Feb 10, 2013 / Community Pool

Community Pool: Design

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).

This week, we’ll try a focused Community Pool: bring questions about your theme, layout, or design. It’s all up for grabs — widget placement, custom backgrounds, font choices, you name it.

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.
  • To keep from losing your place in the comment thread, right-click on a link to open it in a new tab or window.
  • No running on the deck.

Photo by t_a_i_s.

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  1. I would definitely like some feedback on my blog. I would like for it to be more engaging. In that I would like feedback on the stories I post. I would also like some feedback on my Pages. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

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    1. I’m no expert but I visited your blog and I like the topics you write about, their interesting. I think if you try to visit other people’s blog they would discover your blog and you’ll surely get more comments 🙂

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    2. Yes, that is what I was going to say. I rarely had comments until I started visiting and commenting on other Blogs. I would also add more “share” buttons.

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  2. Hi everyone! I’m trying to teach myself some coding and design; I’d like to (eventually) be able to create my own space from scratch. In the meantime, I’m actually having a harder time with the design than the code. Any suggestions for design resources or moving from a concept/feel into a visual design? Also, any suggestions for solidifying a concept/feel? Finally, those of you who have upgraded and designed your own sites – what was your process? Thanks so much for your thoughts!

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    1. I have paid for nothing and i have done all of the work using what was available here. I LOVE my end result and get many compliments on the look/feel/design/style/layout. It doesn’t look like a “blog” and you can see many articles of varying topics at one glance.

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    1. You have quite an attractive blog with a colourful banner. You say the tabs at the top are unfinished, but they seem fine so far. You have asked for advice on your sidebar, but you don’t seem to have one. You do seem to have some content at the bottom but I cannot stay there long enough to see it. My advice to you would be that, if you do wish to have content at the bottom of the page, you need to switch off endless scrolling. Overall, however, I like your blog.

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      1. I don’t believe I have any content at the bottom of my blog, so I’m not sure if you’re referring to anything specifically. Although, thank you for the advice and kind words!

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    2. I love your header image 🙂 as for the menu tabs, they maybe should mimic your slogan ‘eating” “writing” “traveling” and so on.

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  4. Do you guys know about feedjit? I’d like that on my blog, when i went to the feedjit site and copied the code and placed it on the text widget it did not work. Why? Also since I’m not an expert in blogging and english is not my first language, I would like some feedback on basically about the topics i choose and my english. Thanx in advance! 🙂

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    1. I think your blog is fine s it is. I see no clash between your content and design and I don’t believe visual interest is an issue because you have pictures in your posts, which show up on your home page and provide plenty to look at. Well done.

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    2. LOL yes you have enough widgets BUT it depends on what you want them for…I would also suggest switching to a different template where you can see more of your posts at first glance or organizing them in menu tabs.

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      1. I suggest looking at a few other blogs and see what Widgets you look at. Incorporate those into your blog. Many widgets show photos or icons. I think using those options makes them more visually appealing. I tend to focus away from indexes by calendar months. While we as bloggers like our historical archive, I wonder if readers use them. You do appear to be generating comments which is great!

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  7. Hi there,

    I’d appreciate some feedback on my blog australiancultureandcustoms.com (which I included in a comment before reading the rules – sorry!). It’s only been up and running for about a month. The look? the layout? things to add/remove? Also, someone above mentioned removing revisions but I can’t figure out how. Any advice?

    Thanks everyone in advance, what a great initiative!

    Helene

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    1. I like your lists of all things Australian; ’10 Australian Movies to See…”. I also like your use of color in the background , and that abstract artwork in the upper left side. Lots of subjects to choose from in your layout, but I think that’s good. Just one minor thing, you might want to remove the ‘meta’ functions from appearing on the site since those are things that you might want to only access yourself.

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      1. Thanks very much for your feedback, Peter. I though you had to log in to access the meta function?

        Best wishes,

        Helene
        PS my 13 year old artist son did the background and other artwork (proud mum)

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    2. I agree, the design fits your blog focus. For the layout, it may be a good idea if you add some widgets at the bottom to balance out the tag cloud.

      As for the content, it’s great that you were able to post quite consistently for almost a week. Keep it up!

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      1. Thanks very much for taking the time to look, Arianne. Yes, I agree about balancing out the bottom.

        I am currently between jobs so I’m making hay while the sun shines regarding content.

        All the best,

        Helene

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    3. I like the visual aspect of your blog, though I find it to be quite busy. I am not a big fan of tag clouds, but that is just a matter of personal preference. I love your son’s artwork and your lists of Aussie stuff. Overall, a great blog.

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    4. Your blog is very attractive. Just one thought about the tag cloud: “etiquette and customs” is becoming large which means you post a lot of content “into” this tag. Could it be an improvement to find more specific tag “within” this tag? I sort of have the same problem because when I categorized my pictures geographically, “Germany” suddenly became a large entry … I am rethinking the categories / tags business now. I hope my “2 cents” may help you.

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      1. Thanks tms. Thanks for your comments. Yes, I have been wondering about this issue of tags and categories and trying to figure out how many of each, etc. I’ll have to do a little more climbing that learning curve to figure it out.

        All the best.

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  8. Hello everyone!

    SoundEagle welcomes any feedback on http://soundeagle.wordpress.com and appreciates astute comments, critiques and suggestions from you, apart from immediately obvious aspects such as
    (1) A very “busy” look (or perhaps not quite “busy” enough).
    (2) The use of some long sentences.
    (3) The multiple uses of the word or the image “SoundEagle”.

    The blog is more or less just about six months old and was quite neglected before that.

    Thank you in anticipation!

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    1. Wow, it’s pretty mind blowing! Personally, I find it a bit too busy, but I am impressed by your many, diverse interests. You are definitely an interesting person. I would focus on just a few issues, and maybe open another blog for the others. But that’s just me, others might really like the diversity.

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      1. Thank you very much for your kind feedback. SoundEagle looks forward to us interacting at the blog and to whatever you wish to express there, given what you just found and your impression of SoundEagle as “an interesting person” or bird. Much appreciated! 🙂

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    2. I love the little rose writing a message at the top of the page – I’m a sucker for cuteness. I know it’s one of those ovious things you already know about but your sidebar is a little busy for my taste. Having said that, I do love some of the graphics on your about page, and I think it is good that you remind readers to leave a comment by having a link in the top menu. Plus I love when people can refer to themselves in the third person without sounding pathetic. Well done.

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      1. SoundEagle is delighted with your comments and sighing a (minor) relief on having passed your “blog inspection” respectably with most feathers unruffled, if not perfectly with flying colours . . . . . Indeed, your assessment here is another indication that you seldom bite down with too great a force for others to recover. Thank you very much!

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  9. Hi –
    I would love some feedback on my home page, http://elkemurphy.wordpress.com
    is it too busy, confusing? I love the category cloud, have just recently created it – but does it work?
    How about navigation – can I improve this? Just heard from a friend who is checking my blog on her mobile phone that she finds it difficult to navigate, esp. to history, archives. Is there a way to make it more user friendly for smart phones?

    Thank you! Love all the inspiring comments.

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      1. Yes, and thank you very much for visiting my blog and for all your lovely comments! You were touching my heart.
        I very much appreciate you!

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  10. Add on –
    Love reading all your questions and comments, I have learned a lot already. Love looking at your sites!

    I have one more question: How do I get the “Search” function? Maybe my theme TwentyTen does not support it??

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  13. This is great! I’ve been really looking for a place to get some feedback for my blog. I can’t seem to practice that whole “branding” thing on my post. I change my theme too often (as one of my friend/ fellow blogger noticed).

    I went back to my favorite theme Quintus, but it gets boring sometimes so I tend to “theme-hop” almost every other day.

    I have been planning to add menus and post but I still struggle to create a focused design/ content on my blog.

    I hope you guys can give me some advise on this. Thanks in advance. 🙂

    http://flyforicarus.wordpress.com/

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    1. Theme-hopping. I’ve been guilty of that myself. As I’ve mentioned a million times, I love written content. The photos are also attractive, but I like the content. Yours is fun, easy on the eyes, so it’s easy to read, but it’s not super bright (like a white-background blog can be sometimes). I also love the vintage header with the slogan. Really nice. Did you design it yourself?

      Categorizing your work may make it a little easier to choose the content. Is this what you meant by menus? You probably have enough of a history blogging to know what you come back to report on with a certain amount of regularlity. I feel that I tried to categorize too early in the blog development process and either couldn’t live up to my own blogging desires or didn’t end up writing about certain categories that I originally thought I wanted to focus on.

      Keep blogging!

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      1. Hi CYN,

        Thanks for the feedback, On the header, I didn’t design, unfortunately. I do have a thing for parchment, hence the header and the background. Having a bit of a visual problem, I am quite particular with the readability of my post. Glad you noticed that bit about the background of the text, sadly, not a lot of themes offer this feature.

        You are spot on when you spoke about the categories. I planned on a set of categories before but decided against it due to lack of materials. This was many months ago so I guess it’s time I go back to all my post and see what fits.

        Again, thanks for your comments. Much appreciated!

        Cheers,
        Arianne

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    1. Your site has a nice look about it. The colours are pleasant, and the titles are cute and suit the style of the blog.

      The only thing I found a bit confusing was the left hand sidebar – some things were links, but there were also some random pictures which had me guessing what they were of, or what they were there for.

      But other than that, very nice indeed …

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      3. Maybe some captions to understand their significance???

        Of course, it depends on who your blog is for. If the pictures are intended to be mainly meaningful to you or close friends, then no captions are fine.

        But for strangers, then you probably need either some explanation, or to ensure that they are more clearly just part of the overall design look & feel, rather than specific pictures …

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    1. I really like the way each posting encourages comments by the simple, yet clear, tabs on the side.

      The overall look and feel is nice, without being distracting.

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    2. I think your blog is great…the only issue I have is the “blog” template…but that is a personally thing with me. I cannot stand the never ending scrolling…I like menus etc.

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    3. I didn’t notice the simple/clear comment tabs on the side… 😦 To leave my comment, I had to click on the header and then scroll to the bottom to leave a comment under “out loud”. I was committed to leaving a comment, because I enjoyed the content, but I wonder if other readers would be as “patient”. 🙂

      I wonder if the dark grey with contrasting orange (which is nice and “out loud”) prevented me from seeing the tabs Arteis is talking about. Visually, I also think your content area appears narrow — maybe it’s the grey background?

      The variety of your posts and the theme of your blog are enjoyable. Very positive!

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      1. That’s really odd, Cyn – I just went back to Vernette’s site, and it definitely does have a simple comments button/tab to the left of every single posting.

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      2. Don’t mind the gap, Arteis. Yes — I see it now, the darker charcoal grey thingy with the arrow pointing to the headline. It’s there and has been there. I just didn’t notice that that’s where the comments go. So, I guess the layout was unexpected to me. :-/

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    1. I don’t think there are specific requirements for a “good” post. I am currently following a blog who posts amazing one liners on her blog. I also read long posts especially if the topic is interesting. Adding pictures is a good way to break the monotony.
      Links can be a great way to provide further information especially if you are referring to a topic outside your expertise.

      For your last question though, I am as clueless as you are. But I have narrowed down my search by setting up a criteria for my preferred theme.

      I hope this helps. 😀

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    2. Typically 500-750 words is the going count on blog posts, but I do not follow that line of thinking. It depends on what i am writing. Long text can be broken up with images and sub headings. I use Suburbia theme for Cheri Speak and love it!

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  19. Mine is a very specific hobby blog (model soldiers), so content-wise is probably of little interest to most people. http://arteis.wordpress.com/

    But from a design point-of-view, my aim has been to make it look eye-catching, yet clean and simple at the same time. But has the outcome turned out rather … um … boring? Or is that just because I am now so used to this design?

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      1. Thanks, C.R.

        Do you mean the length of the individual posts? Or that WordPress continuing scroll of consecutive postings? If the latter, I must see if there is a way of turning it off, because I can see how it might be off-putting.

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      3. Oh, I see now.

        This is where our opinions differ, though – I don’t like articles you have to click and download to see the whole thing. So I guess it is horses for courses!!!

        But thank you for the feedback – it is something I’ll still consider. It would require quite a big makeover for my blog, though ….

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      4. LOL it is a personal choice for each of us and the decisions should always be based on what each wants to accomplish with their blog. 🙂

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      5. I can see what C.R. has to say. But on the other hand, you do have some great photography and you include several photos in all your works. There are themes that draw (sometimes randomly, sometimes sequentially) from the photos in your posts and display them on a banner on your homepage: like Mixfolio or Graph Paper Press has some freebies too that do this too.

        As I mentioned to C.R. I personally like posts for the content — and scrolling to read them is something I prefer to do rather than click to continue and have to click back to home to find more.

        Your content seems pretty streamlined to your hobby, which I find good. I don’t think you’d have to to worry too much about creating multiple categories for content, etc.

        But — no — your blog is not boring. I was a lot more interested than I thought I would be. 🙂

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      6. People are different: As for me, I’d rather scroll than hit the “more” button … And scrolling through your blog was everything but boring. Keep doing what you do; you do it well!

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    2. It’s very clean and simple! 🙂 It’s also surprisingly interesting, haha! 😀 I had no idea there was so much to learn about this! My suggestion would be to replace the current header image with one of the really full, colorful images that are found in your posts. A category page on top explaining your hobbies would also be great– like “Home | About me | History | Figurines”— so that at a glance, someone could learn what it’s all about? You have a great blog– it’s very passionate! 😀

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  20. Would WordPress consider giving bloggers more flexibility in choosing the font type and size? I am using the Enterprise theme, which I like except for the small font size and font type.

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    1. I don’t use that theme, but I do have fairly flexible text sizing on my free theme (SIGHT). The font size can be adjusted with your menu from the VISUAL compose tab, and then even more specifically with some HTML in the TEXT compose tab. Maybe consider a switch?

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  21. Does anyone have critique about my menus and widgets? Blog here: http://jelliefishie.wordpress.com/ . I only just put the menu system together after seeing the index post ( https://wordpress.com/dailypost/2013/02/06/creating-an-index-on-wordpress-com/ ) from a few days ago here. Does it flow in an intuitive way that people can find things easily? Seems very easy to go crazy with the widgets and everything, haha. Is it too messy? Are there things you’d take out if you were me? I’m just starting so this is just a personal blog…not much “direction” yet.

    Also if people have an opinion on the plain banner I have. Wanted to keep it simple for now, but I noticed that smaller resolution monitors (my PC for instance) make “The Ongoing Saga” look choppy, while high res monitors like on my macbook pro are perfectly clean.

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    1. Hey there! I clicked around your site a little earlier, based on your helpful feedback to others. I like Suburbia, but I also find all the thumbnail images somewhat distracting from the content. I know, I’m in the minority. Most people LOVE images, and you have really good images to capture the essence of what you’re saying. Actually, I tend to hold back on choosing themes that require image placements, because I can’t always find a picture to go with what I’m saying, and I’m personally a real stickler for using my own proprietary stuff.

      Regarding the structure/layout of the blog, one of the things I find confusing about the theme is the way the footer columns can get to be twice as long as the content columns. There’s a lot of valuable information there, but it can be overwhelming. You have so many great badges. Maybe you could group them so they appear in clusters? For instance, maybe you could create a header that says, “Badges” and include the LinkedIn, Pinterest and other badges right next to each other.

      You didn’t ask, but I wanted to let you know, I like your blogger voice. It has good energy.

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      1. I have tried to find a way to group the badges, but have NO idea how. The image widgets ask for a URL vs. letting me drop images in…?

        Thanks by the way 🙂

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      2. Hey lovely Cheri– to group my images so that I don’t have to put a header between them, I actually use the “TEXT” widget. Then I type in the html code for an image, still using the url. I don’t think I can type code in here but if you want me to snap a screenshot and email it to you, just let me know. 🙂

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  23. Just woke up in Europe here. Wow! You all have been commenting!
    I have been using WP’s TwentyTen, for its simplicity and also because I’m more of a content-focused person. Also, I don’t have a TON of time to work on widgets, but I feel like I’ve managed to get a handle on how things work — from tags and categories to links and blogrolls, embedding and more.
    I’m looking for a theme that is clean, but interesting (CheriSpeaks.com mentioned Suburbia, which I find really visually appealing) but I don’t want the theme to be too busy either. Also, it’s important to me that I use my own photography because I have strong priniciples about that sort of thing–not because I’m a photographer (I’m not — just a snapshot enthusiast.) So a portfolio-heavy thing may not be the best move for me…
    Anyway, I’m just wondering if folks could cast a glance at my blog and let me know what they think about it’s structure and appearance vis-a-vis the content. (As I mentioned before, it’s really a repository of random thoughts.)
    Best!!

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    1. I really like the look of your site (not least because it is similar to the style I favour for my own!!!). Simple, no gee-jaws, clean, directing you straight into the pics and writing.

      Love the header photo – it sets your European scene perfectly, but in an interesting juxtaposition with some light zaniness,

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    1. Hello, I’ve just been looking at your blog. I’m no expert, but I found your page interesting and eye catching. Everything was easy to navigate, and I love the way you added “Challenge accepted” above your post a week widget. I may decide to pinch that idea ; ). For your blog name, perhaps feathers or an eagle soaring would suffice. May I make a small comment about the name, though? For me, Icarus doesn’t have such positive connotations. Would you consider changing the name? Your byline offsets that connotation slightly, and I love the sentiment “Dream big and soar high”. What about “Wind beneath my wings”? Good luck and best regards, Margie

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      1. Thanks Marge!

        Your question regarding the title just compels me all the more to put more narrative related to my blog title. Perhaps a category dedicate to this particular “theme” that may sound paradoxical at first.

        I have played with the images that you suggested but I still haven’t found an image perfect to the look that I was going for.

        A big thanks for your feedback!

        Cheers,
        Arianne

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    2. I know what Margie Brizzolari means about the negative connotations with the myth about Icarus, but in contrast to her opinion, the name of the blog was one of the reasons why I clicked on it to take a look. It was compelling in a “whatever could you mean?” sort of way. With the tagline offsetting the name, I thought you did an excellent job of saying you wanted to try again where Icarus failed. (Perhaps the tagline could be bigger, bolder? It’s a bit faint.) Also, I l.o.v.e.d. the image header. It looks like a vintage rainbow runway and all I gotta do is put the pedal to the metal!

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      1. Hi CYN,

        That’s exactly what I was going for! I just love the story and was somehow struck by how it has often been used as a cautionary tale. My old tagline was from this quote by Oscar Wilde, but I found it a bit too lengthy.

        “Never regret thy fall,
        O Icarus of the fearless flight
        For the greatest tragedy of them all
        Is never to feel the burning light.”

        Unfortunately, customization of fonts can be a bit limited, but I am always on the look out for that theme that will fit my blog.

        Again, a BIG thanks!

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    3. Your design is really breath-taking, I’ve always thought you did an awesome job! If I had one suggestion, it’d be to use categories and put them in your menu space. It took me awhile to figure out what your blog was about. People like to see, at a glance, whether your blog is a diary, a self-help place, a mythological site, a writing site, or any of the other amazing possibilities suggested by your header. 🙂 Again, you have a beautiful blog– good luck with it! 😀

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      1. Duly noted Rarasaur! I’ve been meaning to do this but i can’t seem to find the time to sit on it (Read: LAZY^^). But the comments I got today, yours included, is really pushing me to do it ASAP.

        Thanks a bunch!! 🙂

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    4. Your blog design had that WOW-effect for me, too. I love your header (and as a flyer of kites I can easily see the connection between the header and the blog title) – and I love the colour scheme. Everything is easy and simple … I also enjoyed the photos on your “About” page. So, “no complaints!” Good job, Arianne!

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  25. I would love some feedback about my blog. I’m pretty new at this, so still learning. My problem is formatting when I write poetry. The lines seem to be double spaced. Is there any way to make them single spaced? Also, any comments about the general look and how easy it is to navigate. The photo at the top is the view from my window. I’m using Twenty Twelve. Thanks. http://wp.me/2RhHR

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    1. Could it be something to do with the images? I noticed the double spacing seems to occur when there are also images in the posts. I am still very new to all this myself so am sure soeonewill be able to give you a technical answer. The blog is very easy to navigate, I wonder if adding an about page to give people an idea of who you are may be a good idea. On any blog I go to I always read the about first. I really enjoyed reading your posts about Italy.

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    2. Hi Margie! After you type up your poetry, click the TEXT tab instead of visual. You can delete the spaces in that view and it should work fine. 🙂 I think your picture is beautiful, but maybe a little too tall? Also, maybe try to clean up your header menu? Get rid of “uncategorized” unless you’re actually using it, and even if you are… I’d probably just rename it. Maybe move poetry and short stories so they’re close to each other on the menu? Otherwise, your site looks really interesting– good job, and good luck!

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    3. I agree with the other comments. Also, i terms of the over all look, it may be a good idea to add more contrast on the images, Perhaps a header with a more vivid color in contrast to the light background. The font for the twenty twelve theme is really a favorite of mine. It is very easy on the eyes. I’m not too sure about this but I think “Window TO my World would sound better as a blog name.

      Also, the infinite scroll can be a bit of a nuisance for navigation. I think it can be improved by adding widgets such as Recent Post/ Archives etc. I used to use it as well when I had just a couple of post 🙂

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      1. Thanks Arriane. I totally agree about the infinite scroll. I’ll look into changing that. So much to learn (sigh). Also the picture. I’ll have to work on it. Thanks for the feedback. Regards, Margie

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  26. Hi Margie, I enjoy your site. I will mention for the nth time that I really enjoy written content, and your blog offers a lot of this. (Yay!) Also, the WP TwentyTwelve and TwentyTen themes are good basic themes for getting acquainted with designs, layout and how you want to work with your photography etc.

    You might want to consider how your space is being used. When I open up to your blog, the snowy image of the tower takes up the whole screen. I do have to scroll just to get to the header of your most recent blog post. I try to be really conscientious of my header image to crop out a wide but narrow header.

    Wish I could help with your double-spacing problem though. I can imagine that’s just awful for a poet!

    Another reason I’m enjoying your site. We’re neighbors too. Just moved to Switzerland, so getting acquainted with life here these days!

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  27. I use a showcase template as front page and have added some articles to the showcase. On other blogs the texts and pictures circulate automaticaly, but on my blog it’s different. You have to click on the little rounds in the right corner to change posts. How can I make them circulate automatically?

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  29. I’m very interested to know if people think it’s good to just have ‘About me” and the blog posts on one roll, or if to start splitting them all up into categories on a Menu navigation bar (I hope I’m using the correct terminology here). Once you start with the latter, you have to pay and it all starts to get more serious! Thanks. My blog is http://www.festivalsfoodoverforties.wordpress.com

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    1. Personally I find that a lot of menu choices makes the site more complicated. I rarely click through all of the choices. That said, I have found that on the rare occasion when I do click on them, they often lead to the same things, which indicates that there are many titles but insufficient content to warrant them. Your blog has a clean, readable appearance and is interesting and fun without being daunting.

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    2. I think showcasing overarching categories for your blog in the menu is a good idea. I like when sites perhaps feature 3 or 4 main categories that define the blog and I can then look through them. Blogs with more than that are overwhelmgin.

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  30. My About is very visible at the bottom of my page, but while concise and to the point, it is my welcome page that delivers the humor aspect of my blog and my writing style. I’m thinking I should switch them out because people do not look at the Welcome, as far as I can tell. Also, my posts are long and sometimes have no photos and I notice short posits with photos get more attention. Maybe this blog idea is not the right venue for me!?! I like to write small essays? Not book chapters tho. Any suggestions? I trust the reading publics collective intelligence here!

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    1. cute puppies.
      I wonder same about writing long posts. I spent lots of time, structure paying lots of attention, arrange the post with nice looking pictures and good quality contents… but it’s not uncomment to see lots of junk pictures with not much meaning posted online and got hundreds and thousands views and responses. frustrated

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    2. ok, this is just my opinion, so take it for what is it is worth. I think the nature of blogging is short, regular/frequent bursts of writing. I, too, spend a lot of time crafting my posts, but I try to stick around 500 words. Longer does not mean better. Shorter, also, does not mean better.

      As a reader, I almost never click on any posts that are longer than 700 or so words (unless it’s a piece of fiction I am following). I follow a lot of blogs, I enjoy commenting, and I just can’t give the sort of time commitment that reading 1000+ word posts would require, and frankly, it is rare to find quality of writing here that can sustain a 1000+ word post.

      Lastly (and as you can see, I struggle myself with being brief!), edit mercilessly. I live by this rule. There is no writing yet that cannot be improve by just being ruthless in the editing process.

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