Jan 19, 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.

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    1. This was very thought provoking for me. I followed CES and saw all of the cars that were showcased. I thought the advancement of technology was always for the better in cars. But you gave great points in your skepticism.

      Like

  3. hello, I would like some feedback on the stuff that I post? I have just started my blog and I am very insecure when it comes to my writing. I don’t mind late feedback, i do hope that you can take some time out to check out my blog though. Thank you.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I don’t think you should be insecure at all. A blog is a platform for YOU to express your feelings however you want to and I think you are doing a great job of it so far.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. I agree with variant–you shouldn’t be insecure about your writing, at all. Your posts are short and powerful. ‘Sad’, ‘Acid,’ and ‘Void’ were my favorites. (I realize they don’t have titles, but it makes its easier for me to refer to them by some name.) Each one had real emotional impact.

      My main suggestion would be to name the poems/essays, even if its just with one simple word. As a blog reader, I am used to scanning post titles to see what grabs me and missing titles threw me a little curve. On the other, having just the little clock and ‘4 days ago by noctecaelom’ at the top gives the posts a haunted feel. Which is kind of a cool effect. But I think it might make the site cumbersome to navigate as you accumulate posts.

      And I really like your about page song. I think your off to a great start.

      Liked by 2 people

    3. Your writing is vivid and comes from your heart (which seems to be in some anguish). Keep writing! I am sure there are many people who will be able to connect with the feelings you are expressing.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Hi everyone, I have a Leadership blog at theleadit.wordpress.com. I want to ask you all if the site, the layout and the design do suit the niche? Is there anything else that I should add in the widgets to attract more traffic and highlight my posts?

    I also want to ask you to subscribe/follow . Thanks in advance.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Hi everyone,
    I recently wrote a blog post about winning the Liebster award. However, I now need to nominate other blogs which I like and have less than 200 followers. Since I haven’t managed to find enough blogs to nominate I decided that I would give my readers the opportunity to be nominated. All you have to do is read my blog post and comment on it. I love discovering new blogs and I also really appreciate any feedback which I receive.

    https://infinitedaydreamer.wordpress.com/2015/01/14/my-first-blog-award/

    Thanks 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Your take on the different versions of blacks was really cool to read and I love how you related everything as a metaphor because it truly is. I love your theme, it really brings and adds an artistic flair to your writing

      Liked by 1 person

    2. I like everything I have seen so far, I only had problem finding your posts because I didn’t know it was under the “get to know me section”. Other than that I can’t wait to read more about your freelancing adventures.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks! Yes, I sorta realized that after posting my link. I think I fixed so hopefully the navigation is better.

        If not I’ll keep playing around with it.

        Like

    1. I personally would wish that the featured images for your posts were larger and that, as a food blog, you had a more visual and sensual look – maybe fewer gray elements on the page? I am not sure if you would have to upgrade to achieve that but I would recommend to browse through the themes (again) and check if you find one that is more visual and let’s you show many posts on the front page. I see that you do not use many widgets, even the newer themes with slide-out sidebars might work for you.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I agree that larger images would look better. There’s a right sidebar on actual posts that I have a few more widgets on but I’m apprehensive about slide outs because I use a tablet for most of my blogging and they’re usually completely incompatible when you don’t have a cursor. Really appreciate your input – many thanks.

        Like

  11. Hello everyone!

    I have taken the leap as a freelance blogger. I will be documenting my life through the ups and downs of finding a job into the gaming industry. I love to write, but I could never find my niche or special topic. Hopefully this blog will help me out in as I go along with this.

    Thanks to whoever will be taking a look!

    https://jemconnects.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Jem,

      Very impressed you met the legend that is Manny Pacquaio! Your blog is nice and simple. I know you’re just starting off but a fuller bio of yourself and why I should read your blog compared to the millions out there would be a nice way to draw me in. No pressure 😉

      Aidan

      Liked by 1 person

    2. I thought your last post was hilarious. It definitely fits in with the overall tone of your blog –> mildly irreverent? Very British.

      it would be cool if you could split the image in your header into two – one for each England.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you for checking it out, I’m glad you liked it. I hadn’t considered the header idea before it’s great. Now to find the pictures to do it!

        P.S. your blog is great and I’m now following you 🙂

        Like

      2. The more different the better! Or more similar?

        Thanks for following! I’m tryin. I appreciate it.

        Like

    1. I’d suggest: centering the cover images (they’re hanging left).  Ages in parenthesis ought to have clarification; i.e., “(age 16)”.  Put your authors in the tags so that they’ll come up in listing when clicking on them.  Add other qualities other than a single rating—how readable are the books? etc.  More info, such as publisher, link.  There is a blockquote element for quotations—makes them stand out with the theme.

      Liked by 1 person

    3. The layout and design of your blog works and it looks like you’ve centered the images now, so those are good. I agree with Ben that centering the quoted passages doesn’t quite work. It might look artistic from a visual standpoint, but it makes the text less readable, too much like calligraphy.

      I read several of your book reviews and enjoyed them. You have me interested in some books that I might not have considered before. And I really like the fact that you gave To KIll a Mockingbird five out of five, but didn’t care for Huckleberry Fin. (I agree with you 100% on both of those.)

      My suggestion would be to try for more consistency in your book reviews. By that I mean having a list of issues that you try to evaluate for every book. You’ve done a good job in all the reviews I read, writing about the characters and whether or not the book is appropriate for various audiences, but you don’t write as consistently about the plots and endings. I want to know if the book has a satisfying ending. I don’t want to know what the ending is, but whether or not I’ll be frustrated when I read that last page. Is the book a cliff-hanger or did they tie up the loose ends? You’ve discussed the issue in some of your reviews, but not in others. And was the book engaging all the way through, or was the middle a bit of snooze. Those are some of the other things I want to get out of a book review.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank you so much, I was just rereading some of my posts as well, and was just getting that same conclusion about not discussing more of the book, without telling to much of it. I will definitely have to go back in and rewrite a lot of them. I am glad you picked up on that, so I know that my thinking was correct. Why thank you, for the Kill a Mockingbird comment. I felt very passionate about that one. I am also glad that I was able to help you consider reading a few books you would not have thought about reading before, that was my goal when I decided to start this particular blog. I wanted a place I could share what I thought about different books, and so could others. If there was a particular book anyone thought I should read, that I may not have read before also, I am always open for new book ideas. I recently just started writing all the books I have ever read down, so that way I can put them on my blog, and become a little more regular in my postings.

        Like

    1. I really like your blog. ‘The Invention of Holiness’ and ‘I think my keyboard is trying to kill me’ are both powerful posts. I am following.

      However, the text is a problem. Though the background images are beautiful and go with your blogs title and add drama, the white text over dark is really tough to read. The bold font on the ‘keyboard’ post was easier on the eyes than the normal font, but it’s still a challenge. And though I am a big advocate of the read more tag, many of your posts are short enough that they don’t need it (a.k.a. Holiness).

      Though the readability is a problem, your content is great!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hi Stacey,

        Many thanks for your detailed and extremely useful feedback. I’m seriously planning on working on the background’s opacity. The last thing I want is for people’s eyes to hurt every time they visit my blog – too bad for the ophthalmologist, though 😛

        I want you to know that your feedback and follow are significantly valuable to me and they mean a great deal to me. I’d really appreciate it if you show me your blog so that I could have the honor of visiting it.

        Thanks again!

        Like

    1. I like this post, and I like that I learned a new term! I also read your “The First Day of the Rest of Your Life” and enjoy your writing style. I think most everyone can relate to first day jitters! 🙂

      Like

    2. I’m still lost on how you define ‘true fandom’. You got the poetic element down, but if feels like a lot of fluff and not enough substance, and I got lost on where you were going with it.

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      1. Heh, thanks for this. I wasnt sure if why im writing comes accross, so ill continue to think about how i can be more clear.

        Badically, I want my blog to be an expression of “true fandom” (fandom that is positive and inclusive, think Olympics vs NFL/NBA/etc) – from the perspective of someone who works in an industry that creates content consumed by fans. Make more sense?

        Like

  24. I published chapter 2, part one on one of my blogs. I have published a couple of other things also. I would love some feedback from anyone who has time! If you read mine and give feedback, I will read yours as well. Thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I enjoyed the read. Great for a first story. Would be great if you could read through the travelogues on my site and give me some feedback, too. 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    1. Looks like you have a lot of adventures in your life. I also love the fact that you share delicious foods you eat, I love food. Can’t wait to read more.

      Like

      3. I really like your blog actually. Although I was surprised that it wasn’t all about technology given your URL; but for me that was a good thing! I like the continual scroll and the fixed side bar, but I found it hard to look at your archives in the way I would have wanted to, e.g. by category

        Like

      2. Thank you! I’m glad you like it and I hope you enjoy reading about my journey! I’ve taken a peek at your blog too; I like the tone of your writing and the theme of your page. One comment though, once your reader is reading a specific post then there’s no obvious button to reach your homepage (as far as I can tell). I’ve followed though and look forward to reading more!

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Thank you for the feedback as well. My theme doesn’t really allow you to access my home page at the moment but I will try to fix that. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you for your comments! I like your blog too; great theme choice! I like that your top posts/pages is lots of thumbnails; your blog is very visually engaging. I found it a bit hard to navigate by category as I couldn’t see this anywhere in your sidebar or pages

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Hi,
      I actually really like your writing style. The funny thing is I am kind of an insomniac myself and I have wrote a blog post about often writing at night in the past. I have followed your blog because I think I will enjoy reading your future posts. It would be great to get some feedback 🙂

      https://infinitedaydreamer.wordpress.com/

      Liked by 1 person

      1. thank you so much and I have followed back…not only because its the polite thing to do but rather because I see we have many mutual interests the main ones I see being the love of books and writing…I also love how honest you are in your writing and as a fellow writer that’s always my aim

        Liked by 1 person

    3. I like your blog and you have an interesting perspective; it would be great to see more posts in a similar vein. Two things that I would suggest are having an “About me” page so readers can find out a little about you and choosing a theme that suits your content more. With your current theme the content only takes up about a third of the width of the page. Hope this helps!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you very much…writing an “about me” page is really something thats always stumped me and now that I truly know who I am I’ll get right to it…and choosing a theme was also kinda difficult and I chose the easy way out by choosing what I saw first so I will definitely put more effort now…and I loved your blog…great writing style and its hilarious…I love the name as well, very witty.

        Like

    1. hey I like your content…its refreshing to read a young man talk about manual labour rather than swagging while hittin the gym…your content is short and straight to the point and there seems to be some central theme in your posts seems to be fitness and that contrasts a lot with my blogging which is all over the place…just blog more

      Like