Mar 23, 2015 / Community Pool

Community Pool

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

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. Hi all,

    I would really like some feedback on a recent post. It is pretty short and it is an excerpt from a much longer work. I would like some thoughts mainly on my writing style but absolutely any feedback is appreciated. Thank you!

    Home

    Liked by 1 person

    1. That was absolutely lovely. I think you have awesome potential! Can you give me an overview of the story? Would you consider reading a bit of my fiction? Thanks, lily

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I would love to read some of you fiction. Any specific posts?

        Thanks for the comment and compliment. I am still piecing this story together but it involves a war of good and evil and these two are key players. I’ve got another excerpt that I hope to put up soon.

        Like

    1. Just stopped by your blog! LOVE IT! I especially love the name. After having done photography for a little while as a hobby, it’s just a very clever name for a blog! Your pictures are great. It is set up wonderfully!

      I love how simple your posts are. They are easy to get through and the attention is really brought to the photos (which are WONDERFUL by the way). Absolutely wonderful! Now following. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Greetings, all! Happy Monday! I just published a post that’s based on, of all things, “Ravishing” Rick Rude’s tights. So, if you’re a wrestling fan pissed that an overrated someone who’s neither good on the mic nor a great mat technician is getting to main event Mania this Sunday, stop on by to celebrate an underrated promo God and great wrestler who never got a chance at the top spot. Everyone else: I analyze and catalog the performance apparel of a professional wrestler.

    https://findingaid.wordpress.com/2015/03/23/on-the-spandex-codex-or-cataloging-ensues-when-archivist-watches-wrestling/

    Like

  4. Would like some feedback on my creative pieces!
    I’m having a hard time cause I think my fiction writing is lacking something – was hoping for an outside perspective
    Much love

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Hello!

    I am still fairly new to the blogging world. I have been gone for about 2 months, but I am starting up again as of today. I would love some feedback on my blog! Anything would be good…good or bad! Feel free to comment on any post in specific or on the overall blog. Thank you so much in advance!!
    The link to my blog is: https://kennalynn24.wordpress.com

    Thank you!
    McKenna 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I liked your post, a lot. Just want you to remember that you’re beautiful!

      Also, my little advice is that maybe you can try to make smaller paragraphs because some readers can get bored. Also, I noticed that in one of them you had too many ideas, so smaller ones will help a lot.

      Stay inspired!
      -Random girl

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you so much for your kind words! Your tips are helpful & I’ll remember to break my ideas up better next time. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

    2. I agree with the idea of smaller paragraphs. Didn’t keep me from reading but it was a bit distracting. Otherwise nice post. Normally I suggest adding graphics but considering the subject matter an omission is quite understandable

      Like

    1. Really love the layout of your blog. I do suggest adding widgets such as categories on the side just to make it easier for readers to find related posts if they wanted to. Other than that, keep up the great work 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  10. good afternoon,
    It’s been a slow monday so I thought I’d venture over and see what everyone’s doing. Here’s one of my most recent posts…something different from my usual stuff: https://romancedonewrite.wordpress.com/2015/03/20/if-ive-accomplished-anything-today-this-is-it/
    Any feedback would be great and if you care to look around I have writer-ly posts and some posts on my trip to San Francisco. I’d be happy to look at anyone else’s stuff if you leave a comment.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. hello everyone! I post my artwork and travel experiences on my blog. If you have similar interests, check out my blog! any type of feedback for the page layout is appreciated..thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Anyone like history blogs? Genealogy blogs? I am always looking for some feedback about what I can do to make this better. I just finished a new piece that took weeks of research. It was much harder than others I’ve done. I’d be curious to have someone take a look.
    Thanks,
    Julie

    The House that William Built

    Like

  15. Hi peoples! I… well, is my blog annoying in any way? Does it make your eyes hurt, or make you want to go out and buy a kitten just to kick it in anger? (No kittens were hurt during the writing of this post.)

    Liked by 2 people

    1. You have engrossing prose, but I’d work a bit on your denouement. In reading the topmost post I found myself well engrossed in your tale, but the sharp ending left me unfulfilled. I understand the juxtaposition you were attempting, but I think the ending’s abruptness undercut the message, rather than bolstered it.

      I think your topic choices are rich for literary mining, I’d suggest only that you not shy away from bleak endings. Your humor is good, trust what you have and try not to oversell it in feeling the need to end on an up note.

      As I said, very engrossing regardless of my nitpicks. Well done.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. My first suggestion goes to site organization. I agree that you want to highlight your newest content, but in putting the newest works at the top of the page and the oldest at the bottom, you work against the natural reading pattern. Newer readers are actually discouraged from reading more than a couple of posts and they thus miss a great deal of your content. I would limit the number of posts you display on a single page and work on organizing your archive so that it runs from top to bottom. Regular readers, those who read each post as it comes out, won’t have any trouble with your content as it’s laid out now, but new readers, like me, have to struggle to read from the beginning. Anything you can do to make it easier for viewers to read your page will pay dividends in readership.

      Liked by 1 person

      2. I like your “Update of Somesort” blog because it was honest and real. I appreciated that.

        Like

    2. Hi,
      I really like your blog, you’ve actually made me want to watch a show I wasn’t interested in before (the 100). I also like your writing style. A good blog, well done you! 🙂
      I’d love to hear what you think of mine … I’ve literally just started in the last week or so.. a total blogging virgin, so be kind 😉
      https://u2cansee.wordpress.com/

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I’ve gotten several comments on my posts! That’s strange that you can’t comment on them; is there just no space for you to leave comments?

        Like

    4. I really like your blog! Love the content. However, I would say try a different theme. The current theme is (for lack of a better term) boring. Great writing! Will have to try a few of your favorite TV shows!

      Like

  23. Hiya there!! It would greatly appreciate if I could get some feedback on my blog as I am a new blogger with only a couple of months under my belt. Any feedback on content, website design, writing style, etc. is welcomed! Thanks 😀

    eat8travel.wordpress.com

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi,
      I like your idea ‘fortune cookie friday’. It gives you a nice ‘hook’ and invites people to comment, which is good (I have just done so by the way). Not sure how you could make it more exciting though … maybe add some kind of ‘philosophical’ quote or inspirational topics, to invite discussion?
      I love the idea anyway, well done 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    2. I like the idea of this being a regular feature. I think you are going to have to “prime the pump” by finding some bloggers and asking them to participate for a while until you get some takers.

      Liked by 1 person

      3. How do you go about that? My followers seem on the quiet side so I sadly haven’t much engagement with them yet.

        Like

    1. Hi,
      I like your idea ‘fortune cookie friday’. It gives you a nice ‘hook’ and invites people to comment, which is good (I have just done so by the way). Not sure how you could make it more exciting though … maybe add some kind of ‘philosophical’ quote or inspirational topics, to invite discussion?
      I love the idea anyway, well done 🙂

      Like

    1. Hi, Sabrina, one thing I have trouble is small print. So I would personally recommend a slightly larger print — you don’t have to go huge, but something that’s a bit easier to read.

      Your articles are very good, but as they tend to be longer, you might consider a theme that would give you a 2- or 3-column layout. Or you could tell the system to only display a certain number of words on your home page with a “Read More” button that takes the reader to the rest of your article.

      You could also spiff up your page with “Widgets” — right now at a minimum you could use the Search feature and then maybe a list of blogs you follow or articles you’ve liked on other blogs. (I recently put both of these on mine if you want to look.) If you click on “MY SITES” at the top of your page, go down to “Look and feel” and choose “Customize” you’ll find the “widgets” function in the left panel. Lots of choices there, just pick the ones you like best.

      Also, right now I see a place to leave a comment, but not a button for “Like”, so it’s hard to tell how popular each article is. The “like” button can also help you direct the road you take in the future.

      Overall, you’ve done a very nice job with the articles. I think your layout should reflect your creativity as well.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you so much for the feedback, I’ll have to work on the layout. I have been focusing more on the content, but I understand that both are important.

        Like

    2. Sabrina, I enjoyed your review of the concert very much. In June, wordpress will be offering Blogging 101, a free class which would be of great help. I took it twice and it made such a difference on my blog. Am glad you are being consistent…that is important to grow an audience. Don’t forget to get out there and meet other bloggers and make friends. http://lilypupslife.wordpress.com/

      Liked by 1 person

  27. I’m creating new pages and want to move some of my previous posts to them. Is there an easier way to do this than copying and pasinting each one individually?

    e.g: I have a trivia post every Tuesday, right now there just on my main “Posts” page. I want to move them over to my new “Tuesday Trivia” page.

    Any suggestions? thanks in advance …

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks, Lilypup — I did try that, but I didn’t get the nice dividers you have between the posts (with the date, etc). Do you do that for each one manually? And does the system know to report it as a new post? Thanks again!

        Like

  28. I’m not new to blogging but I’ve recently experienced the supportive community of bloggers through Blogging 101. Wow! And to know that can continue is reassuring.

    I am adding a regular feature to my blog and wonder if it would be best to post them in a separate project or just categorize them separately. Any suggestions? From a reader’s perspective?

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Marie, what exactly are you doing? I am putting up a book one chapter at a time. I have put that on a separate page from my regular posts. Is that what you mean?

      Liked by 1 person

      2. I use my features to give my readers more content. With my schedule I am only writing two fresh posts a week which is about my limit. So I add in two features and I have four posts a week. The schedule has helped me a lot. I was scattered all over the place before.

        Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks. =) I am just trying to acquire at least a little bit of a reader base but I think my conservative views turn a lot of readers off.

        Like

      3. Very true! I plan to continue regardless. I do this for me no matter what. Thank you for taking the time to take a look.

        Like

      4. Ben, what do you think, does a new layout help? It’s not graphics but its got a bit more goin on.

        Like