog and my daughter’s are both in Spanish, but if there’s someone willing to visit or comment, here are the links: http://40limon.es (mine) http://soyvielka.com (My prioncess’).

    Blessing to all!

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    1. So… nobody has the same concern than me? 😦 Not that I’m begging for attention, but I thought this topic would be interesting to discuss too. C’mon, guys, share your wisdom on this matter with me 🙂

      Thanks!

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  26. Hello! I’m back for more. I would like some feedback in general on my blog: appearance, functionality, my Pages, and blog content. If you stumbled across my blog, which elements would grab your attention, and which would turn you off, if any? I am looking for any feedback and what would make you comment on it. I’ll make sure to comment/leave feedback for any who does for me and look through the comments here. Thank you!

    http://donewithcollege.wordpress.com

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    1. Hello, I like your blog. Living in England I am always interested to read about life in small town America. One thing I did think was that your subscribe box could benefit by being above the twitter feed – less scrolling that way. Sorry to not be that helpful, I did subscribe though :).

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    1. Your photos are very interesting, but I think your blog would be more approachable if you made the main page (the one you see when you go to pavloszikos.wordpress.com) a page of photos, rather than the about me page.

      Typically when I go to a blog, I like to see examples of their content to see if it interests me before I click through to find out about the blog author.

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      1. hi Jen! thank you for your feedback!i think you are right for the main page of my blog…maybe i should change it with the recent posts or even better with the top-click posts! the structure of my blog is similar to a company’s site…where you find first the company’s profile and after its products&services.
        thank you again!
        have a nice day!
        -Pavlos-

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  28. I was hoping that someone might kindly let me know what they think about the design/layout for my blog here:
    http://tenwordstory.wordpress.com/
    I have been having problems choosing one and don’t know if I should go with this or a one column one with a wide width that puts the content on center stage. Also, if you have any other thoughts or concerns, I would be very grateful to hear them.

    Thanks,
    Misanthropic Muse

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    1. I think the format you have right now is a good one. It allows you to read the story unhindered but also have the links/etc on the right hand side. If anything, I would make the background of the site a little bit darker so that the white background of the text area “pops”. Right now the background of the text area is of such a similar color to the background of the site that my eye gets very little definition between the two.

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      2. Much better! It’s easier to focus on the text since my eye doesn’t try to scroll all the way to the far sides of the screen while reading. Also, the more visible skulls coupled with your flat-eyed avatar stare really set the tone for the ‘misanthropic’ tone of your blog. Great changes 🙂

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    3. themisanthropicmuse, I like your current layout; clean lines, easy on the eyes and a strong focus on your writing… I even love those skulls in the background because your color scheme is soothing. If anything else strikes me, I’ll let you know. Key is easy navigation and you have that.
      Best wishes,
      E

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      1. Thank you for taking the time to look over my layout. I think the more I look at it, the more I like it. It was so hard to pick one when there were several that I really liked. Have a lovely evening!

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  29. I’ve been having a lot of trouble in trying to find inspiration in what to write about so if anyone wants to give me some ideas i would greatly appreciate it or if there is something you want me to write about I would love to see what I can come up with.

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    1. Katlyn83,
      What interests you? Why did you start blogging? You can start exploring those questions again and they should trigger some memory. The WordPress Daily Post offers tons of writing prompts. You can look at old prompts for ideas. Also, check out Plinky.com and SoulPancake.com. Another tip is to check out other blogs and read and comment on them… Some of my best topics have come from reading a blog post and getting into the subject that I then felt it merited a post from me. I have two blogs and have been writing what they call small stones on one of them. It is about paying attention to the world around you for slivers of ideas… it’s a great way to reconnect with the little things that prompt our creativity. So, look out the window, what do you see? Write about it and how it makes you feel… Just a small example and then go from there.
      Best wishes,
      E

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    2. I think you have great inspiration on your writing ideas and thoughts. The only thing I would suggest, is for inspiration, find a photo to go along with your writing if you can, it helps the brain of the viewer process your ideas, and it will also give you inspiration…if you don’t already have it. I have a tab called “behold my muse” which I started just that way, writing about the photo. I’m an amatuer photographer, so its easier, but even if all you do is a graphic in a paint program, instead of a title, it will liven up your site. So if you run out of things to write about, look around….photo’s are great muses. I also use another bloggers paintings as my muse, which she allows and likes, lol. she gets twice the hits, and so do I. good luck, you’re off to a great start!!!

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  30. After the last two Community Pools, I made quite a few changes on my site. While I think I’ve made it easier for existing readers to navigate the site and see features like my post card collection and travel planning posts, I am looking for feedback of how the site looks to first time visitors.

    Can you automatically find what you are looking for? Is it inviting? Does the intro to each post on the main page make you want to read more?

    Or is it cluttered / distracting? Does it overwhelm you and turn you away? Does it need more pictures or less? More text or less?

    Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it!

    http://WanderOneDay.com

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    1. Hi Wanderoneday,
      I checked out your blog and the first tip I’d give as a reader is to place all your sidebar content on one side… all left or all right. It was a bit much to absorb visually with words and posts jumping at me… from all sides. Not a bad thing, but it would be a tad quieter if you moved them to the right. Your banner color is dense and heavy with way too much information. Limit the data and that should lighten things up a bit. A lighter shade might help too.
      Best wishes,
      E

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      1. Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll have to work on that, I’m not sure how much flexibility I have in my theme. But I do see what you mean about the dense/heavy banner.

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      2. I just read up on your theme Opti and the feel is like a magazine/blog appeal. You could look at other themes too and play around with a few. Otherwise, you can keep Opti if you like… Great! 🙂
        Eliz

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      3. I do really like Opti, and would like to keep it. But their example sites are very clean-lined, so perhaps I should focus on what I actually include in my featured/widget side bars. I’m sure I could find a way to make them look less cluttered. Thanks for the suggestions!

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    2. Ok, I just checked out your blog and I’ll try and answer all your questions…

      I like the theme you’ve picked. The background compliments your blog’s theme nicely and it looks terrific with the color scheme you’ve chosen.

      I will be honest and say that I have never been a huge fan of three column layouts because they can take my focus away from the content of the blog but that is just my opinion. Some people love them and I don’t begrudge them the right to enjoy their widgets.

      The intro to the posts on the main page are hits or misses for me. For example, since I like breweries I was instantly honing in on that post but Post Card #18: Cancun, A Fantasy City has a snippet that starts off a bit boring and if I were surfing, I’d go right by it.

      Since your blog is about travel I’d pack it to the gills with beautiful pics. I didn’t see an overkill of text which is good. Some bloggers don’t get that most people aren’t looking to sit down and read an entire novel when reading blogs. For people with short attention spans like myself, the long ones cause me to disconnect unless it’s on a very riveting topic that has me in suspense.

      I hope that helps 🙂

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      1. That was excellent, thank you! I recently switched to a theme that only shows short snippets of posts on the main page, whereas previously it was just one continuous scroll through all the posts (which was text overload). So now I need to focus on making the intros to the posts more eye-catching. Thanks for the suggestion!

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    3. wow that is alot, I felt like I was at a travel agency….sorry, but I was overwhelmed with info. I think you should limit your columns to two also, it’s just too much info at once. maybe make each post a bit bigger, the thumbnails just didn’t cut it, especially if you are taking the photo’s yourself, make em bigger…that’s what draws people in, not words. other than that, I can’t wait to go back and weed through it…lol just kidding, but I will go back and read Walls and Snoflakes and Daydreams, can’t wait to see the pics…bigger…. 🙂 and PS…CLOUDS was spectacular!!!

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      1. I would like to make the photos bigger, but I’m frustrated by the limited control I have over themes. Perhaps one day soon I’ll get frustrated enough to pony up for the custom css design so I can adjust all that myself. And I’m working on making it less cluttered. Thanks for the suggestions!

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      2. Hope I wasn’t too harsh! I know finding the right theme is half the battle, I’m looking again too, even with dreading having to change everything again….but I don’t like mine either….lol take care and good luck!!!

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