Aug 3, 2015 / Community Pool

Community Pool

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. ‘Lo there! I’m Leisel from Skill Up Skillet, a weekly updated geek and game themed food blog. I recreate your favorite video games, movies, TV shows, and books as fantastical food with a fair bit of humor and sarcasm mixed in. (Hey, no one said I couldn’t improvise.) This month I’ve introduced a new feature on the blog: polls! That’s right, as of 8/1 you can now vote on the Featured Recipe of the Month. What even is that, you might ask. Well. For one month I will have a poll open based on a particular topic and ask you to vote on your favorite recipe idea. The winning recipe will be featured during the next month! Exciting, right?

    Here’s where you can help: September’s recipe will feature the classiest cartoon around, South Park (yes, sarcasm). Help make SuS history by choosing the dish you’d most like to see come to life!

    Vote now: https://skillupskillet.wordpress.com/2015/07/31/announcing-the-first-skill-up-skillet-poll-what-will-septembers-featured-post-be/

    You’ll notice after voting that you’re able to see the current results. Don’t like the dish in the lead? I have a few suggestions in the post to remedy that. Also I’m pretty sure I set it up so you can vote once a week. We’ll see about that.

    One question for you all this week: Should I make a Contact page of sorts to showcase my social media accounts, or are my widgets doing a good enough job persuading people I’m interesting enough to follow? Can’t wait to interact with everyone, especially now that I’m not sick. Cheers!

    Liked by 6 people

    2. Leisel! I love everything about your blog. So much I sent the link to my sister (who is infintely more domestic than I am), so she can promptly make me geeky goodies.

      I voted in the poll! And agree with the others that a social media page isn’t necessary, though maybe you could condense them in the sidebar?

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Right, so. I just read through your Back to the Computah! + Therapy things post because it looked interesting (and I was just going to look at the layout, darn it). From experience, try finding a different doctor/counselor/whatever. There is no excuse to be brushed aside like what’s going with you is nothing. If I were in your position, I’d flip my lid.

      Your design and layout is lovely and the amethyst color scheme is subtle but draws the eye. I could spend quite a bit of time reading through… oh, fine. I give up. Have a follow.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Hello all, I’ve split my ‘about’ page into two pages – an ‘about the blog’ and an ‘about me’ page. Feedback on that appreciated, but also general feedback on how awesome you think my blog is, is always lovely!

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Did you just do this and I missed it? I feel like I’ve been a terrible blogger/reader these past couple of weeks. It looks good and is funny and stuff. I don’t know, once you started the multicolored suns thing everything really ‘clicked’ for me.

      So, are you going to go through an endless cycle of abuse from one blogging course to another and back again? Do we need to stage a bloggervention? I feel like that’s what it would be called, but I don’t know.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Aloha James, I’m digging the split About pages. It makes sense. Impressed with how you’ve pulled your blog together — you’ve sold me on the Blogger 101 course, which I was going to ditch today. :-}

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Don’t ditch it! it’s not all gold but if you visit the commons you’ll find the other participants are by and large very supportive and it really helps to establish what’s working and what isn’t. Plus you can steal some excellent ideas off them!

        Liked by 1 person

    1. I love your header but it’s virtually impossible to read the white text over it. I don’t know if it’s just me?

      Heat? I trimmed my 7ft tall hedges in 95 degree heat with a 115 degree heat index. Don’t even get me started. Being female in hot weather sucks. (Great post.)

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Hey Trudy, I enjoyed your blog a lot – you make NYC seem fun and exciting, which for this country girl is seriously intimidating!

      The only suggestion I have is to think about switching up your sidebar. I usually like to have the About page easily accessible so guests can find out more about you. You have so many amazing awards all the way at the bottom! And I was confused at first at what the photos on the right were since they didn’t have any text to delineate them

      But you have a new follower, ma’am!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hi @girl_dreaming! New York City is intimidating if you haven’t been around large groups before but that fear factor goes away really quickly. Thank you for checking out my blog and for the compliments. The photos on the are supposed to have a title saying top posts, not sure if it does on smartphone and I’m not in front of my laptop right now. And the other pictures are instagram and pinterest, they should also have titles above “follow me”. I only have badges for wordpress.com courses I gave taken for blogging no awards, that’s why they aren’t at the top because no one outside of WordPress knows what they are. I couldn’t read the rest of your comment, if I missed something I will respond when I get to my laptop, later today. Thanks again!

        Like

      2. Ok I’m so late to answer back, sorry about that ! Thank you for following !!! I really appreciate everyone who makes the journey with me! I’m not sure if you saw my earlier reply and if it went through on my phone. Have a great evening!

        Like

    1. “mayhap that’s the rhythm your heart uncommonly makes when a certain sort of incomprehensible blue seeps in.”

      It. Is. Beautiful!

      Your writing is swift, poetic, heart touching and very relatable. The metaphors and allusions are just spot on. It’s a great piece and moreover, it’s something about what I’ve been trying to put on paper but haven’t achieved doing so. The sadness you feel on seeing the horrible way society actually works and breeds. The hypocrisy, the sadness of the society’s vicious cycles of bitching and faking, materialism, the herd mentality, choices and judgements. It’s all there and perfectly put. I love it!

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Geez. Take my follow, I have to show your blog to my roommate when I get home. She’ll love it, too. You have such intense writing.

      Like

      1. Oh my, thank you so much for your kind words! please tell me how she feels about it! 🙂 also, could you read my latest poem? would love to hear your thoughts!

        Like

      2. …I actually had to look up two words. TWO. I like you. Based on my high school and college experiences, I wholeheartedly agree. The chrysalis imagery is perfect.

        Like

  6. Hello, Prestige and Power – random posts about me and my life. Please KINDLY drop me a line, or just drop by and if you have a blog I’ll click on your link and return the favour. bye, Kemdi (and thanks so much for the opportunity to plug my projects!!!)

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Oh wow. I love your strong sense of personal voice that you have for all your writings. Keep it up! However it would be good if you kept the content consistent so that you’d gain a consistent readership and makes your blog more organised too! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Hey everyone! So, I’m brand new to the blogging world and was hoping to start up a personal blog on this site. Nothing too fancy. Check it out and let me know what your thoughts are! I only have one post at the moment but you get the jist of it. Thanks! 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Hey there! I really love your clean theme and your Instagram photos are really nice too. I’m sure you’d do fine! Maybe you can write something about anthropology? 😉

      Like

    2. You theme is very neat and your writing is clear. I’d suggest adding some colour (unless you like the black and white style). I’d also suggest not centering bullet points. But other than that, you seem to have a good start!
      Happy Blogging!

      Like

      1. Thanks for the input! I’ll definitely add a pop of color once I figure out how to. Can you tell I’m new at this haha.

        Like

    4. One post, and a lot of social plugins.
      This is a new blog so I can’t comment much but the main thing is: just keep blogging.
      Eventually, it’ll work out.

      Like

    1. Extremely detailed and intent is strong and clear. This is a post that needs to be read extensively by many others and an issue that is sensitive but needs to be solved promptly. Inspiring read and I’m sure one day you’d be able to inspire many others to have their own voice. Keep it up!!

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Hi everyone,
    I’ve just published a post called “Sunshine, sightseeing and family reunions”, which is my first travel post about my recent holiday to Turkey. I decided to create a series called “Travelling in Turkey” which will consist of 4 blog posts. This post is a video montage of my trip. I would love some feedback and constructive criticism on this post and the rest of my blog. I really appreciate blogger feedback as it all helps me to improve 🙂

    https://infinitedaydreamer.wordpress.com/2015/08/02/turkish-travels-sunshine-sightseeing-and-family-reunions/

    Thanks x

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I like the look of your blog.. I think it goes really well with the general theme… Also, it’s really organized .. Unfortunately I couldn’t view the video but I read some of your other posts.. well written!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you! I’m glad you like my blog overall. 🙂 It’s so disappointing that you couldn’t view the video because I was so excited to share it with everyone. I’ll have to check that problem oops

        Like

      2. No no.. don’t worry about it.. Something seems to be wrong at my end.. I’m sure the video is wonderful

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Hi again, I think I may have fixed the problem now…if you would still like to view the video, it should work 🙂

        Like

  11. Hello! I recently did a book review on two of the murder mysteries I read. http://heathernotes.com/2015/07/31/book-review-1/ and I wound like to share some of my old posts such as Because of Us (http://heathernotes.com/2015/05/12/because-of-us/) and The Battle Never Ends (http://heathernotes.com/2014/10/10/the-battle-never-ends/). Because of Us is about climate change. The post titled: The Battle Never Ends is about my mom’s battle with breast cancer.
    I would like to know what you thought about these posts. If any, what is it that I need to change? What do you not like about the blog layout? What do you want to see more of?
    Thanks so much for your time!
    Sincerely, Heather

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank you Bhavika! But the theme is the same, that’s how much effect a custom header has I guess.

        Like

    2. The following is only advice, and you are free to listen to it or ignore it as you see fit.
      *I highly recommend checking grammar and spelling before posting, some grouchy folks (like me) dislike it (“comment on one of my posts asking that you want to be”)
      *An ‘About’ page (rather than post, which will get lost) is a good way for readers to establish what the blog is about and who is behind it
      *The white font of the title gets a little lost in the header image towards the end
      *The different shades of blue work very nicely
      *Images taken from Google Images are not always reusable, I think I am correct in saying that they need a Creative Commons licence (which means that sometimes you have to attribute the images). Google Images has a way under ‘search tools’ to search for only images available to be reused
      *It’s a good concept and I wish you luck in growing it, a social media account may come in handy there.
      The above is only nitpicking, I really enjoyed reading your site.
      Best, Matt

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thx for da advice! I appreciate all of your advice. Just one thing! That’s not really my about page. I have 2. One is a page and the other is a sticky post which is pinged to the page!

        Liked by 1 person

  14. Hello! Can you check out my posts and tell me what you think about it? Id appreciate it! Youre free to comment or give criticisms! I also welcome tips as I am new here. Thank you!
    Here are my posts:

    You are not

    If I Ever

    Thank you so much! If you visit mine, id visit yours too!

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Hello. I’m Vineeth, the guy at The Lousy Design. I’ve been doing book reviews recently, and the latest one is a review of A Storm Of Swords, by George R.R. Martin. Most of my stuff is rather pointless, and the posts are random, so there’s no guaranteeing what the next post will be about. Anyways, here’s the link:

    #4: Awesome Twists, Killer Deaths.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Well, I started by reading the post you linked, honest. I have at this point skimmed every post and deep-read at least a quarter of them. What have you done?

      If anything, I might recommend adding Read More tags to your longer posts, as it makes it easier to navigate from post to post. And you’re running rather light on images to guide the reader along. Overall, excellent content and a great review.

      Like

      1. Whoa. Now that you’ve pointed it out, I understand what you’re facing during navigation. Read More tags will be up soon.

        And about the images. I’m not that good at selecting images to giude the reader along as I’m with words. That said, I now see where a few images would’ve changed the post. Thanks!

        P.S: I’ve never seen a blog with a theme like yours. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more of your stuff.

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Liked your blog snap. Actually I was afraid to read the post after reading the post-title. Is there any spoilers? please mention as I have not gone through GOT series and want to read books.

      Like

      1. Well, I understand. You probably should go through the review of A Game Of Thrones (https://thekeytotheuniverse.wordpress.com/2015/04/25/2-worldview-disguised-as-a-fantasy-novel/) and then A Clash Of Kings (https://thekeytotheuniverse.wordpress.com/2015/07/14/3-time-flies-when-you-enjoy/).

        There are very mild spoilers in the review of A Storm Of Swords, but you probably won’t remember what I wrote, because you’ll be engrossed in the book. Cheers.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Hello there! I loved your posts Anything Goes and Darkness! I like how personalized your site is. My only suggestion is to maybe delete the categories widget on the right side since your posts are all uncategorized. Nice blog all around. 🙂

      Like

    2. First thing, we’ve got the same theme! That’s cool.
      Second, TOO MANY WIDGETS!
      You must cut down on a lot of unnecessary stuff here.
      *most of the social plugins
      *most of the custom texts (just make a blog post or make them a featured content)
      *no need for the calendar
      *too many tags
      *About page- too many photos. Keep it brief, keep it simple. This blog has a very professional design- it looks best of you keep it that way.

      If you want some examples, come visit my blog:
      http://debooWORKS.WordPress.com

      Like

  17. Hi all,
    I’m a communications strategist who moved to Switzerland a couple years ago. I day-job processing invoices, but I moonlight helping startups with comms strategies and also provide PR services and the like. I thought I should build a web presence that catalogues some of the things I’ve done and also some of the things I’m doing. So, I got a domain with my name and thought I’d back up my applications with a website. Any thoughts or impressions of things (design/layout or blog posts) I could use, or change are welcome!
    Thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

  19. This week, I put some portfolio projects on my About page to highlight some of my posts. Mostly I like the way it looks (at least, I like it better than the list of links I had before), but I worry that the post titles might be too big.

    I’m looking for feedback on the size of the portfolio post title font, and if anyone has information on how to change the size of the post title font without changing the size of the fonts on the rest of the page, I would appreciate that, too. I stumbled upon a forum thread about this in my early days of learning about portfolios, but now that I’m actually looking for it, I can’t find it.

    Also, does it look okay with three columns for the one group and two columns for the other, or should I go with two columns for both (or, I guess, three columns for both)?

    Notes for Your Visit

    I would prefer to have feedback on these questions here, but comments on the About page are fine, too.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Hi there! Looking at the page I think the post title font size is fine. If anything I might want to change the color of the font, as it doesn’t seem to match the rest of the page.

      Also, not sure what you meant by the grouped columns. There seems to be only three columns on the page. No groups?

      Hope this is helpful! And I’m always looking for feedback of any kind of my blog — http://truefandom.wordpress.com/.

      Like

      1. Thank you for the feedback on the colors and the font size! I actually changed it yesterday (reduced the heading font across the board) and I think that worked okay. I also got antsy and changed both the Freshly Pressed posts and the Other posts to three columns yesterday, so that’s likely why you didn’t see anything but three. Glad to hear it doesn’t look glaringly odd or anything like that.

        I’ll take a look at your blog, too.

        Like

      2. girl_dreaming – After taking a look at your blog, the main thing that stood out to me was that the way the page is divided, it leaves a very small area in which to read the actual posts, which makes reading the posts challenging (at least for me), especially when they have photos or other non-text elements in them. A smaller header or one that moves out of the way as you scroll down might make it a little easier to read the posts. But then, this might just be how it’s showing up on my laptop. Others might not have this problem.

        Like

      3. Hi Charity, thanks for looking. I’ve gotten that comment often enough I’m contemplating a theme change. I don’t know how to stop the header from following the page. Does anyone else know if that’s something I can customize?

        Like

      4. I played with it a little on the preview function on my blog, and it looks like you can reduce the size of the header by using a different header image (or no header image), but I’m not sure if there’s a way to customize it beyond removing/changing the header image.

        Like

    1. I just read it. At various points in my life I have attempted writing a diary…it never lasted long. In terms of blogging though, I just wrote my 50th one so I seem to be doing much better doing that! I liked this blog in particular, and I will be heading back to read some more of your other posts. This was an interesting question and I liked the way you thought it out.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you very much! Blogging does seem to have more of a pull than writing a diary, simply because it is much less lonely. There are people who listen to all that you have to say, and then respond, something that can often be missing in real-life conversations. Congratulations on your 50th post! Hope there will be many more to come!
        Btw, I love your blog name!

        Like

      2. I think you just nailed it with that comment. A diary is ultimately very personal, unless you use it to extrapolate material for writing, or poetry, or songs. The blog can be the personal you wish to share with others, and often in a cathartic sort of way. I will take a look at your other blogs shortly, but I like the look and feel of your page. Thank you for the congratulations. For years I longed for a creative side but never found it, until I put my two greatest likes together into this blog, which is how I came up with the title. So, thank you very much!

        Liked by 2 people

    2. I really liked this post. I used to write in a diary, but always ended up quitting. A diary, as I understood it, was supposed to be about your day and how you felt about what happened. I always quit because I do the same things everyday. I started blogging a few days ago as a blog, to me, meant I could write about thoughts and feelings more so. It’s also nice to have a community of people who are willing to also put there inner most thoughts, opinions, and feelings out there. Good post. Have a follow 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank you very much! Welcome!
        I do the same things everyday too, but I allowed myself to have a boring diary a long time ago! I think there should be a place where your thoughts and feelings should feel important, even to you. I write whatever I feel like in my diary. Whether it’s dreams and hopes for the future, anything I am anticipating the next day, anything eventful that happened that day, or anything that’s bothering me. Even if nothing happens, I will write something like, “Absolutely nothing happened today. What a waste!” It’s like you are having an uncensored conversation with yourself, whereas in blogging you can have nearly the same conversation with whoever is interested.
        Good luck with your blogging! Have fun!

        Liked by 1 person

    1. I find your site very easy to read and navigate, however it is a little cluttered… but that could just be me, I do like very clean looking sites.
      Overall I like your content too, well done!

      Liked by 1 person

      3. These are just general points which you are free to act on ignore as you see fit:
        *I don’t like the grey font on orange background (in the ‘Want more awesome ideas?’ pop-up), but that is just a preference
        *You may want to change the menu heading “Thr “ethical” definition” to remove the typo
        *You may want to consider adding a contact form rather than simply an email, which prevents the address going places you don’t want it online
        *Your posts are well written, illustrated (with your own pictures too, I always admire that)
        *The site design is simple and streamlined, and looks very professional (and something you could consider is joining an affiliate links programme, so that when you link to products from a certain supplier in your relevant posts, you get a small cut of any sales from the link used. Just something you may want to consider)
        Hope this was helpful, it’s just nitpicking and I really enjoyed reading. If you would like any clarification, please just ask.
        Best, Matt

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Oh man that THR thing. It actually stands for The Honest Root… everyone thinks it’s a typo. I need to add periods so everyone knows it’s on purpose! haha. Thanks for the tips!

        Liked by 1 person

      7. On a second look, the only thing that bothers me really is all the photos of the people following your blog… and it;s really not that bad. Nevermind that whole cluttered bit haha

        Liked by 1 person

    1. I like the post you linked here. It’s an interesting angle – “no, I don’t want to go back, I want to go forward.” Well done. I like the layout of your blog too.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I really like your layout and design, first of all. It gives a “mood” to the writing. Also I appreciate the rawness of your writing. It makes me feel I can connect with you in the moment you wrote your post. Well done!
      Btw mind reviewing my site too? Thanks!

      Liked by 1 person

  26. Happy Monday guys and gals,

    Ben from A Hopelessly Wandering Mind here to provide for your flash fiction needs. Recently wrote a piece in a slightly different style that I’d love you to have a look at. It’s the top one of these posts, about a river, but please feel free to read the others and compare them, would love to know which style people are most attracted to.

    https://bencnicholson.wordpress.com/category/fiction/

    As ever, always happy to return the favour!

    Bloggy love,
    Ben

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Benedict! “Water” is fantastic.

      Personally, I like the quasi-anthropomorphized point-of-view pieces (“Water” and “Time”) more than the one-act scenes (“King”, “Space”). There’s something so profound about the parallels you can make in those inanimate objects. Really nice.

      And I’m stealing “Bloggy love”.

      Like

  27. Hey fellow bloggers! What’s up?!

    My blog mostly contains poetry with just a dash of articles and short stories thoroughly mixed with fandom/geeky stuff, feministic opinions, idealistic situation and served with a light sprinkle of glittery quotes on top.

    In my latest post, I pay a tribute to my absolute favourite book – Harry Potter – on his and his creator’s birthday! If you like a good short story and Harry Potter, do give it a read and let me know what you think about it. I would love some feedback!

    Also, I’m looking for blogs with elements of fandoms, geeky stuff in them. So, do comment/like if you fit the description!

    Link to my latest post: https://anerdyutopia.wordpress.com/2015/07/30/tribute/

    Link to my blog: https://anerdyutopia.wordpress.com

    How you like my blog.
    Looking forward to visiting yours.
    Cheers! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hello there! Your Harry Potter post was very well written; it literally sucked me in and I felt like I was sitting right there sorting through the photos with Prof. McGonagall. The imagery you used was phenomenal as well. You managed to illustrate a complete story in just a few paragraphs, which can be tough. Overall, this was a wonderful short story and I encourage you to keep up the good work (:

      Also, if you get a chance, please stop by my blog and let me know what you think. Thanks in advance! (www.hairysituationz.wordpress.com)

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Hey debooWorks! I’ve been following your blog for a while and really like the pictures you put up. I think you have a great eye for composition, color, and theme.

      I think I remember your had a different theme last time I was on it (I usually see your posts in the Reader) but I think this one matches your blog pretty well. I wish your social media button and About.Me was on the sidebar where you could see them instead of at the bottom, but the rest of your pages and the organization flows really well. You can find everything easily.

      Hope you’re well!

      Liked by 1 person