Dec 15, 2014 / Community Pool

Community Pool

The place for feedback, advice, and friendly blogging chatter.

Have you just published a new post and are dying for some feedback? Did you recently start your blog and could use some layout or design advice from your more seasoned peers?

Tap into the wisdom of The Daily Post blogging community and leave your question here in the comments. Others can then click through and offer input either on your site, or in the comments here (feel free to indicate which you’d prefer).

To help us make the Community Pool a productive space for discussion, here are some tips you might find useful:

TIP: 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.

  • While you’re not required to, we encourage everyone who requests feedback to also reply to at least one or two other bloggers who need some help. Spread the love!
  • The Community Pool comments section can get quite big — and starting duplicate threads doesn’t help. Thanks for not posting the same question more than once!
  • If you’re looking for quality feedback, be as specific as you can. Questions about a particular post tend to draw more comments than ones about entire blogs. Questions about specific design elements are more likely to be answered than ones asking for general layout advice.
  • We discourage leaving links without a more substantive message or question. These are often overlooked by other bloggers, and we frequently remove them to make the comment reading experience smoother.
  • Please keep all comments civil and constructive. The idea is to have fun — it’s a pool, after all!
  • 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 Brian Cantoni.

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    1. Jenn, I’m checking out your blog right now. Just gonna make comments there, okay? That way if you don’t like them you can delete them anyway lol. So far I’m loving the positive vibe though…

      Like

  2. Hi, I’ve been blogging here for a bit, but haven’t been able to really get into it like I did with Xanga many years ago (anyone remember that?). I blog mainly because it’s a good way to blow off steam or simply help organize one’s thoughts on a topic. That said, what I haven’t really found yet… except on a few Freshly Pressed posts… is real discussion. It was easy with Xanga, and I met some really cool people that way. If I recall correctly, we found each others’ pages through some sort of “groups” or something. How can I find and encourage real dialogue on WordPress? Thanks for any suggestions/advice.

    Like

    1. I seriously love your blog. I’ve always preferred simplicity over superfluity. To me, if you can make an impact with a few words and a picture that not only sticks but that actually means something, then you are accomplishing a form of art on a higher level. In my opinion, your blog accomplishes this.

      My only advice is to please add more! I think the pictures match well with the words. I don’t think the colored borders are really necessary, however they do add a nice element in contrast with the black and white backdrop. Maybe just stick to one color instead of changing it for each square. I like the bright green. But that’s just personal preference, it doesn’t really affect the overall quality of your blog to me.

      Again, great job!

      Like

      1. I so agree with you on linneamae’s blog. It’s simple, cute and to the point. She doesn’t need to a border around those black and white photos. I’m new to WP, so any help will be appreciated even though you may not agree with what I write.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Hi Andrew,
        Thank you for your feedback! You are my blog’s first follower! Yes, I agree that sticking to one colored border is a good idea. Also, I plan on posting at least twice a week…or more if those little gerbils will pose for me. Sometimes they just don’t want to be photographed. (Actually, they just move too fast.) Thank you again, Linnea

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Hey Mandy, I had a look at your blog and really enjoyed your vlog/journal-like blogging style. Your photos are amazing too, especially the ones of the dogs. But I’m not a big fan of the theme. It lacks color and personality, both of which your writing exudes. Good start though! đŸ™‚

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      1. Ok thanks for the reply. I will definitely try to change it up. I’m just having a bit of difficulty changing/customizing the layout of the webpage. It doesn’t seem to look anything like the example example webpages

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    1. I think people really take the Happy Holidays thing way too seriously. There is no reason to be personally offended by any of it. Just spread your goodwill and be done with it. Why be so particular? What is there to be offended about?

      I had a customer at work today, one of many. I asked him if he was finishing up his Christmas shopping. He said, ‘I’m Jewish, so not Christmas, but it’s still crazy!’ and we just laughed about it.

      The end of the year is hectic. The holidays are hectic, always, for businesses and individuals alike.

      You raise some good points.

      Like

    2. The problem with some people is not other religions, but only Christianity.There’s something about Christ, or Christmas that makes these people bend out of shape. Why would anyone be offended because you want them to be merry during a holiday called Christmas? Do they get offended when someone wishes them a happy Thanksgiving, or Kwanza (a made up holiday)? NO! It’s the Christ in Christmas that they object to. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Help!! I want to create links up next to my ‘home’ and ‘about’ link for different topics such as travel and cooking. Should I create separate blogs for those topics and just post a link to each on my main blog? I want to be able to easily post on any of these pages. I don’t want some of my most important posts to get lost amongst all the nonsense ones. Thank you!

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  9. Hear ye, hear ye! At this most joyously joyful time of the year, Dream In Music proudly presents a Christmas tradition… The annual retelling of Charles Dickens timeless classic, “A Christmas Carol”…It is my Christmas gift to you, to thank all of you bloggers out there for making my blog a very special place to be throughout the past year… With hopefully much more to come in 2015!

    Like

  10. about the new changes. they are 80% great but I wish i could just go straight to my home page when i click onto other site/s; not the stats page.
    It is all a bit roundabout opening another tab each time.

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    1. Hey Joe, just had a look at your blog. Your photos are ridiculous, especially the two photo dump collections. But is this going to be exclusively a photo-blog or will you be adding some writing too? I think that might make your blog more dynamic. Also, consider making an About page cuz that’s what I look for first in a blog. Anyway, that’s just my two cents. You’re off to a great start already đŸ™‚

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  12. Hello,
    I’m writing this comment because I need advice. The advice I need is not regarding my blog, but something I experienced.
    You see, a few days ago I saw that I had a new follower. I was, obviously, delighted. But when I clicked on the link of that follower I was shocked to see that it ran almost parallel to my own blog. The most recent post which was made yesterday even had a line that was a direct copy from a post I had published on the 16th of December, apart from it having the same story line as my post.
    It was something that shook me.
    I honestly do not know how to react to this. Should I let it go or should I do something? Or am I completely wrong to be offended by something I cannot confirm?
    I would be immensely grateful for some advice, it would really really help me.
    Thankyou.

    Like

  13. Hello. I’m a self-published author and freelance writer just trying to share my thoughts with whoever will read them. I started a blog that is sort of a mixture of blogs and short stories. This is my first time doing anything like this, so any input is greatly appreciated. You can tell me if it sucks. It won’t hurt my feelings.

    http://thegrayproject.wordpress.com/

    Like

  15. Hi everyone,
    Although I’ve been blogging for a while, I’m new to WP, but already loving it. I posted my first blog yesterday after importing my older blogs from Blogger. I’ve been reading a lot of the posts on the CP and have made comments on several of them. I see it’s not unusual to ask you to take a look at blogs and get feedbacks from you. So, would you please do that for me? I’m still learning how to improve the appearance, so please feel free to make any comments you want about that too, but be gentle. I’m very fragile đŸ˜‰

    Shahshankedredemption.wordpress.com

    Like

  16. It’s the holiday season and I figured I’d put up a humorous post about just a few of my funny experiences while working in customer service. Whether you work or have worked in the restaurant business or retail or at the phones somewhere or what have you, I’m sure you know just how wild customers (or even your own management can be!)

    https://alanjryland.wordpress.com/2014/12/20/5-funny-stories-from-my-continued-time-in-customer-service/

    Like

  20. Hello pool friends! I just posted my notes from a new interview I conducted with a successful blogger. I’d love some feedback. Do you find the questions I ask helpful as a fellow blogger? Are there other things that would be more helpful?

    http://brewsandviews.wordpress.com

    Like

  21. Hello everyone! I would love some feedback on my new post (and blog as well) ‘Manners of the World’ which is based on the irony of Life.

    Thanks! Happy Blogging

    Like

  23. Hey, I would be a fool not to take advantage of such a thing as this. Hi everyone, i’m brand new here (like a one day old babe ha) and there is no better time then right now to get on the right track, right? I used to do a lot of writing years ago but kinda fell out of it till recently. If someone would/could give my blog a once over that would be outstanding. I don’t have much content yet but if you can check the following two items that would help.

    We got a post:

    New blogging and the return of my creative writing.

    And the about me page:
    http://imjustsomedood.wordpress.com/about-this-dood/

    They are the two longest posts I have so I figure they would be the best to critique at this time. Please leave a comment on the post/page if you can. It’s completely appreciated

    PS. Images, I alway forget images *makes note*

    Like