Feb 23, 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. There is always something wonderfully happening at Dream In Music, especially this week… First, we’ll learn all about Cardiomyopathy and how to prevent yourself from it, then read all about the upcoming month of March, plus how I write from my mind, especially during very cold weather! Plus classic cartoons & commercials straight from YouTube and a whole lot more, all here at Dream In Music!-JW

    Like

  2. Good afternoon!!

    I just recently started my own blog, I have a total of two posts now.. And I am really wanting some feedback. I am still learning how to make it look the way I want. I really just want a place I can write about anything and everything as it comes to me, and would like some feedback on my posts. Any advice would be appreciated! Also, the look of my page is really bland, any suggestions on that would be awesome as well!! Thank you!

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    1. I have a few thoughts:

      1- Try changing your blog title to something more inviting; I’m not sure how many people will click on a blog called “Mrsjohnson14.” It also doesn’t help that a 1-word title is split between lines like that. A good title (and tagline) can make any layout look more interesting.

      2- Go to your stats page and click on “customize” in the left sidebar. That’s where you can re-title your blog. You may also be able to modify some colors or add a header image for free. (I think those details vary by theme.)

      3- Each post should contain a picture (or video) and I tend to recommend having larger pictures with a center orientation. (You can change size and orientation when you’re writing a post.) That would break things up a bit.

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    1. Hi,

      While your subject matter for writing isnt something i would look into for reading….
      I found your site very professional and simple, so you can just focus on the words, and allow the content to speak for itself.

      🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Hello bloggers, I’ve put a new post, and I am working on a new story, which is still in progress. Sure would like feedback, thank you. Always glad to return the favor.

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  8. Hey guys, I’m new to blogging and have posted a few posts now and I can’t wait for it to take off properly! Would love if you could take a look and help me make it better! Thanks in advance!
    Becky

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      1. ah thank you, I feel it is very basic, but hopefully with practice it will get better 🙂 Trying to create a flowing story so each post will be a follow on from the previous one 😀 glad you enjoyed it.

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  10. I posted this question in the Support Forum in early December and nothing ever happened. Maybe the Community Pool will work. Here’s the situation:

    My archives (monthly, category, and tag) are only one page deep; there is no “next” button at the bottom to lead to older posts. I do have “Previous” and “Next” links if I click on an individual post, though. Also, I use infinite scroll on the homepage and that works without a problem. Today, I went to the WP Admin page and tried modifying “Blog pages show at most” on the reading settings page; that didn’t help.

    The theme I use is a heavily customized San Kloud and the links had been changed to a bright yellow color so that they’d be visible against my background image. Here’s a link to the original Forum thread:

    https://wordpress.com/forums/topic/archives-are-only-one-page-deep?replies=2#post-2164781

    Like

    1. Hi @bumblepuppies — I’ve touched base with the relevant team, and they’ll take a look at this over the next couple of days. It seems to have fallen through the cracks towards the end of last year. They can’t promise they’ll be able to fix the issue since it’s a result of a more general change, but they’re definitely going to give it a try. Thanks for letting me know!

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      1. Thanks for passing it on. I just got a message through the forums saying it had just been fixed. They switched those pages to infinite scroll and I’m good with that solution. The older posts can be reached and that’s what matters.

        Liked by 2 people

  11. Hello! I’m new here and I’m quite excited but I’m not sure if I’m in the right direction.It would be amazing to get a general feedback/criticism from all the experienced bloggers here.This will help me a lot,thanks in advance!

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  14. Hello!
    I am a fairly new food blogger (I haven’t seen many requests here in that genre, but I hope that you’ll help me out anyways!), just getting more serious about recipe development and photography in the past few months.

    I recently posted a recipe of a Honey Pear Cake that, personally, I was very pleased with, but it didn’t get much response! I was wondering if you bloggers could help me out with where I need to improve – whether it be writing, the photography, or the recipe presentation itself: http://kelsibarr.com/2015/02/22/a-cake-to-share-honey-pear-cake/

    I would love to hear any of your critiques and will share the love!

    Like

    1. First, let me say the Honey Pear cake looks great! It’s something I would try.

      Second, I think the blog is good, however, I would suggest thinking about your intro a little more. The first paragraph may be a bit much, I actually felt like you didn’t need it. The second paragraph was a great.

      Also, maybe add text between the 2nd and 3rd picture.

      Like

      1. Thank you for your response. I’ll admit that the writing is easily the hardest part for me with this blog. It’s good to know what is viewed as being too much though, thank you!
        May I ask what you thought of my Blueberry Ricotta muffin post?

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  15. I tried another blog that is a little different than some of my other ones. Let me know what you think and if it fits in with the overall theme of my blog.

    soulfulsuccess.wordpress.com

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    1. Hi Trudy,
      I enjoyed the post. It was informative and to the point, without being boring. Your personality came through on a topic that is relatable to a lot of people. Great job!

      That being said, I’m hoping you would be willing to provide feedback on one of my posts as well. I’m new to this whole thing and completely clueless about structuring my posts and providing interesting content. Anything helps.

      The Dog Ate My Earplugs…

      Thanks!
      Melissa

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Totally get the whole “being new to this” as am I . It was a funny story that I am sure a lot of pet owners can relate to.I liked it. But if your dog did eat them, I am sure that you’ll see them again! Haha!!

        Like

  19. As much as I enjoy writing, I am trying to improve my photography too, do you think I did at least a decent job in capturing these pictures.

    Its carnival time

    Would love to hear your feedback on my the post in the comments section.
    thanks for reading as usual and look forward to hearing from you.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi!

      I loved the images you have chosen! A great range of subject without breaking from the overall theme of the post.

      (have posted this in your comments section as requested)

      Would you mind taking a look at my post and offering some feedback on the writing style and appearance?

      Boyhood: Movie Review

      Liked by 1 person

  24. hey everyone,

    I hope someone can help me. Is it possible to have your customized widgets appear side by side in the sidebar? Currently, I have customized widgets for my social media sites but I cannot figure out how to do it side by side? I appreciate all your help!

    berry

    http://www.berryduchess.com

    Like

  25. Does anyone else give out free ebooks or some type of free gift for those who follow your blog? It’s only possible to send free things to those who follow by email, but if someone has found a way for those who follow through the reader board I’d love to know!

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    1. Hi!
      -I don’t read many diary posts so can’t comment on your post’s structure (I don’t mean this in a bad way, but I was expecting there to be a ‘point’ if you know what I mean – like I said, I don’t read many journal posts so feel free to ignore that observation)
      -Very well written – good flow
      -Your site layout is a little plain. Perhaps consider jazzing it up a little if you want to attract readers?

      Like

    1. Hi Sam,
      I really enjoyed this post. Very well written: clear and easy to follow. I also like that you include advanced steps to add on to the workout, without making it look cluttered.
      Maybe add some links to supporting studies, or hyperlink each exercise you mention to a picture/video?
      Great work

      Like

    1. your link led me to the awards page – which confused me – thought it was going to lead me to your blog – thinks, were you trying to get us to vote for you? If so, would need to actually check out your blog – smile

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      2. sorry – was so surprised that I could actually leave a message – after having my comments blocked for over a week – I didn’t look that hard = smile = see my post on page 8 – if you want to …..

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