Apr 13, 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).

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Photo by Brian Cantoni.

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  1. Morning all.

    I made updates to my blog design this weekend, mianly my logo, and would love the feedback.

    I also posted 3 different posts over the weekend I’d love to have looked at too. One it on The Great Gatsby, another on quotes that are inspirational, and one on Eleanor and Park.

    http://lookthroughmylensblog.com/

    Thanks a million, and I’ll be sure to look at your blog!

    Liked by 5 people

    1. I don’t know what it was like before but I love the design of your blog, really like the clean white background, and the simplicity of it… very chic! The logo is great too, very clever. I like your version of a review too from looking at your Great Gatsby post and your Eleanor and Park posts, it’s nice to look at literature in terms of what it has taught you and what it has brought to your life, rather than critiquing the writing itself!

      Liked by 4 people

    8. Hi Michelle,

      Your blog looks great! Simple layout and your writing style is very easy to read. Your latest post ‘What Eleanor and Park Taught Me About Life’ was good but I think you could elaborate further on some of your ideas about the book.

      Other than that it looks good!

      If you get a minute I’d really appreciate some feedback on my blog too – particularly my latest post which is a Q&A with fashion illustrator Sarah Beetson.

      http://melbournejournal.co/2015/04/10/meet-sarah-beetson/

      Liked by 1 person

    9. The design is so clean. The blog is so nice. and I really love the logo. So artistic! It is a very very very nice blog! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

    12. Hey Michelle, left some commentage on the blog but it is looking good and i really liked the five quotes mantra piece… keep on

      love brett fish

      Like

    13. I love the simplicity of the blog. I’ve heard of the Great Gatsby but was never really interested in watching, but your perspective on the teachings has convinced me to at least check it out. I’ll watch it over the weekend.

      Love the logo. Creative.

      Liked by 1 person

    14. I really like the design on your blog. It’s clean and simple and efficient and I really loved the overall look of the place. I’m jealous of it myself, if I say it truthfully. Great job!

      Your post on ‘Eleanor and Park’ was amazing, highlighting things that people of all ages must always remember. I haven’t read the book yet though now I am really tempted to.

      The post regarding The Great Gatsby was a superb one as well, pointing our some great food for thought that can serve as the start of great discussion.

      And the five mantras for life… just awesome.

      Don’t think I am just being all praises because of some ulterior motive. Your posts really are great enough to warrant them this praise.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. It sounds like a great novella. I think it would add a lot if you added an excerpt from it in the blog. It could just be dialogue of two characters, but it would increase interest in the readers stopping by. Congratulations on finishing it.

      Liked by 3 people

    3. Hello! The novella sounds very interesting indeed 🙂 J.C.V’s advise is a great one (I should maybe try that for my blog too). But maybe you could also add something like this at the beginning of your post:

      “Left for dead by a band of strange, dark warriors, John Hedekira sets out on a quest to get revenge and to rescue his siblings from the hands of his attackers. Joining him is the kind, innocent Faith Pinck, and together they must stop the evil warriors before they can complete their mission, a dark plot to collide humanity with the world of an unholy, supernatural beings”

      (and then your post starts) I did it. It is done…. etc.

      But of course this is just a suggestion.. What do you think J.C.V?

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Okay, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks for taking the time to explain. I’ll be sure to remember to start with the exciting stuff 🙂 I wish you the best in your writing endeavors and i hope you stop by again!
        Aul

        Liked by 1 person

    3. WONDERFUL post! You made your point in such a classy and creative way. Everyone should have the freedom to love who they want to love without people or the LAW telling them it’s wrong. Very well said Suzie. I look forward to more of your posts (:

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you! I’m currently working on that since I was trying to pick a photo that I took. But you have a really good point and I’m going to start trying to take an original shot that is more relevant.

        Like

    2. I know your pain when it comes to identity… it took me a long while myself to figure out exactly what my blog was doing. Perhaps don’t include so many sub categories? Could you not just have them umbrella-ed under the main four rather than have the sub menus coming from each one? For me, too many categories gets me confused as a reader, I don’t know where to look first, so much so, I might give up!

      I hope that helps! 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

      1. I modified the menu by taking out some of the post links…I have no idea where I got that idea from but it was not a very smart one on my part. Thank you so much for the advice! I’m working on trying to focus my blog towards condensing some of the categories and maybe that will help? Do you have any ideas that you particularly liked about the blog so maybe I can move in that direction (category-wise)? Thanks!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. You’re very welcome! I think that works much better now, it’s far less daunting to the reader! I quite like your Advice to Life section, it’s original and interesting, but I don’t think you necessarily need to slimline down much more than you have, you might get an idea of the types of features that are well received and that you enjoy writing more as the weeks go on… that’s how I developed really, it’s all about practise and keeping an eye on your audience! 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you J.C.V.! Please let me know if there’s anything else that you think could be featured on the blog that would help improve the site 🙂

        Like

    4. One of the things I like, when I go to a blog for the first time, is to see who’s writing it as soon as I land on the home page, assuming they are not anonymous. You are not, as you have an About Me page with a photo of your face. Perhaps having a gravatar with your photo at the top of your home sidebar would allow the reader to get a better sense of your identity right off the bat.

      I gave you a follow, as I really enjoyed the content I saw at my initial glance 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you! I’ve actually been struggling with this part…I tried putting a picture on Gravatar, but it’s not uploading for some reason. I’m working with a friend of mine to figure out the technical issues at the moment. I’ll add a photo on the homepage under the Welcome blurb for now though.

        Like

    5. Hi CAT, I like the look of your blog. In terms of menu items, I would suggest narrowing them down to the broadest categories that you use most often and that are easy to understand.

      Maybe those are the 4 “categories” you have as a drop down? Another option is to move the categories list to the sidebar instead.

      Either way, the options in your menu bar at the top should be the most important things you want to draw readers’ attention to. And ideally, it gives readers a sense of what your blog is about.

      Liked by 1 person

    6. Hi, I really like the layout of your right sidebar, especially the “artist of the month” & “I take pictures of” widgets, they make the content easily accessible and very appealing. Enough so that I might steal them myself.

      As others have said, there are a lot of menus at the top. Maybe consolidate some of them?

      I actually had all of the same questions you did regarding my site, I can’t quite find a theme that works the way I am looking for. Feedback?

      Liked by 1 person

    7. it looks very nice! when i visited, i suddenly see the post “original songs v. glee version”. you have a point there but the story features what most seniors are experiencing. but by the way, it is a very nice blog. love the theme. love the topics. very epic!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you! Please feel free to comment whenever – I would really like as much feedback as possible so I can improve!

        Like

      1. Thank you very much! Well, as a child I was fascinated with both dinosaurs (reading heaps of books on them) AND woodlice (collecting them in my garden)
        I hope you enjoy my blog when you read it!

        Like

    2. I like your blog. I am always loving fashion, so adding the images of shoes and clothing is cool. I think if you added more background color or color to your sidepanel it would make your blog “pop out.” Keep up the good work.

      Liked by 1 person

    3. I’m loving your blog so far, eek!!! And I love the name 🙂 I like how you’ve got lots of photos in your posts and I think the one thing that could be improved is that there are minor errors in the text of your posts (missing words or incomplete sentences, simple things like that).

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank you so much, and thank you for following!! Okay, thank you very very much for your advice!

        Like

    4. Really excellent blog. I like both the look and the content. It is impressive how you seamlessly move between highly diverse content without it seeming jarring or random. I have been trying to figure out how to do that better myself.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. I believe the theme is called the editor theme, although I could be wrong so it’s worth checking it out by scrolling to the bottom of my blog! thank you very much!

        Like

    2. I loved your poem! You are a very talented writer. It would be nice if you had an image on top of the page. It can be something black and white to match the tone of your writing.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you! Yes, I always think I should maybe have an image but then I often worry about images being under copyright and stuff because basically I don’t understand it. Will look into it in the future 🙂

        Like

    4. You have definitely gained a follower, I personally am a fan of simple writing that speaks beyond words. It’s lovely. However, I would love to see you experiment with your style.

      Like

    5. I am quite new to this website, although I have posted a bit of my musings, mostly attempts at poetry here : https://ascintillaofthoughts.wordpress.com/

      I would absolutely love it if you took out a little time and gave me some constructive criticism, since I have always been shy of my writing, and this is the first time I made anything public.

      Any tips or feedback, keeping in mind I’m pretty new are always welcome

      Have a good day!

      Like

  9. Hi, everyone
    i recently wrote this post it’s titled ” Dear, young me” a letter to my younger self and i would think it might help someone out there struggling with the same problems i had and to see how much my life changed

    Dear, young me

    and i also wrote a post on how to become more optimistic for everyone there who struggles with negative thoughts and overthinking

    Think good (How to be more optimistic?)

    Have fun reading and i would love some feedback and of course i would return the favor 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Great posts!! One piece of advice I have is to narrow your tags down to about 15 – otherwise I think your post doesn’t show up in the reader and is more difficult for people to access.

      Like

      1. Thank you so much for reading and btw I love your blog. It wonderful and thank you so much for the advice I had no idea and I will definitely keep that in Mind and I will narrow the tags if my other posts now, thanks again and have a nice day 🙂 ❤

        Liked by 2 people

  13. Woohooo ! 😀 I’ll have to admit that love community pools ! They’re always so rich and interesting ! It’s like this meetup of bloggers ! Anyways, This time I’d like to know what is your favorite post from your own blog ! or any other blog ! Just paste the link in the comments and give a reason why you love that post !
    for example my favorite post from my blog is http://inquisitivemindandstubbornheart.wordpress.com/2015/03/25/i-love-ice-cream-with-fries-_/
    Because it’s just so true for me 😛
    Anyways ! your turn now !

    Liked by 4 people

      1. Hahahahaha, next time you can bring your twist to community post ! 😀 I’m reading your post now ! Will give my feed back there itself 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  14. Thanks for this post, really helpful. Kindly visit 2talesisters.wordpress.com and give suggestions/ advice on how to get more visitors and comments to the blog. Please y’all, do leave comments. Thank you.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. The theme is fine, your menu works well. I would personally update the about page to something more specific to the blog, or maybe keep that one and write another about for the blog, tell people what they’re likely to read if they follow, why you chose to blog and what your blog is about. I would also increase the image sizes you’re using, especially if it’s a recipe.
      I’m also a mum to a two year old, my parent/life blog is here http://www.kaboodlemum.wordpress.com would love it if you popped by 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Hi Gail,
      I really like your writing. It’s very relatable and a good length to share detailed information without dragging on.

      I agree with Faye about the about page, but writing is the hard part and you have that down!

      Liked by 1 person

  18. Hello. I recently started a blog from the point of view of a teenage girl. I want this place to be where I can post everything that happens in life and people read it and are able to relate. The number of followers or likes doesn’t bother me but I would like some feedback on how to improve. Any constructive criticism. This is the link to my blog – http://www.anonymi01.wordpress.com

    Thanks all 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Thanks for dropping by and giving my feedback. I appreciate your time.
        And definitely! I’ve started reading a few other blogs and will take ideas.
        Thanks again 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  19. Hi everybody. I’m not really looking for feedback this time. I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who reads my blogs and to the Daily Post for making me keep going in the early days. Cheers!

    Liked by 4 people

    2. *Warning: The Artist’s mood was too melancholic to care for the grammatical errors* is perhaps my favourite line I have read today. Love the content in general, very poetic even when it’s not poetry 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Okay, I’ve got to be honest here, I thought your personality some through this comment and I was eager to check out your blog… I clicked the link and went straight there and I didn’t even read any of your content. Your home page hurts my eyes. It’s so busy with all the pictures and words everywhere. I know I sound like the rudest person alive right now but I thought if I were as honest as honest could be, maybe you’d appreciate it, I really hope so!
      I’m visiting from a phone so I don’t know if your home page would appear different on a laptop or computer but, I found it was to busy and overwhelming on my phone. Sorry for sounding so harsh! Please don’t hate me lol

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Don’t worry no prob, Yea I guess it appears better from the laptop (don’t have a phone so, NO IDEA 😛 )…..
        It’s all cool though I kinda understood the too much craziness all around point (we’re 3 teens, crazy bout movies, craziness is what you’ll get XD ), read some of the content though, maybe it’ll improve your impression of my blog 😀

        Like

    1. Ok, I’m going to be totally honest here. I wasn’t hooked into reading your post until you started talking about Cape Cod. I think all of the stuff before it, as interesting as it is, is not how you should start that post. Once you started the Cape Cod section I loved it, before that, it rambled.

      You have large paragraphs and from everything I’ve read they should be short and sweet on blogs. Even at times just one sentence long.

      I also think the pictures should have come earlier. Your descriptions under the photos are good, so put one at the very top to hook readers.

      Also, the headline needs work. What should I expect to read? What beaches are you going to talk about? I have a tough time with them myself so here’s an article to check out on how to write a good headline: http://www.elegantthemes.com/blog/tips-tricks/the-key-to-writing-great-headlines-that-drive-more-traffic?utm_source=Elegant+Themes&utm_campaign=e557e03e74-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c886a2fc0a-e557e03e74-50547241

      Hope you find this helpful. I’m an absolute newby. You’ve obviously been at it for a very long time, so I’m sure there’s lots I can learn from you.

      Cheers,
      Shannon

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks for the feedback, constructive criticism is always good. I will work on shortening my paragraphs next time I write and try to make my next post more cohesive! Thanks for the tip about the headline too, I wasn’t happy with it either and hopefully the next one will be better 🙂

        Like

    2. I like the look of the blog, I think white backgrounds with easy to read text (in terms of colour and size) is always a winner. I liked the photographs too, clear, and fitting in with the theme of the post. Bit disappointed in the self-admitted love of crap souvenirs but there you go :P.

      I think the paragraphs I quite long, and come across as walls of text, I think you would benefit from breaking the text up a bit.

      I think I could see where to previous commentator was coming from in terms of the interesting bit starting from the section that mentions Cape Cod, however I don’t think that what came before it brought anything down, if anything it highlighted a piece of your personality and writing style.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you so much for the nice feedback! I agree with you that the paragraphs appear too long, especially the first one! I will work on that for my next post. I really wasn’t happy with how the post flowed, which was why I wanted feedback, hopefully next time I can write something that fits together better! 🙂

        Liked by 3 people

    1. Kate, I found your blog/website easy to navigate, friendly looking, and interesting. The only thing I didn’t like was the photos of gelato that appeared to be piles of poop in containers. 🙂 I know that sounds silly, but that’s what it made me think of.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. interesting opinions haha i believe that the best bloggers thrive when they tackle the tough questions to effect change. THey have the responsibility to be fearless. Thats why so many bloggers get censored in Russia and China they want to hold government accountable

      Like

  30. Hi Everyone,

    I have *just* started a new blog (2 weeks ago) about movies and life, called My Sister Loves Movies.

    I have two types of posts I want to do each week. One that is a review of a movie I’ve watched (part of my 501 Must-See Movies Challenge), and one that is more reflective and shows how movies have influenced me or intersected with my life. Having read what I’ve done so far, my sister says I need to insert more about my life into my posts.

    I’d be curious to hear what your take is. When you go to a movie blog, do you want to hear more about the movie or the person writing it?

    Today was my first movie review post (501 Movie Challenge), the others are more the reflective ones. Any feedback would be appreciated.

    My Sister Loves Movies Blog: http://mysisterlovesmovies.com

    Cheers,
    Shannon

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Great post about moulin rouge. I loved that movie when it came out (I was 12) and I loved the songs… Their version of ‘hope you don’t mind’ is one of my favourite versions, probably because it’s so different ad mixed up. Also, I wasn’t familiar with the actual song in real life so for me, it felt fine.
      Wasn’t too keen on the adverts if I’m honest, they put me off a bit. Also, I’m visiting from a phone and the text is narrow, making its a longer post. Still, I enjoyed your review. Your menu was easy to navigate and your theme was fine 🙂

      Like

      1. Faye, really appreciate the honest feedback. I’ve been conflicted about the mobile view. Should I make the font smaller so it’s shorter, or should I keep it larger so people can read it more easily? Hmm. Do you think going with smaller font would better?

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I don’t, I think your font size was great for mobile readers so no doubt about it being fine on a computer. To be honest, I don’t think you should change anything, it wasn’t hard to read at all, it just meant extra scrolling. If it was terrible, I’d have told you (I like honesty). I don’t think there’s a need to make changes if you don’t want too. Alternatively, you could change the font and I could pop over and let you know what think. That’s up to you though, I personally don’t think a change is necessary 🙂

        Like