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).

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! We tend to delete duplicate comments asking for feedback on the same post.
  • 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!
  • When leaving comments, please remember not to add your blog’s url as your signature. It’s kinda spammy: after all, your handle links directly to your blog.
  • 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. Hello everyone. I have been blogging for over a year now, pretty much “in the blind” regarding feed back on the overall site and themes.

    Two questions:

    1. I am using custom photos (4) for my header and they change randomly. Is this positive or is it a distraction? Sometimes the random image does not go with the blog post topic that it appear over. Does that matter?

    2. I just posted an item in two parts. Am interested to have an assessment of readability, level of detail, use of multiple parts, use of external links, etc. The subject is roughly US maritime history, lightships, etc.

    A Tale of Two Lightships – Part 1

    A Tale of Two Lightships – Part 2

    Any other suggestions or observations will be appreciated.

    Thanks, Renaissance Musings

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I have two blogs and on one of them, I have custom headers that change and I am sure that they don’t match the text, personally I dont think it matters as long as it is a nice picture.

      I think 2 part posts are find if the content will otherwise be too long, I do think that you should link to post 2 from post 1 though (if maybe there but I couldnt see it).

      Like

  2. I’ve been doing the A to Z Blogging Challenge for the past two weeks. Can’t believe I’m near the halfway point. I’ve gotten comments from fellow bloggers all over WordPress and other sites. It’s encouraging to read and know someone enjoys what you write.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. I’m a new blogger and I would love to have someone check out my page layout and the writing of any one of my blogs- I’m specifically interested in my grammar and sentence structure, it is not my strong suit. Thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi, welcome to blogland! Your page looks great. I was so caught up in what you wrote that I forgot to take notice of the grammar and sentence structure but it certainly flowed well and gripped me. Sharon x

      Like

  7. Hello,

    I have a few concerns when it comes to my blog. My first concern is based on the overall aesthetics. The design to me seems alright but I think I need more to make it look a little better and interesting. Any advice that could be given about the design to captivate followers would be appreciated.

    My second concern is about gaining followers and generating traffic. My blog is pretty new and I know that it takes time, but I want to know about those who have generated traffic and gained a following if there are tips/tricks that I could be using to help to gain more readers.

    I appreciate any feedback about my concerns or about my blog in general. Thank you.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Your blog is great. It’s clean, responsive, easy to read and your about page was fab. Just a quick pointer, I think your menu needs a ‘home’ tab, just so that the veiwers can click that rather than having to go back via their browser. In all though, great work, keep it up!
      P.S – those black shoes are to DIE for!

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Wow, the pictures you took are awesome, each one has so much soul, such impressive works… I will follow your blog for now – thought this is really special and unique…
      Your monochrome works are even more impressive… This depth and the composition…
      you truly deserve a lot bigger crowd of readers!
      Yours, Mary

      Like

      2. Maybe because the reduction of color means more focus on the actual motives… Your welcome, just speaking a bit of truth 🙂

        Like

  9. Hello everyone,

    In August I will be going on a trip to Oz for at least a year travelling. As a first time traveller I’ve started a blog for many reasons – to feel like I’m talking to someone so I never get lonely, to keep friends/family updated on what I’m doing and basically just share the amazing experiences I will have with others.

    I am trying to build up a base of followers before I go by currently posting about anything to do with my travel plans and beauty and lifestyle based stuff too. Could you please look at my last few posts and give feedback on whether the content is interesting, have I structured it in the right way, or do I babble on too much or repeat myself constantly?

    Any constructive feedback is much appreciated 😃

    Like

    1. I am going to leave a few suggestions, and you are free to take them or leave them 🙂

      1) an About page would be helpful for people who are just coming to your blog. All I know if you are going to Australia in August, and your name.

      2) Take the time to spell check, and read through for typos and punctuation that spell check won’t catch. I usually write and revise in phases, and step away for an hour or so prior to hitting publish.

      3) Preview your posts to make sure the layouts are correct. On my screen, your post regarding your makeup has scattered photos with text woven in between it, making it difficult to read.

      4) There is a lot going on on your sidebar. Putting like widgets together would help. If you don’t need all the badges in the sidebar, perhaps you could put them in the footer?

      Liked by 1 person

      4. I will be happy to check when I get home from work! If you don’t hear back from me by tomorrow morning, send me a reminder please!

        Like

      2. 100% you need to proof read. Not that grammar and spelling stopped me from reading! I just irked me a bit. Nothing wrong with content! That’s entirely up to you anyway. I would say that your blog is developing fine, focus on the direction you want it to head in and continue. The only thing I feel compelled to ask is if your going on holiday or backpacking? I read about your backpack but it seems like your packing for a holiday rather than a backpacking trip. If it were me, I’d carry light and replace as I go. I would also ditch all make up apart from mascara and a bit of tinted moisturiser. You can wear suncream over foundation and without it youll burn lol

        Liked by 1 person

  10. Good afternoon! I registered my domain yesterday, and imported my posts and did a redesign, whew! I changed my designed so it has significantly less white space. I’d like to get your thoughts on the new design.

    Do you think it’s too cluttered? Or just enough? Does the overall purple make it seem amateur?

    Thanks! Melissa

    http://melissaindc.me

    Like

      1. Thank you! It’s got a little more going on than the previous one did, but my header had nothing to do with DC, and I figured I needed to change that.

        Like

      1. Thank you, Melis! I’m still tweaking some things, but I’ve got the foundation in place. I really like the design, as a free one, as it’s the only one that really pleases my eye when I mess around in the customizer.

        I’ve noticed you and I have the same theme, so I like you layout and look 🙂 This is more a personal thing, but I enjoy a graphic up at the top of the sidebar- I think it’s more eye catching than the blank space left by the follow button. Perhaps your blogging university badge?

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Thanks for your feedback! That sounds like a good idea, I think I might move my blogging 101 badge. I recently changed my layout because my old one was getting too cluttered and I much prefer this theme 🙂

        Like

    1. Just continue writing. Join in the conversation like you have here. Maybe participate in one of the blogging 101 events, they’re really helpful. Make sure you’re tagging and categorising your posts and take time, very few bloggers gain followers over a short amount of time. Patience is key 🙂

      Liked by 3 people

    2. I like your clear writing but I couldn’t really find an about. I check out your about words tab and stuff but it still didn’t give me any insight at you what your blog is about. Maybe an ‘about this blog’ tab would help gather followers, I know people like a clear ‘this is what this blog is about and what you’re likely to find here’ kind of thing 🙂

      Like

  12. Good evening bloggers!

    I’m dying for some feedback and some acknowledgment towards my new Spa Review post. I worked really hard on it and everyone need some luxury in their lives at some point, right?

    SPA REVIEW | Weavers’ House Spa

    I really enjoyed this spa visit and I wanted to share it with my fellow bloggers!
    I have a few more reviews on here that I hope you like too. This is to help my career in Journalism feature writing. I’m a graduate and trying to put myself out there in the world of WordPress!

    All advice and feedback welcome, and I will do the same for you!

    Many thanks!
    Amy Lee x

    Liked by 1 person

    2. Your blog is really pretty and well presented. I struggle with traffic too, I just keep trying out different tags and go from there, I think it’s also a case of getting involved with the community, commenting here, doing blogging u courses, doing things that way can get your blog out there to regular readers, people who enjoy what your writing, like minded people who’re on the same page and just slowly progress 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s cool, I like it. Really informative, you’re writing style is great 🙂 the only issue I had was the page layout on my phone. At the top it has your latest tweets, it took me a little while to realise I needed to scroll down the side rather than through your tweets to get to your content. It may just be me and the way the page is laid out on a mobile screen (iPhone) and probably not as an actual web page 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  16. Hello people. I started a weekly blog three weeks ago and would very much welcome any feedback, good or bad. One question I have is what are your thoughts and advice on post length and detail – I prefer to be quite brief but wonder if and how this affects the success of my blog?. My blog is called Weekademia and each post is inspired by a quote and/or image from my working week. So it is essentially an academic lifestyle blog and I’d like to have guest posts and regular student contributors once it is more established.

    I’m very happy and keen to also provide advice to other bloggers at the same stage as me.

    Thanks and I hope to hear from some of you.

    Liked by 3 people

      1. You blog is clean, responsive and well written, great use of images too. I didn’t think your posts were too log or two short, you covered what you had to say in the space you used, that’s good. There’s room for more tagging and categorising, you can have a maximum of 15 between the two and that should get your blog appearing in more places. It’s always worth checking out the tags you’ve used too, looking at how active they are can help you figure out if you should continue to use them or not 🙂

        Like

      2. Thank you so much for taking the time to have a look and comment, and that’s great info about the tags and categories I have a lot to learn about WordPress!

        I’ve just had a quick look at your two blogs, I’m a mom myself so I’m naturally drawn to your Kaboodlemum blog which I think is great. The other one is also fun and I like the diverse mix of content and fun images

        Like

      1. Thanks, I’m trying to target that audience as well as established academics. Good luck with the PhD should you decide to go down that road, I’ve just enjoyed reading a few of your poems and posts you have a great looking blog.

        Like

    2. I like the look of your blog, the layout is all nice and easy on the eye. Only suggestion I would make is at the bottom of the posts I read you have a long link, such as http://baravavrova.deviantart.com/art/lost-in-the-darkness-399172644 on the latest post. I think it would look better to have a clickable link rather than a raw web address.

      I like your writing style though, on the few posts that I read it stands out and drew me in, I followed you as I am interested in reading more.

      Like

  19. Hi everyone,
    A lot has changed on my blog this week and I would really appreciate some feedback.

    I made the decision to change the theme and layout of my blog and would love to know whether you like the way it looks. I’ve also posted a few blog posts including “dealing with disappointment” and “quote of the week”. All feedback/constructive criticism is always welcomed as it all helps me to improve the quality of my blog.

    https://infinitedaydreamer.wordpress.com/

    Thank you 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I enjoyed it. It’s really nice, clean and responsive. Easy to navigate and it doesn’t seem cluttered at all which is a bonus. I liked your content too 🙂 I’m also a daydreamer haha. Congratulations on your awards too, ta always nice getting recognition!

      Liked by 1 person

      3. I like your layout ant theme a lot! I have chosen the same one for my blog ;P your header is really nice and your sidebar not crammed. Your article about disappointment was really good! I can totally relate to that. I thought for years that I wanted to study art history but then from one day to another I wasn´t so sure anymore. I gave it a thought again and camo up with something totally different. At first I was really disappointed in myself because I thought I had it all figured out, but now I am rally glad I changed my mind because I love what I am studying now soo much.

        xoxo

        Like

      4. Awesomeness! You made the right decision for yourself and you’ve not regretted it, that’s fab and well done for choosing something you enjoy 🙂 thanks for the feedback, it’s a great theme! Took me a while to get my logo and the colours to match but I got there in the end and haven’t looked back 🙂

        Like

      2. Hey! Just had a chance to pop over to check out your blog. First impression was okay, it’s a non responsive site so it was really small on my phone screen but it didn’t stop me from navigating your blog. It’s clean, tidy and well written. I think your image sizes are spot on, not too big or small. With regards to your widgets, I would personally reduce the amount of blog shown under the ‘blogs I follow’ widget. I think you should add a follow button and archives to the side bar widget space too. Your menu was easy to navigate. I personally don’t have much interest in your topics but they’re well thought out and written, from what I can see you’re doing fine just explore the widget area and see if you can find something you like 🙂

        Like

  21. Hey folks, I’m currently a college student heading into my Junior year. On my blog you’ll find photographs I have taken with some thoughts. However, these aren’t ordinary thoughts. They’re the thoughts that run through your mind just as your head hits the pillow. When your in your room in complete darkness by yourself, and it’s just you and the battlefield inside your brain. I write about these late night thoughts ever so often, and would love some feedback on my site found here: https://bt3photography.wordpress.com/
    You can also find me on Twitter @ BE_TEE_3. I would love to meet some fellow bloggers and connect with you all!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I really like your blog! Especially your taste of music, and how you pair up song with some of your posts. Try not to be so casual, though. It’s great to write down a stream of thoughts, but I feel you can structure them better.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. This is fantastic! While reading this, it feels as though we are sitting opposite each other. I can almost imagine your facial expressions as you experienced and wrote this! You certainly gained a new follower and we’re looking forward to reading more from you!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you! It’s great to hear such positive feedback as a new blogger. Thank you so much! The support means so much. I’ll make sure I check out your blog. Once again, thank you.

        Liked by 1 person

  23. Hey, I published my thoughts on the desert’s sky the other day. I’ve been on wordpress for a while now, but I haven’t really commited to it, thus not many people read my poems. Here’s last week’s, titled “Sons and daughters”

    sons and daughters

    I’d really appreciate your thoughts and criticism on this poem or any other, Cheers and have a great week!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. hey, obviously really like your stuff, both in English and Spanish. Just wanted to say so on ‘primavera’ and I couldn’t find a place to comment? I may just be being stupid and just not seen it, and people don’t necessarily always comment on poetry anyway, but may be worth having somewhere where people can easily leave comments 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hey, obviously a fan of your writings as well, haha. There’s a small plus sign under the “Like”, “Reblog”, “Facebook”, etc buttons that allows you to comment. I’ve been striving to make it bigger, more visible, but I have not succeeded as of yet. Thank you though! And I always appreciate a comment on my poems; I’ve received some really constructive ones! Cheers (:

        Like

  25. Your content isn’t appealing to me personally, I don’t really know what most of it means but, from my perspective, your blog is clean, fresh and really well written. I’m confident the people who are interested in your content will enjoy it 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  27. Hey guys! I am a new author part way through my first attempt at a psychological thriller novel. I’ve been speaking with some very successful authors of my genre and would be grateful if you could stop by and even follow my progress. I need as many followers as possible in preparation for its release. I have just had my front cover back from my designers and it is incredible. I can’t wait to finish this journey and share it with everyone. I absolutely love this new found venture. Good luck to you all and thanks for stopping by. Mark http://www.markdraycott.com

    Liked by 1 person

  30. Hi, I’m thinking of moving my blog from blogger to wordpress, as I’m relatively new to blogging and should be able to make the transition without too many problems. I’ve transferred my previous blog posts to a theme that I like the look of, just to see what my blog would look like if I did make the move. I’d really appreciate some feedback on what the blog looks like so far!
    https://bookmarkedbookblog.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 2 people