Aug 10, 2015 / Community Pool

Community Pool

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

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).

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!
  • 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!
  • If you haven’t looked at our Commenting Guidelines in a while, now might be a good time.
  • No running on the deck.
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  1. Hey everyone!
    I started a blog about two months ago. Currently working on adding more personality and improving my writing skill.
    I would really appreciate it if you could take a look at my blog and give your opinion on anything:
    http://nancywang.co/
    Do leave a link to your blog and I would be happy to return the favor.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Love the theme.
      One suggestion though: use the ‘Read More’ tag in your longposts. It’s cumbersome to browse through the site with all the posts expanded to full size.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Hi there everyone! I just started a “new blog” just recently, and I wanted to see if anyone had any advice on the design, my writing style, the blog itself. I have a lot in store for my blog as I will be posting stories that I write myself on my free time which you can check out at any time.

    I also have a question regards the pages that you create in wordpress. Can you make folders or group up your pages into stacks so that you can tell what page is what. For example, if I write one story and labeled it chapter 1, then made another chapter 1. I won’t be able to tell between the chapter 1 without going into it, so I was wondering if there was a way to separate page posts into groups or something.

    Check me out: https://blackdragonstories.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Yeah, I didn’t want to label all the pages with such long names so yeah. I looked around and shortly found the parent-child feature. It’s close to what I want but not exactly.

        Liked by 1 person

    2. I see from your comment below that you found out about page hierarchy, which is one way to go about this.

      Another thing you could consider: if you choose to give several pages the same title, you might want to edit each page’s slug (the final part of the URL) to make them easier to distinguish. You can read more about page slugs here:
      https://wordpress.com/support/pages/new-page-screen/#page-title-and-permalink-url

      Ultimately, though, it might make more sense, in the long run, to find a way to give pages more distinct titles. For examples, if you have two projects, “Love Story” and “My Journey,” you could name pages “Love Story: Chapter 1” and “My Journey: Chapter 1” to make them instantaneously distinguishable.

      Like

  4. Nice idea.. Though I believe, if there is something interesting in your ( someones) post and some other person holding the same interest as yours, you will get a feedback.. I think its the matter of what you post is more important.. A very researched topic but no materiality of interest would be a questionable post.. and I personally believe it is a gradual process.. Even one follower will mean a lot to a writer.. This is my perception, logically many will differ to my opinion..

    Liked by 1 person

  5. New short story, combination of blogging 101 and an online creative writing assignment. Very short, the assignment was to make a character desire something, and make the desire his or her driving force. Write a scene or a summary that creates reasons why s/he can never have what s/he wants. I’d love some feedback!

    Coin Flip

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Hi!
    I just commented, but realized I forgot to link my blog! Whoops.

    Anyway, I have just started a lifestyle blog. I like creative writing, and I feel like this is a great outlet for me to write about whatever I want without any limitations. It’s an awesome creative outlet. If you could please check out my blog and leave some suggestions on how to grow and expand my blog, it would be much appreciated. Also, if you have any writing tips, fire away!

    Happy blogging!
    https://girlwhoisinlove.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Grow and expand?
      *keep on blogging
      *interact with other bloggers
      *take part in blogging prompts and events
      *join and participate in other blogging networks

      Like

  9. I have just published 2 new posts this morning, as well as two new ones yesterday; I would really appreciate it if I could have a lot of feedback on these. Thank you so very much!-JW

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Hi everyone,
    At the end of this month I will have had my blog for an entire year! I’m really grateful for the feedback I have received throughout the past 12months but I’m always looking to improve. I cover a range of topics including reading, creative writing, travel, fashion and beauty. If you have time please check it out and tell me what you think of my writing style, blog layout and overall theme.

    https://infinitedaydreamer.wordpress.com/

    Thank you 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hey cool topic! If you want easy organization for yourself and readers, have that menu clear and easy to use and also see if you can add sidebars to draw people’s attention.

      Like

  15. Hello everyone! I’m super new to all of this and blogging in general. I was wondering if you guys could look at my blog and let me know what you think, from subjects to writing, even layout and theme! I’d be extremely grateful! Thanks, and happy Monday!

    Like

    2. Hm, it won’t let me navigate to your page, even when I add it as a security exception. You may want to take a look and I’ll try again later.

      Like

    1. I really like your theme, as it is a cool way to show pictures and the post titles. I suggest making and About page so people can learn more about you/your blog

      Like

    2. Is there an About in the submenu? I wasn’t able to find it. Anyway, cute! I choked up a little with the introduction of The Wally; we used to have a dog with that name for 18 years.

      Liked by 1 person

  18. Hi everyone,
    I’ve just posted a small photo-series post up on my (mainly film) photography blog; you can find the post here:
    https://anotherlifeinlondon.wordpress.com/2015/08/10/%E2%80%A2-the-book-of-books-%E2%80%A2/
    or my blog here:
    https://anotherlifeinlondon.wordpress.com

    I would really appreciate it if you would take a look and give me any feedback you might have! Also, let me know if you have a photography/film photography blog you think I might be interested in.

    Annie

    Liked by 1 person

  19. Hi, I started my blog almost a week ago and could really use some tips. How do you get traffic? I’ve been researching and don’t really understand it, so help would be appreciated! My blog address is minimissmom.com
    Thanks,
    Trystan

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Read blogs, go through tags, comment and effectively using social media will help, but it’s not an overnight thing. Give it time and stay dedicated, and you’ll see your stats slowly grow.

      Like

    3. Interacting with other bloggers, posting in here and tagging your posts so that people can find them easily. As your blog grows you’ll find the posts that appeal the most to your readers and be able to target them. 🙂

      Like

    4. In addition to everyone else, find social media groups (I’ve found FB is especially good for this) and forums that will help nurture your growth. Look for groups with blog share/blog engagement, but have a polished look and good content ready before doing so. You have a good start, but did you know that your content on the right is the same as the content in the footer? Might want to check that out.

      Like

  20. Here I am, again. We all know those damned debate recently happened. Except most of us are caught between giving a damn and knowing whatever turd is elected will take the swirl in the toilet. With that in mind, I did y’all lovely folks a favor and sacrificed myself to endure the debate. How I loathed it! Take a read and enjoy. If you don’t enjoy, I’m sorry, but I don’t offer any refunds.

    Day Late, Dollar Short…Loathing the GOP Debate

    Like

  21. Hi everyone. My blog is a mixture of articles and creative story writing. I’d really love some feedback as I’m not getting as much as I’d like from facebook shares. Constructive criticism is always welcome. I have articles on beauty, life tips and self improvement. I hope to write a lot more once I know I’m on the right tracks. I just need a mentor (if you will) to point me in the right direction. jesslydiaobrienwriting.wordpress.com
    THANK YOU!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I really like what you’re doing. I don’t think you need to worry much about the direction you’re headed. You already have a clear direction.

      Your blog is simply an honest representation of who you are. Sometimes it’s a short story, sometimes it’s a list of profound lessons you’ve learned in your life.

      I wouldn’t want to see you limit your posts because of a perceived “direction” that you’re going for. I enjoy that you’re taking the insights you have about your own life and framing it in a way that can benefit others.

      Keep writing because you’re definitely on the right track. Keep it up!
      James

      Like

    2. I love your articles, I liked a few of them and followed you. Your blog seems to be very popular, so well done!

      Two pieces of advice I will give you are:
      1. Add “Read More” tags to your articles. They will help to make your home page easier to navigate. When you’re editing the article, the button is on the same row as the Bold and Italic buttons.

      2. Make categories for your posts and sort them into them into the correct categories. This makes your website a lot easier to navigate. You should be able to do this when editing your articles.

      All in all, I didn’t think there was anything wrong with the content of your posts – they’re very good to read. You just need to work on the layout of the blog to make it more user-friendly.

      Liked by 2 people

    1. It’s not hard to navigate at all, but if you really want to make it easier in terms of people staying on your page longer, consider changing your theme to one that has pages listed at the top and possible sidebars. That way, it’s easier for people so see what else you have to offer without having to click around and find it themselves.
      Happy Blogging!

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I like your poems. I need to absorb them better with a second read, but there is certainly enough there to bring me back. I was thinking that minus photos or drawings or some other visual, you might consider adding some color to the page to help it “pop” a little more. Also a permanent banner or image that rests on top of every post gives your blog an air of familiarity that brings repeat customers, of which I will be!

      Like

      1. Thank you for your kind words Robert!

        I am considering adding more visuals into my posts but I’m just a little wary of copyright issues which I used to disregard and I’m trying to improve upon.

        I’ll definitely play around with being more attention grabbing 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

    2. Woah, Maggy! I’m a big fan! Your most recent 3 part post is incredible. I love your little concepts with the definitions. It really frames the poems that follow and makes them even more profound.

      I really enjoy your subtle and sporadic use of rhyme. It’s never cheesy, like rhymes can sometimes be, and it does so much to add to the striking rhythm of your writing.

      I don’t have any advice for you. Keep doing that! I really enjoy it. Great work!

      Like

      1. Thank you James, that is so lovely!

        I’m actually doing poetry workshops in real life and I’m constantly surrounded by people that are so bloody talented it’s actually so great to get validation that I’m doing alright too 🙂

        Like

  25. Hi!
    I only just started my blog today. I have made 3 posts, but it is the latest one that I would like you guys to look at, because I will follow the same format 3 more times (for the 3 other candidates if you click the link) so I want it to look ok.
    I would also be very grateful if anyone interested in UK politics could check my blog out and give me some feedback because that’s what my blog is on.
    Thank you very much!
    Here’s the link: https://dontgetleftout.wordpress.com

    Liked by 2 people

  26. Hi Everyone!

    My last 3 posts have addressed some of my issues of self-doubt, failure and fear. I’d really like to hear if the lessons I’ve learned mean anything to someone else.

    Jamesistrying.com

    If anyone is interested, please check out any or all of my 3 most recent posts (and all the rest if you want!) and let me know if you were able to find any inspiration or life lessons in them and maybe some thoughts about how I can improve as a writer and storyteller.

    Thank you all so much!
    James

    Liked by 1 person

    1. already followed you & was intending to leave a comment on your blog after reading but my internet glitched out so better here than never right?

      I love how you were able to turn your life into such an engaging story and shared it with us. I really like how authentic it seems, and I really respect what you write 🙂

      looking forwards to following your journey as a reader!

      Liked by 1 person

  30. HELLO!! I had never wanted to start blogging until I had my son, now finally almost a year and a half into parenting, I would love to teach others about things they don’t know! that’s why I started my blog, please take a look and tell me what you think!! samseiff.wordpress.com thank you so much!!

    Liked by 2 people