Jun 8, 2015 / Community Pool

Community Pool

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

Photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/63057306@N04/5734415538">Beachfront Solutions</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">(CC BY-SA 2.0)</a>

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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  1. Hi all, Ranjana here from Flavorful Bakes.. Would love for you guys to provide me with general feedback regarding the blog’s layout and ease of access and readability (P.S:I know the ‘recipe index’ is something that I need to work on and categorize better…I am getting there)

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank you Matt! Following you, since I love love love reading! 🙂 Now getting back to the topic, I did consider it…But I have this idea in my head of how I want the index to look (one representative pic for each category…Like for cakes, I want 1 pic of a cake when clicked on, linking to the rest of the cake recipes) I guess this is not possible with my current theme… Do you know if this is possible regardless of the theme?
        I worked so hard setting all of this up, so I am taking a break from the ‘behind the scenes’ stuff…Lol… 🙂

        -Ranjana

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I’m afraid that I don’t know if you can do that for linking to the pages, but in indexes, (eg the cake section) you can have pictures which link to the posts with a gallery (so your picture of say the ‘Egg-less Peach Raspberry Upside Down Cake’ on the cake index could link to the post.
        With a picture linking to a page, it depends where from, if you want to do it in a post, then you can put in a picture and link to a custom URL-the page. Thus your raspberry upside down cake can link to the cake category. However, I don’t think there is a way to do this in the headers but am not 100% sure I’m afraid. It looks really good and professional (perhaps a compilation book at some point?), though I’m afraid cooking isn’t so much my thing.
        I’m not sure I explained that brilliantly, so if anything needs clarifying please say. Best, Matt

        Like

      3. Wow, thanks for the detailed explanation! I tend to get lost in the ‘wp-admin’… So i will take time to read through your comment again and try it out. Thank you so much for your comments! 🙂 Really appreciate it Matt

        -Ranjana

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Hey Matt,
        So I finally came up with something for the recipe index..Similar to what you mentioned, but more like how I had visualized it in my head.. I just linked each category to a related media file, so when people click on it, it takes them to all the posts in that category! Tell me what you think about it!
        -Ranjana

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Oh I LOVE the color combo you have on your blog! It is so warm and welcoming! For your recipe index- have you considered breaking down baking vs no baking into separate menu options with their own drop down? Or maybe Appetizers, breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, etc with drop downs? There is such a long ribbon across the page it seems a waste to only use 1/3 of it!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. that is a great idea! if the picture index that I have in my mind doesn’t work out..I will probably try your idea out! And thank you so much! 🙂 heading to your blog right now…

        Liked by 1 person

    4. Your blog looks really good:)
      I love your recipes, the posts are very organised but most of all you make me want to go back to the kitchen and I’ve just finished dinner:))))
      Good luck!
      Julia

      Liked by 1 person

    6. Love the blog. It’s very well written and designed for being so ‘new to the scene’. Well done! I may consider an index of some sort at a later date, but I’m not sure how I’d want to organize it. Probably by game/fandom. I don’t know. Following you now, you have really interesting content.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. My last post has a link to the indiegogo to help fund my family in our battle in a national lawsuit where we are being persecuted for our existence. You can change the world! We can write history! Please spread the word at the least!

    Like

  4. Recently, I broke a very long adventure article into a three part series rather than one very long post. This was from advice given to me by another blogger ( https://tiffanymetzger.wordpress.com/ ). I published one part every four days. My question is, did this accomplish the goal of keeping readers engaged, or does it still fall into the “Too Long Didn’t Read” category? Thank you in advance for your feedback!

    Featured Adventure: Archer’s Fork Backpacking Trail – Part 1

    Featured Adventure: Archer’s Fork Backpacking Trail – Part 2

    Featured Adventure: Archer’s Fork Backpacking Trail – Part 3

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I love the idea of breaking up a longer story into multiple posts. They were not too long, and you were able to include lots of details that you may have otherwise left out. Great job, I want to go hiking now, lol!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks, Lindsey! I really appreciate the feedback! That was my thinking as well. To make it a single article, I would have had to cut out many of the interesting details.

        Like

    1. Sounds like a really interesting idea. I would like to participate. The only issue I have is that I think a little more description of the type of art you are looking of would be good, is it mostly photos or could it be poetry or a story? Maybe add more examples. Overall I think it’s a great idea.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I’ll have to think of a way to clarify it more lol
        The main idea is to leave something behind for a stranger to find, to lift their mood. Capturing the piece as it is left would be the best way to have it voted for later. The added writing of the experience is just for a reflective view of what if felt like to leave a piece of their love behind, not knowing who it would touch.

        lol Yeah gotta rework this, Thank you I felt something needed to be changed just didn’t know what. ^_^

        Liked by 1 person

    1. I really enjoyed your review. The only thing which (personally, you may be different) I quite like is an overall rating of the book. The only other very minor picky point I’ve got it consistent capitalisation, I think that either both or neither of “mom” and “Dad” should be capitalised. That is however a very minor thing, and I would like to reiterate that I very much enjoyed your review.
      Thanks, Matt

      Like

      1. Thanks for the review. I didn’t even realize I was doing that. I appreciate your criticism and will be more conscious of it going forward. So glad you enjoyed it.

        Like

  8. Hello everyone
    Check out http://www.salorocks.wordpress.com
    My posts are about what I feel, what I experience, what I see life as, what I believe in and so on
    Sounds Boring?? Well i leave it upon you to decide. So bloggers do take out some time to read my posts and let me know how this normal schoolgirl writes.. Waiting

    Like

    1. My first impression is that the tile theme is so busy that I become overwhelmed immediately. I only read your most recent post (because I was distraught over the cluttered appearance of the front page and couldn’t navigate).

      I like the topic, but there are a lot of places where I think your word choice is poor. For instance, you couldn’t “see your phone buzzing with messages”..well, you hear or feel a buzz, so I don’t feel any strength in that statement. The sound of “The footsteps of people hovering around”… hovering makes me think of a silent drift, so why would you hear footsteps? The imagery clashes.

      Keep writing! Try to make your thoughts meld rather than clash…when you think of a word to use- taste that word, smell the word, feel the word…be sure it fits in the puzzle of writing you are creating.

      Also, consider adding an about section…and if you already have one, make it more prominent.

      Good luck!

      Like

      2. But i think what i wrote was suitable. I used words which i consider suitable to express what i went through.

        Like

      3. I’m just giving you the constructive criticism you wanted ;). You don’t have to change anything…it is your blog in the end. No one is perfect and everyone has room for improvement

        Liked by 1 person

  10. Hey there everyone, hope you’re a pleasant day…

    I’ve been writing poetry on my blog for about a year and a half now, and I believe my style has evolved significantly. As such, I would really love some feed-back regarding my latest posts, whether its appealing or easy to read.

    (my poetry mainly aims at providing inspiration, along with other lessons that relate to our day to day lives)

    Any input will be greatly appreciated, I will also return the favor, promise.

    here is the link: https://originaldante.wordpress.com/

    Like

    2. Hi Dante, I really like the style you have going on here (and I will actually be passing your blog along to my friend who also loves poetry). I especially enjoyed your “Fidus Achates” post/poem. And you can’t really go wrong with poetry as long as you enjoy what you’re doing, there isn’t a right or wrong. Keep writing 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you for your kind words 🙂 I hope your friend will like it as well…I’ll be sure to give your blog a visit as soon as I can, the more people I get to know in my blogging circle, the better 😀

        Liked by 1 person

    1. You are incredibly heavy handed with commas. It is okay to use periods and other punctuation. Those never ending sentences made me get lost.

      Also, this is an incredibly long post. You should try to break it up with pictures or italics, bolds, different alignment…

      good luck!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hey thanks for headsup. Ill definitely work on my comma and periods. lol. I am actually a slow speaker, and hence maybe i use too much punctuations, just the wayi talk.
        ill reduce them, look what i did here too. lol.
        and yes ill work in corporating other elemts too, to give them breaks.
        thx a lot 🙂
        much appreciated review!

        Liked by 1 person

  13. I always wondered if people preferred tiled themes?
    I have come across many blogs using themes which have tiled displayed post. I personally think those are tacky 😛 and bit non-blog-like format?
    opinion???
    Maybe its my preference, but do readers prefer those themes???

    Like

    1. I only like tile themes if the pictures are intriguing and unique. If people are googling images to fill the tile, that’s no good. I dont use the tile themes personally.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hmm…so tilled theme are basically for a photography based blog right?
        that I can understand, but i wonder why so many use it for personal blogs that includes poems and short reads. I am curious, am I missing on some benefit here?

        Like

  14. Hey everyone!

    I’ve always skipped over these community pool announcements on my feed, but today I decided to procrastinate on school work and here I am! I would love some opinions on the formatting of my blog. I am going for a kind of journal/diary theme. Also, please let me know if I should add more categories to my menu…I think I added the important ones…and anything else you think would make it more appealing!

    Thanks!

    Like

    1. I think for the most part it is beautiful. I am not a huge fan of the text font. it is small-ish and looks crowded to me. Just a thought. The rest looks really nice.

      Like

  15. Hi Everyone! I recently changed some of the visual aspects of my blog, and I’m just looking for some feedback in that regard. Any other feedback, or anything else you notice is greatly appreciated as well. Thanks, and happy Monday!

    Lindsey
    http://nightowlknitncrochet.com/

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Hi everyone,

    I’ve just added a new cartoon to the site, which starts off a new strand of the strips starring Shakespeare as himself. I’ve also rejigged the about page a bit. I hope you enjoy it, and would welcome any feedback!

    Like

      1. Hi Matt,

        Great to see you in the Pool! Per our guidelines, please don’t use your blog’s url in your signature. It’s a wee bit spammy as your handle already links to your blog. Thanks for understanding!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Hi Krista,
        Apologies for that, I was unaware of those guidelines, I was doing that as many people are unaware that the username links to the blog. I will stop doing that in responses. Apologies again, Matt

        Like

    1. I think it is beautiful. You are right–clean and simple, and then the photo gallery on the side is so bright and cheerful–great contrast. When you click on a post, the head photo is surrounded by black–I wonder if you could change it to white? I think it would fit in with the clean, light and airy feel of the rest better. Looks beautiful!

      Like

  20. Good afternoon(or morning/evening depending on the time of viewing),
    I started writing just over a month ago and I could really do with a bit of feedback:) I’m not sure if my posts may be too long, too heavy-going, too boring… Hopefully not:D If you can, it would be perfect if you were to have a look and let me know… thank youu x

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I followed you as soon as saw the Hogwarts reference in one of your posts. :33

      Anyway, I think your blog title completely contradicts the content (or was it meant to be ironicle like that?) since i find your content to be very original and cool! Love it! Keep writing!

      Like

      1. Thank you! I can’t even remember the Hogwarts reference now xD And yeah I guess I was going for an ironic front there, I’m so glad you followed:)

        Like

  21. Hi, I’m a fairly new blogger and I was wondering if anyone would be willing to give me any advice on the overall appearance of the blog?
    I am contemplating changing the layout a bit but I’m not really sure where to start.
    Thanks for your time,
    Betty

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Your blog has some really good topics:)
      If you’re thinking about changing the layout, have a look at some other themes, maybe categorise your posts so they are easier to find. It’s always good to add pictures to your posts, people are more visual:)
      Hope it helps,
      Julia

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Good evening everyone 🙂

    The community pool is such a great way to discover new blogs to follow, and I keep finding myself back here every week!

    I’m relatively new to blogging so if anyone has any tips or feedback for my blog, I’d really welcome some constructive criticism to help me!

    Thankyou 🙂

    Immi X

    Liked by 1 person

    1. This is absolutely correct. Mind you, when I was in Italy it was a two week vacation over spring break with Spanish club (yes, I know that makes no sense; I think the teacher just liked the travel discounts). I was in an extremely dark place at the time and just those 14 days helped put things into perspective and I’ve become a better person for it. It was a brilliant read-through.

      Like

  24. Hey, I was wondering if anyone would be able to give me some feedback on my blog as I have just changed the theme and moved everything around a bit. I appreciate any criticism.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. The theme works really well, my only thought is I’m not sure if you need the categories widget down the side when there are only four categories, two of which mean nothing to me (or I am being slow, which is entirely possible). Other than that, I really liked your blog, one of the things that personally I quite like in reviews is a final rating (eg stars).
      Best, Matt

      Like

      1. Thank you for your feedback. No, you’re not being slow, those categories are mostly for myself, though I do see your point, I think I might remove that widget for the time being at least. Thank you, I always forget about ratings, I think I will try and add some in my future reviews!

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Hello:) Your blog seems really interesting, I like your theme, it’s easy to navigate:)
      As feedback…if you’re just at the beginning I would say, think about what you want to blog about, if it’s just about books, your target audience it’s not as large as it could be with a more versatile topic box! Have a think about it:)
      Hope it helps!
      Julia

      Like

      1. Thank you for having a look and thank you for responding. I don’t want to stick strictly to books, but I do struggle thinking of what else to write about. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to expand my topics so that there’s a bit of something for everyone, I just need to work at it and get some inspiration. Thank you again!

        Liked by 1 person

  25. How do people use social media? I’ve just added Flickr and Spotify to my blogs. Steve-says.net and talkaboutpopmusic.net. How do use social media?

    Like

    1. I use Twitter to connect with other bloggers. I share other people’s posts, try to start conversations, and participate in events like today’s #MondayBlogs where bloggers from around the world tweet using that hashtag. I have also started using Google+ to connect with blogging circles and communities. Hope this helps!

      Liked by 1 person

    2. I think the character needs more development. And even though it must be a work of fiction, I just want to point out that it isn’t the ‘duty’ of a woman to raise a kid… just saying.

      Like

  28. Hello,

    I’m curious on how to add “text boxes” to posts, what I mean by that is: I see that people can bold and enlarge their font and put a grey box around it. I think it’s really effective and wanted to implement it into my own posts, but I’m not sure how.

    Also, curious about any design ideas as far as organization goes.. interested in how to make content more accessible, especially older content.

    Thanks!

    Like

    1. It may depend on the theme of the blog. You may want to look at changing your theme if that is issue.
      I cannot change fonts on my phone or iPad, both of which I use to post while traveling. But on a desktop pc I can change text to various font sizes.

      I’m not sure if that helps.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Ah.. I have a mac at home and an iphone [which I’m not surprised wouldn’t have as many options], at work I have a pc, though, and the options are identical as far as I can tell. I can try updating the theme and see what happens. Thanks for the suggestion. =}

        Like

    1. There are several main ways:
      *Social media is often cited as increasing traffic
      *Blog parties are good to go to if you haven’t got many followers, or to host if you have
      *Bloggers are mainly quite social, so if you visit their blog, they are fairly likely to visit yours
      *Guest blogging is always cited as a good way (writing posts for someone else who links to your blog)
      *Lastly, there are loads of resources all over the internet, even from WordPress https://wordpress.com/support/getting-more-views-and-traffic/
      Best, Matt

      Like