Jan 12, 2015 / Community Pool

Community Pool

The place for advice, feedback, 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.

Show Comments

891 Comments

Comments are closed.

Close Comments

Comments

  2. Hey i have had my poetry up for a few months and am seeking feedback. its a scary thing for me posting my emotions for everyone to see but i love it at the same time. please leave comments on how my words make you feel and i will and would love to do the same for you

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Before talking your poems let me say I love how visually appealing your blog is. I write poetry sometimes also, but I don’t think I capture the level of emotion that you do. Your words feel honest and I think that’s an important part of poetry.

      Liked by 1 person

      2. That’s a good rule. I used to write a lot of poetry but I just ran out of mojo. If you have time could you check out some of my poems also?

        Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you 🙂 I’ve just finished Greetings from Afar project that continued over the holidays. I also take part in Trailing Souse Stories blog crawl and starting HiddenGems project from February, it will be interesting, I hope 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

    2. I can so relate to some of the stuff you wrote about. leaving is always heart-wrenching, almost the same as getting left behind. love your positive outlook (it shines in your posts)!

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Hi there, I like the idea your blog and was happily surprised to discover Flotsam Weaving there. However, I think the colors on the blog are distracting from some great material – specifically, the text color versus the background is hard to follow when you’re scrolling. Hope this helps!

      Like

  5. Hey everyone,

    I have recently started a blog just about general life and didn’t know whether to carry on or not?

    Is the writing style okay? What can i change to make it more accessible to a wider range of people? What have you done to help your blog take off? Any help would be really appreciated, and thank you in advance x

    http://talktokate.wordpress.com

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I only read your first post so far and I think you should definitely keep on writing. I loved your writing style and I think that writing more will help you develop a greater voice. I’ve been blogging for close to year and I still have trouble finding my voice.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you so much! That really means a lot- I have currently only shown my blog to one of my friends because I don’t want to fail and everyone to see aha! Thank you very much for reading my posts!

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Recently, i have noticed that the picture I attach to my post is not showing up with my post in Reader. Also, my feedback and interaction from other bloggers has been decreasing. I am trying to stay as interactive as possible and would love to here some tips from those who have been doing this much longer than me!

    Liked by 2 people

  10. Hi,
    Just recently started my site. My posts talk about what direction I will be taking for my blogs. Any feedback would be great. Thanks!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Hello there! I got a chance to read your post: “The Starting Point” and I loved the story about how you met your wife. I like what you write about, but something about your theme seems a little off. Maybe try using a different theme for your site or reworking the appearance? Other than that I would keep at it!

      Like

      2. While I think for a newer blog you just have too many things going on in the sidebars. It kind of feels like your post are squished inbetween them. I think the widgets in the left side bar could be eliminated so your blog feels less cluttered. The right side bar can stay the same.

        Like

    1. I’m in love with the blog theme, but it is difficult to find individual posts. Do you use categories?

      Like

      1. yeah i am considering to use a different theme to make them more noticeable – I am glad for this feedback and it makes me think I should use categories. Thanks!

        Like

  13. How do I create different sections in my blog for different postings of mine for photography, sentiment card line, children’s stories, etc? This is my first “stumble-through” attempt to blog. Thanks for assistance.

    Liked by 3 people

  14. Hallo there everyone,

    I recently did my first truly personal reflective post. It is a long-read, but not that long. This is also the first time that I have ever published a photo (probably the last time too!). It was really hard, not just because of privacy considerations, blogging under my own name and not an alias.

    I would really appreciate any feedback you are willing to give:
    https://paddastoel.wordpress.com/2015/01/07/the-day-the-earth-stood-still/

    Liked by 1 person

  15. My friend suggested I start a blog because she was tired of my random missives clogging her inbox. After six years of staying home with the kids and experiencing nothing but baby and toddler stuff, I’m trying to kick-start my brain and figure out what grown up things I like. Randomness. Total randomness.

    https://findingaid.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 2 people

    1. on your dashboard, hover over the “posts” section, and click on categories. you’ll see the “add new categories” section on your left. type in the name of the category, then press “add new category”. it will then show up on the right side of that page. add as many categories as you want, then go back to each of your posts, hit edit, and type/choose the categories you want them to show up in. press update, and they will then be posted in the category you chose. to show categories on your blog, you can either get the category widget, or create a menu. both are clear/easy ways for readers to navigate your content better. hope this helped!

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Very helpful. Thank you. Here’s another question: is there a way to put a static page when opening my blog and not show the recent post unless I select something on “recent posts?”

        Like

      2. I think it depends on your theme. On your dashboard, hover over “appearance” section, then click on customize. You’ll see a blue collumn to the right of your screen. On that blue collumn, press the “front” section. If your theme allows, it will ask if you want your recent posts or a static page to be the front display. You would click on the static page option, then choose the page you want to show.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I screwed up. While playing around trying to create a static page I inadvertently changed my theme and I cannot get the original back. When I go to “Themes” I find it, but it says “active.” It only gives me the option to customize but it still doesn’t go back to the original. How can I get the blog back the way it was?

        Like

      4. if the theme is saying “active” that means you’re still using it, but if it looks different that just means that you accidentally changed some of the customize appearance options. I’m not sure exactly how to get it back, I’m sure there’s customer service for wordpress. is it just the “front” of your blog that looks different? or is it different font/layout etc.?

        Liked by 1 person

      5. It’s different font and layout although it’s the same name of the theme I originally choose. Currently it does not show the image pictures. I need a theme that I can post pictures as well as text. My active theme is “Minnow.” I’ll keep playing around with it! You’ve been very helpful. Much appreciated.

        Like

      8. I have another question. Images selected for posts only show up in my editing platform. I’ve tried to reapply and update to no avail. I’m using Minnow theme and like the look but can you suggest another theme that is like Minnow but allows post pixs? Thanks.

        Like

      9. I don’t know a lot about the themes, but here are a few free ones I think are similar to Minnow in layout/mood: Manifest, Ryu, and Tonal

        Like

    2. Hello! To answer some of your questions from your thread:
      – You can have a static front page on any theme. Here are the instructions:
      https://wordpress.com/support/pages/front-page/
      – You can add media to all themes. For more detailed information on adding and editing images, you can visit this page:
      https://wordpress.com/support/images/
      – You can always make design tweaks to your blog by hovering over “My Sites” in the top-left corner of your screen, then clicking on “Customize.” All the changes you make there will only stick if you click “Save”, but you get to see a real-time preview.

      In case you have more complex technical questions, feel free to contact our support: support@wordpress.com.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I like it. it’s very chic and classy. By layout we can feel the contents are going to worth reading.

      Like

  20. Hi, everyone! I started my blog simplysweetlyveggie almost a month ago, and am just dabbling with decent food photography (much, much harder than I thought!). Id love to hear some feedback about the look/layout/photography of my last few posts! Any advice would be absolutely fabulous! Especially you, photographers! http://www.simplysweetlyveggie.wordpress.com

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I like your pictures ,but here is what I have learned in last 3 months of my blogging life.
      Take pictures in lots of natural light or if you have professional equipment use them.
      I like that you are using some extra stuff like a mat in the pictures too. So try to do that all the pictures.
      More editing. Like cutting or blurring the background.

      Mine aren’t great but if you get chance have a look at my blog. You will see a big difference in the first and last post. So keep looking at what other people are doing.

      About Us

      Like

  21. I have 2 questions :

    1) i have recently changed my theme. So people can see all my blog has to offer without scrolling down. How does it look ?

    2) I am still developing a writing style. Is writing in brackets good or bad ? I feel that if something has written in brackets people will sure read it instead of missing a long sentence and jumping on to the next one.

    Here is the link for my blog.

    About Us

    You can leave a comment here or on my blog.
    Thanks,
    Vinanti

    Liked by 1 person

  23. Hi all! I recently changed the theme of my blog and was looking for feedback as to how it comes across now? I’m trying to post more as part of a plan to get a steady writing schedule going, so any opinions on the post are also more than welcome!

    http://starlightdaydreamer.wordpress.com/

    Thanks in advance to anyone who provides feedback! And I will have a look at your blog and provide some too!

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Looks nice! I definitely prefer blogs with minimalist themes, and your content is honest and very readable.

      Like

      1. Thank you! I appreciate it. I just read some of your posts, and now I’m hungry! I can definitely see myself making some of those chocolate mousse cups!

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Two things: I am sorry about your hamster BUT congrats on your manuscript! That must’ve been an emotional day for you.
      Regarding your blog, I liked the theme, it worked well for your content, and I also liked how your ‘About’ wasn’t called ‘About’–that was a nice change. You have a smooth and friendly writing style that I enjoyed reading. You’ve got my follow 🙂

      Like

      1. Yeah, it was an up and down day, but thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed what you read. I’m going through some of your posts now and you have an amazing way with words! You’ve got my follow back =)

        Liked by 1 person

    5. It comes across as very clean, neat and professional. From what I’ve read so far the posts area also very readable and engaging. I’ve say you’ve got the presentation side of it down pretty well.

      Like

  25. How do you add the Facebook like button, Twitter tweet button, Google +, and other buttons on a blog post without having to copy and paste the appropriate HTML code?

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Hi spirfit,
      Activating the social sharing buttons on individual posts doesn’t require any code — you just need to activate these services in your dashboard, which you can do by going to Settings > Sharing, then choosing the services you wish to have and dragging them to the Enabled Services box.

      You can read more about sharing options here:
      https://wordpress.com/support/sharing/

      Like

    1. You have a very enjoyable style, and you keep the strength of the writing all the way through. I have to ask, are the two pieces linked? The character of the mother seems so similar in both.

      Like

      1. Hi Carol, both stories are written from real life experience. My mother was born in Ireland and many of my short stories involve her exploits which were both hilarious and memorable. She died three years ago sadly but the memories live forever. My next blog will involve her pursuit to get her driver’s license in later life and the number of times she took the road test (well over ten). The story will highlight all the chaos that ensued once she finally passed and the many fender benders for which she was known around the neighborhood. To give you an idea, our Irish Wolfhound refused to get in the car with her after one of her accidents and he loved to go out in that car…May be my best one yet! Think I will entitle it “License to Drive.”

        Like

      2. Sounds like it will be great. My Grandmother moved from Ireland to the U.K when she was eighteen, so I’ve also got my fair share of slightly insane Irish stories. Her involve more yelling at MPs in the Houses of Commons and finding her wedding silverware hammered into shovels by her sons though.

        Liked by 1 person

  27. I would really appreciate some honest feedback on any of my blogs, but the one that got the most views so far is “Honey Serpent Don’t Care.” If anyone has the time to read this and give me feedback, good or bad, I would appreciate it. I want to succeed!

    Liked by 3 people