Feb 23, 2014 / 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.
  • To keep from losing your place in the comment thread while you visit others’ blogs, 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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  3. Hi WordPressers. 🙂

    I’d love some feedback on my blog – http://wp.me/P1whyV-2
    I’m a 21 year young student who engages in heavy soul-searching and debate with my peers. I always appreciate brutal honesty.
    If you would like some feedback on me, I promise to be detailed.

    Please come on in. Breakfast will be served at 8, and Bingo is at 10.

    P.S.I find it hilarious that my shortlink contains ‘why’. OH GOD WHY?!

    Like

    1. I started smiling when I read your blurb on the Community Pool, and took it over to your blog. You’re really funny, and not in a painfully trying way. Try not to lose that, though it may be difficult since I’ve pointed it out to you and made you aware of your brilliance.

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    2. The only problem I have with your blog, and I find your writing quite excellent by the way, is that it starts on the about page and there is no easy way to scroll through your posts traditionally. What this means is that if someone visits your site through the standard url to your homepage, they will see your about page and then simply exit. After clicking on welcome to my blog, I did finally see a list of your articles but it was presented launch post style, rather than chronologically, and I couldn’t see anything about the posts other than the headline.

      You should really consider restoring your main page so that it isn’t so difficult for readers to navigate your posts, you are a really great writer from what I have seen so far, so make it easier for your readers to get to reading your great posts.

      Like

    2. Just blog whatever you feel like getting of your chest. Sometimes an event makes you think of a perfect subject and so times you just want to throw your heart out. In the end it is about finis hissing what you started so that you got it out of your head and you can read it from a objective perspective later on. I started blogging just over a month ago and art my goal for a post once a month, not knowing where to write about. Half way my first post I felt like getting something off my chest leading to special. So just start and see what will come, you will succeed! Good luck and enjoy :).

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Your first move should be to set a mission statement for your blog: what is it that you want to write about and why should your readers care? Use that mission statement to start planning posts, preferably using a visual method such as brainstorming or a mind map. (look up those terms if you need to, the idea is to let you create ideas in many directions at once) Also, if you are posting about anything related at all to a subject other than yourself and your thoughts, you need to do good research into the subject so you understand it from multiple sides of the story/subject. Even an opinion piece about something else should be researched.

      This will show the reader that you have done your research and know about the subject, making you a go-to when they are curious about that subject. The number one thing, though, is to start posting!

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  9. I joined years ago but I am finally ready to dive in and write. I would like some feedback about the style (Theme) of my blog posts and also feed back about the post.

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    1. TONYA, I would love to check your stuff out — please attach your link please — not lazy just make my living on computer :). Thanks so much — looking forward to your reply.

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  11. So I am new to this blogging thing and I have written 5 posts already but I want to know if my content is interesting and understandable. I really want as much people reading and looking at my post and pictures. Please tell me what you think, it’ll be greatly appreciated. My blog is studyingabroadinindia.wordpress.com

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    1. Christina J. — HECK YEAH your blog is interest — you all look like very interesting and amazingly adventurous people with hearts of gold. I commend you . . . YOU GO GIRL! It is a challenge to up and move [live] in a foreign county for any length of time, yet is it the best education for individual and spiritual growth. I wish you all the best! 🙂
      R

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  12. I’ve never blogged before, but just put up my first post. I’m a Christian hoping that maybe my thoughts would touch someone’s heart in some way. Would like some general feedback. Thanks!

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  13. Why’d You do it,
    if you wouldn’t miss Me?

    Why’d You do it,
    if you were gonna dismiss Me?

    Why’d You do it,
    if you’d never come again?

    Why’d We do it . . .
    Lover?!

    ©Rebecca Meunier
    10/8/2013

    This is obviously an old poem however, it does represent my voice, particular style. Gosh, I have a poetry file that I have received a small bit of critique from my loved ones and I am thirsty for ANY comment reflecting PUBLIC view :). Thank you. R

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  15. I am quite new to blogging and the theme of my blog is on friendship so if anyone read this, please visit my blog. I need encouragement !! Thank you for reading.

    About

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  17. Hi everyone! I started blogging around last January, but decided to make the move from blogspot to wordpress. I didn’t focus too much on it in the past, but I’d really like to get things going this year. I was just hoping someone could check out my posts and give me some feedback. I’m having a little trouble focusing my content, it feels a bit incoherent to me sometimes, like there’s a lack of flow. Any comments would be greatly appreciated! 😀

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    1. Hi you have some good posts but I think you should maybe try playing about with your blog more maybe experiment with different themes and also add media to some of your posts and do you use categories at all? Naomi.

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    1. to be honest, the home page is really just for people that are trying to sell something, from my experience. You always want your reader to start in a place where they can see all of your posts, or else they will never even click on them most likely (more than maybe the one you feature on your homepage). So, use an about page to describe your blog and you, but don’t use a home page.

      Like

  24. I’d appreciate any comments people would have on the design of my site rantingchef.com. It went through a redesign last year and I’m still making tweaks to how the menus auto-update and the like.

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    1. I honestly think it looks really good! Pictures are a must for me when it comes to food (and picking what I want at restaurants hehe) so the fact you have one for each post is really attractive to me. It’s all presented in a very organized manner as well, so it doesn’t feel cluttered either. The header area looks great and I like the interactive menu. Kinda feels like something from a restaurants website so of course, it’s very fitting here.

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    2. I agree with what Jon R said. I think your blog looks very professional. As someone who loves visual presentation, all those photos are really inviting (and making me hungry, lol!)

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  25. I just started my blog last week and frankly I want feedback on everything! does my layout look cute/functional. is my about page ok? Gould I take the photo of me down? it seems rather large on my screen…

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    1. Personally I love your about page, especially the part about what the blog won’t ever do. 😉 I’d say leave the picture because since you are a hair/makeup stylist, having people being able to see you and your own personal style is very inviting. Your picture actually does more for your blog than it would for someone who’s blog is NOT about that subject. What better way to present and exemplify your content then a picture of your very own self? The layout looks great to me, too. Just seems fitting.

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      1. sweet! thanks so much for taking the time to look! I definitely appreciate it. I feel very happy with my choices, but considering it is all so new and exciting/nerve-racking I was wondering what others would think. thanks again 🙂

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    2. I don’t think you should take the picture down at all. It looks great just as it is. Your blog looks really good and I love the things your blog won’t ever do. Lol!
      For me personally, the animal print background is a little hard on my eyes, but it does fit with the layout and colours making it a whole and presenting your style perfectly. I’d say keep it up! 🙂

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      1. thanks for the feedback! I appreciate you taking the time. I plan on changing the background every so often because I really like changing things up but I am a fan of animal print lol. I am also so happy that people are getting my song reference! I thought it was quite funny. thanks again!

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    3. I think that the photo actually helps set the tone for your blog, and it reminds us that you are the one speaking, so it is definitely better to keep it. I think that your blog is great, a tad bit broad for the reader (you don’t have to say that you will do everything you, you should find a way to word it that accentuates how you will provide value to them), and the main thing is you need to start posting. Find your motivation for the process of writing, and make sure every day you at least find something interesting to note for a later post. You should be posting at least once a week, if not more often in my opinion.

      Good luck with your blog, you have a good voice in your writing and you radiate enthusiasm!

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      1. it sounds broad because I have so many interests and things I want to blog about! lol are you meaning something specific I should narrow down? like my tag line or about page?

        Liked by 1 person

      2. The main thing is that those few times you mention that it is all things you, it detracts from those strong points where you mention what this blog will do for *them*. So, in my opinion, maybe you should re-word those few sentences so that they reflect that you are writing to help the reader, and not just to write about yourself. Or you could throw in a sentence after you state the blog is all about you, to say that you don’t mean the posts will revolve around you, but that you will use your own life examples to help teach the reader.

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    1. Hi! I’m new too but I have picked up a bunch of tips since I started 2 months ago. Not sure if you have done any of these things but i’ll just throw out what I learned anyway.

      For starters, go into your ‘settings’ in your dashboard and select ‘sharing’. You can set up your blog to share a link on places like twitter and facebook every time you post.

      I didn’t see any (unless I missed it) but use tags for your posts so people on search engines can get links to what they are searching for, which could just be something you posted about. Also for WordPress itself, you can tag the posts with common tags people here use to get other bloggers to find your site. You can see current trending of WP tags here http://wordpress.com/tags.

      I keep seeing people say visit other blogs and get (honestly) involved. By honest I mean read other blogs and write genuine comments. People will see as such and maybe even view/follow yours. You can build a community by using widgets and linking to blogs that either you just follow or perhaps even a list of blogs related to yours. This is a good way to network traffic to where maybe those other bloggers will give a link back if they get traffic from you.

      Lastly, follow the Daily Post here on WordPress. There are many posts all about building your blog, getting followers, tips, tricks as well as many other things to help get you involved and build a following.

      Hopefully this helped a bit, but I’m sure someone with a lot more experience can surely build upon this better than I have.

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    2. Hi Kellyhodo, i am in the sane boat (same even). I must slow down when typing.
      I only started a blog two days ago. I am a slow learner when it comes to technical jargon.
      But i hope to learn a new tip each day on how to get followed. I looked at your page and you have more things on it than me so you are making better progress than you think. Good luck!

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  29. Hi all. Was looking for input about which header/background selection is a better way to go. I’m new to blogging and mine is only 2 months old. I have been constantly tweaking it and adding features and such so it’s been a constant work in progress (lots of fun though!) I know your background shouldn’t be too busy or distracting so I have been trying backgrounds that pertain to that rule. Also, I wasn’t sure if my header was interesting enough to have on every page so I left it as so for the ‘about’ and ‘home’ pages (since the home page describes the reason of choice) and added something for the other pages that I can change out here and there for more flair.

    2.5 questions: Is it appealing to have separate headers like I have currently? (Pages get original, category/archives get something more fun) and is my current background the right fit for a general, non distracting appeal or is the other floral one (see image below) more appealing? I’m hoping the stripes aren’t TOO bland, either. Also I suppose, generally speaking when choosing backgrounds in the future, does anyone have any advice?

    Below is the link to preview 4 variations of the images in question. It’s photoshopped as one image for easier viewing. You can also check my blog out (click my name above) for it’s current look. You can just check the blog out for checking too if you’d like.

    Hoping you all can view that, if not I can upload again to a different site.

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    2. Hi Jon,
      As far as the headers go, I’ve got 3 headers running at random now in my site as the chosen theme allows me to do that. So if you like all of your headers, choose the theme that allows you to do the same?

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