Jul 13, 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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    2. hey there – good start on your blog – i would maybe add an About page so you can write a little bit about yourself so people know who is blogging when they arrive on your page.

      i would also suggest keeping to one main thought per blog – you can go off on tangents [cos that is often fun] but keep to one theme and don’t be all over the place – i think you did this very well in your fourth grade post which was interesting and fun to read and then not so well in your most recent post where you went from music to Watpadd [that should be in your About page] and to Adam and Eve so it feels a little all over the place.

      But your style is fun so with practice i’m sure you’re going to do great – keep writing and maybe add in a pic from time to time as a break from the words or else some bold headings in between paragraphs…

      love brett fish

      p.s. here is my About page if you want an idea of what i mean: https://brettfish.wordpress.com/about

      Like

    3. Hello girl;
      That’s a nice blog you have there.
      For now, keep on blogging your heart out.
      Just one thing: you could put up a more personalized header image.

      Like

  2. Hello all. Starting a new blog after some time off. Take a look, please be honest. Not sure my humor will lend well to what I am trying to do. Not sure if I went a bit overboard. Appreciate the feedback.

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Crap spewing from both ends… well the imagery may scare some people away but i imagine there will be some who relate very well and dive in although hopefully not literally – interested to see where you take it but definitely a niche place to write from and for.

        All the best
        love brett fish

        In fact one of my recently started lists relates to the toilet and you would be more than welcome to use it if you choose with a sufficient link back to my blog: https://brettfish.wordpress.com/2015/05/22/top-10-things-to-do-when-you-forgot-to-take-your-phone-to-the-bathroom-with-you [It was quite a popular one at the time!]

        Like

      2. Appreciate the feedback. Yes, a work in progress to say the least. I am working on some logo/images and filling in the gaps, like the about page. Thank you for the offer on using your list, as soon as I learn linkback, lol, I’m sure I’ll use it. I like the one about different positions on the pot. Thanks again!

        Like

  4. hey friends

    If you live in or have been to Cape Town in South Africa and have never seen Improguise playing TheatreSports [Cape Town’s longest running and funniest show] then you are doing yourselves a disservice — if you live anywhere else then Cape Town should be on your bucket list, and while you’re here…

    So the post i wrote last nite was all about our most recent show which was an absolute riot and just completely crazy in all the best ways as you can pretty much glean from the title: https://brettfish.wordpress.com/2015/07/13/the-zombie-cow-the-cactus-milk-tattooist-and-the-plants-that-go-ni-well-almost

    In a blog focusing largely on Race and Poverty issues of late, i felt we needed a whole ton of silly – our next week’s show is part of the Nelson Mandela 67 minutes of goodness drive and all proceeds will be given to a local charity so we’re hoping to pack it out.

    Thanks for visiting and i look forward to discovering some new gem sites today and perhaps visiting some old ones.

    Brett Fish [@brettfisha]

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Firstly, great tagline. Loved it, really.
      Now the specifics:
      1. Adopt a responsive layout/theme so that the website looks great across all devices and platforms.
      2. A simple, solid background gives a cleaner and more professional look while keeping the focus on the blog posts.
      3. Reduce the number of widgets to only the bare essentials.

      Like

    1. You’ve blogged a lot in a few months. Great work!
      I found yours interesting because I myself am a creative Blogger here at WordPress but I post nothing on DIY topics.
      Still, would love it if you pay me a visit. ☺

      Liked by 2 people

  6. Hey all!
    I’m a teacher from Belgium and I finally found some time to start a blog-website.
    My idea is to teach Photoshop (and later all kinds of web technologies such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript) online so people can do it at their own pace.
    There is not that much content yet, but I’d love to get some feedback on the lessons, the look-and-feel,… Just about anything you like or dislike I’d love to know. I’m a web developer myself so you can get technical if you want to.
    If you want some feedback in return you can always let me know @     hello@geldmeyer.com!

    Liked by 1 person

  9. For the first time, I’m considering leaving wordpress, as somehow the whole experience has changed in terms of blogging and interacting with others. When I finally manged to find the ‘explore topics’ button, by some convoluted way, the streams of post under each topic has changed, to make it almost impossible to find people’s ‘about’ pages etc. I don’t understand why the need to keep changing something that works fine already, to something that doesn’t, for most of us.

    Like

    1. After our initial rollout of the new Reader we received some similar feedback to yours; as a result, we added a “Visit” button to each post in the Reader — clicking it takes you directly to the original blog on which the post was published. I hope this makes your reading experience smoother once more.

      Like

      1. Yes, that’s great thanks. But what about the ‘explore topics’ that used to be seen as soon as one clicks ‘reader?’ Now, it seems I have to navigate either under ‘freshly pressed or ‘recommended blogs’ to locate it, which is unnecessary complication.

        Like

  10. I’ve just updated my history blog’s theme to make it a little less cluttered, and I’m a tad worried I’ve gone too far the other way. Any comments about it (sumcunctator.WordPress.com) would be greatly appreciated.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. You might have gone too far, but somehow, in my opinion, this blog would look just alright if they’re complemented with quality posts.
      Still, if you are trying for a minimalistic look, you could have a peek on my other blog,
      The Quotosphere
      http://quotosphere.WordPress.com

      (The blog linked to my username is the primary blog, but it’s layout is not what you need here I think)

      Like

  11. Hi everyone! Notes & Drafts is a blog dedicated to my writing and the creative works that I do for fun. For the past year I have been publishing a seven part crime/noir short story series that has been getting positive feedback. So first, I’d love some feedback on the latest part in terms of what engaged you and what did not work for the story:

    05.Dragons Before Ice Cream

    Also, I am working with a new theme (that I rather like) but I’m not crazy about how the menu is organized so I’d love some feedback on that. Otherwise any suggestions for how I could reach more readers would be equally appreciated.

    sincerely,
    Khan đŸ™‚

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I actually really enjoyed visiting your blog. You’re right we are interested in very similar stuff. I found it very easy to navigate and discover. Honestly I think your doing a great job! In fact if you’re interested in guest blogging or collaborating on a story, let me know!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Sure.
        But to be frank, I’m a med student and I’m quite busy with studies. This is only my pass time so I might just forget about this offer.
        So if you want anything, feel free to contact me instead.

        Like

      3. Will do. I’m in the same boat so I appreciate the frankness. I’m in Computer Science, so I don’t get to post as often as I’d like. In either case, you have a great blog and keep up the good work đŸ™‚

        Liked by 1 person

  12. Hi, Can you help. I have opened a new page in my menu, were I want to put relevant subjects to this page. My second post did not go onto the new page, but landed on my home page. Can I take it off and put it on my new page ? And how ? And what do I do to not let this happen in future ? I’m still a little nervous with the mechanics of my blog. Thank you.
    my blog is https://caresafoundation.wordpress.com

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you for the reply Ben. I will go and to the links. My other dilemma is : how can I get my last post (on my home page) to the new category “God Calling” on my Menu. Is it possible ?

        Like

  14. Hi there! I only started my blog lifeofbuzzy.wordpress.com a couple of days ago, but I’m struggling with the About Me page. I know it is vital to do one but I cannot seem to make a widget of one, nor do I really know what to write in such a post. Any help would be appreciated (and feel free to check out my blog.)
    I am aiming for a versatile blog with very specific posts, and any ideas about how to address current affairs without any unhelpful backlash would be appreciated.
    Thanks đŸ™‚

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi there!

      Here are some thoughts for an About page:

      -Put in basically a polished version of what you have in this comment: what your blog is aiming to be, what kind of content readers can expect to see, etc. Feel free to check out my about page for an example: https://littlelitterateur.wordpress.com/about/

      -You can either add it as another page, as you did with your categories, or you can make a “Text Box” widget and add your brief “About” there. đŸ™‚

      -Whether or not you add info about yourself is up to you, but because this is a personal blog about your opinions, I would recommend putting at least a little bit– what interests you, why did you start a blog, what people can address you as.

      I’m not sure what you mean by “address[ing] current affairs without unhelpful backlash,” but if you are scared of people disagreeing with your opinions on current news, I say just blog fearlessly. You can always delete or choose not to respond to people if they’re being inflammatory.

      Best of luck!

      Like

      1. Thanks for your help, I have changed the About page accordingly and I can say it looks much better now. đŸ™‚
        And with regards the fearlessness, I think perhaps that will come in time. I’ll just find my feet first. đŸ˜‰

        Thanks again!

        Like

  15. Hi All,

    I’ve been writing book reviews (and other book related topics) for a while now and I’d like to take a checkpoint on the way I write book reviews to see if I can make them better (read: get more traffic and comments!).

    I do get comments on some posts, but not all. The posts are written primarily for me to capture what I thought about the book, but I read a lot of pre-release books as well, so would like to generate some “buzz” about the book for the author and the publisher.

    One example is the latest post on my blog: Rhode Island Red by Charlotte Carter (https://nordie.wordpress.com/2015/07/14/book-review-rhode-island-red-by-charlotte-carter/).

    What do you take away from reading the post?; are you coming away from the post definately (not) wanting to pick the book up?; is there anything in the layout or the words I use that could/should change?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Not the kind of book I’d be particularly interested in, but it appears to be an excellent review nevertheless. For at least some of your posts I would recommend adding Read More tags as they run a little long (not a bad thing). It would improve the overall flow, I think. The blog itself appears to be laid out quite well. Have you considered creating a Facebook page for the blog?

      Like

      1. I have been thinking of the Read More (it happens in the emails I believe ) just need to work out how! I don’t have an FB page but I do have a g+

        Thanks for looking and replying

        Like

    2. Here are a couple thoughts on the review and what I saw of your blog:

      -Consider making the image or some other text in the review posts lead to an Amazon/whatever else page where readers can check out the book.

      -One big issue that I see: you spend quite a lot of time and words reviewing the major plot points of the book and not much time on how it made you feel, what you felt the strengths vs. weaknesses are, etc. I think it’s a great idea to put the back-cover text in the post itself (going off of Leisel’s comment, you might want to add a read-more after that; I don’t, though, and I post lengthy things, so it’s up to you) but if you read it, you’ll notice that it already talks about the major plot set up: the 60 grand, the murders, etc.

      Instead, consider cutting the plot summary part of your review out entirely, and start with “This is a relative(ly) short book” and go from there. Talk about whether or not you read the whole thing in one sitting. Why did you feel it should go on for 100 more pages? Was it that interesting or did the plot feel unresolved? Did you feel Nan’s character growth was satisfactory?

      I, by no means, think that I have the monopoly on how to write great book reviews, but for an example of what I’m talking about, you can check out one of the book reviews I’ve written for various books: https://littlelitterateur.wordpress.com/category/book-review/

      I also think that you might be able to choose a theme that’s more eye-friendly. To me, the theme (especially the header and colors) seems more like a blog about current events/politics. On the other hand, though, the fonts you chose make reading the long reviews easy, so that’s a plus– definitely keep with readable, big fonts.

      Sorry for the block of text, I hope I could be of some use! Keep it up, I love that people are still writing book reviews. đŸ™‚

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks for taking the time to visit and post back – there’s lots here, and think you have some valid points. Plenty for me to think about so sorry if I dont cover all in future replies!

        Like

    1. I think it’s beautiful (and I’m sorry to hear you might be going through a rough time :c)! The language you use in some sections is honestly fantastic.

      The only quandary I really have is “trembling like a sick man / with its fever.” Given that you specify “man,” the pronoun should probably be “his” not “its”.

      Keep up the writing! đŸ™‚

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hey, thank you so much! That means a lot to me. đŸ™‚

        I used ‘its’ for the desire actually, like, ‘And the desire–only the desire fills me with so much fear I tremble like a sick man
        with its fever.’ but I guess it confuses the reader. I’ll check that! Thank you again! Have a great day!

        Like

  17. Hi,
    I am Janice. My blog offers blogging tips to bloggers. Suggestions for engaging readers, improving content, and increasing traffic are waiting for you at my site. I also have weekly and monthly networking opportunities. I am looking to expand my readership, so check out my link. There is even a free incentive for signing up. http://wp.me/P5jxvv-1
    Just scroll down to “Free Cheat Sheet.”
    Janice

    Liked by 2 people

  19. HEY everyone,
    I’ve started a lifestyle blog which will mainly consist of simple, quick healthy foods, DIYs and planning advice. Target audience is college students and everyone else who has very little time for organisation and cooking.
    All feedback and comments are welcome, please let me know what you think!

    Liked by 2 people

    2. I just read your recent post of the 5 ways to start a vegetarian or vegan diet and I greatly enjoyed it and actually found it helpful. For the past couple of months I’ve been trying to eat better myself especially for my cross country training, although I’m not trying to be a vegan or vegetarian. I also noticed you said in the post you mostly focus on vegan and vegetarian. That is fine and you can keep doing that, but I feel like maybe here and there include posts for those who aren’t trying to become a vegan or vegetarian but are just trying to diet or need help grocery shopping and their budgeting (you mentioned you are targeting college kids). But other than that it is a great idea for a blog!

      Liked by 1 person

    1. You may want to consider using fewer and more generalized tags for your posts; once you go over 10 tags it becomes harder for people with similar interests to find and connect with you.

      Like

      1. Hi Enny Cole and Leisel — as I noted a few hundred comments earlier, the maximum number of tags and categories we advise bloggers to use for each post is 15. Beyond that number, your posts become invisible in the WordPress.com Reader, which makes it much harder for like-minded readers to find it, just as Leisel remarked.

        Liked by 2 people

    1. It’s a good review, but some of the paragraphs run a little long and could be easily broken up a little better. I’d like to see a little more dynamic writing to suck the reader in. For example, the second half of the first paragraph in The Bad Part sort of pussyfoots around. I can tell you have a stronger ‘voice’ than that; use it!

      I would also strongly recommend adding some relevant pictures for greater impact. Maybe some gameplay stills?

      Liked by 1 person

    2. A hard and fast method that I believe would be helpful for you is ‘the egg timer’ method by Chuck Palahniuk (Author of Fight Club) or practice with the GRE “take 35 minutes to Analyze an issue” essay prompts.

      I like the format of your post (though some pics would be nice) but it didn’t feel very persuasive. Each section felt like a list that had been converted to paragraphs, and based on your other posts I think you’re capable of applying a lot more critical thinking than presented in this review. I thought Isis article, for example, was very well written and I read it despite not being in the mood for a political article–which is a compliment to your writing ability.

      Really hope this didn’t come off as overly critical, because I do think your posts have a lot of potential.

      best wishes,
      khan
      These are links to the methods I mentioned above, I hope you will find them helpful.

      https://litreactor.com/essays/chuck-palahniuk/stocking-stuffers-13-writing-tips-from-chuck-palahniuk

      https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/issue/prepare_task

      Like

    1. Really enjoying your blog. I’d like to maybe hear more of a backstory regarding ‘why’ a certain piece was created. What was the inspiration? Also, you’re shooting yourself in the foot with too many tags in your posts. 10 or less, and people with similar interests will have an easier time finding you.

      Like

      1. Thank you for the advice, Leisel! Regarding tags, is the rule of thumb fewer than 10 per post, or for the blog in general? I’m new enough to the blogosphere that I’m not quite sure what the tags’ purpose is, or why more than 10 is bad. đŸ™‚

        Like

    3. Just to clarify: you can use up to 15 tags and categories in total per post without any negative effect on your post’s discoverability. Beyond that number, though, your posts become invisible in the WordPress.com Reader, which is where many bloggers go to find posts on topics they’re interested in.

      (@Leisel: I’m sorry if I appear to be following you around these comments on this point, but I just really want everyone here to have the correct information, especially since tagging is, indeed — as you know well yourself — so important for helping bloggers and audiences connect.)

      Like

  25. Hello everybody..! I just wrote a play as a part of a school assignment.. Would love to hear your opinion of it..! It’s a bit long to read, but I think the message is pretty good.. Looking forward to your feedback!
    thecoolbookworm.wordpress.com

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I actually really enjoyed the category dictionary that you have. It made navigating your blog easy and gave me an idea of what to expect. Overall I enjoyed the variety of content, so great job!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I was actually thinking of taking it down a few weeks ago when I changed my theme but then I decided not to since it could help first timers. And it did! Thank you Khan!

        Liked by 1 person

  30. Hey everyone,
    I recently started blogging here about fashion beauty and food recipes. My blog excites to help anyone who need and give advice.
    But I still can’t find how to make files? I don’t know it’s called on here but I mean those box’s such as ” home” and “about” I’d would like to make more of them like ” fashion” “beauty” to make it easy for others finding what they are searching for. But I don’t know how to make it can anyone help me, please?

    Liked by 1 person

      4. I’m sorry, I’m not too sure about what you mean. Do u mean just posting in general? I only used my page for an about me thing.

        Like

    4. What you’re talking about are ‘Pages’ and by now you already know how. Ironically, it’s a lot easier to create a page on the mobile app.
      Anyways, you can go further ahead by organizing your posts into categories which again can be found under the Post section of your WPAdmin.
      Finally, you have to incorporate all of these in your blog layout with the help of custom menus

      Like