Aug 17, 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. I really enjoyed your post, you’ve got wonderful photos. Despite your promise at the end, I think I prefer the overcast hues to those that would come from a brightly lit day.
      I’ve followed you in anticipation of your next set of nature pictures.

      Like

  2. Hey everyone,

    I just started my first real blog and am looking forward to joining in the community was well. Feel free to check it out.

    I do have a specific layout question- I am looking for a cleaner and more simple layout than I currently have. One that keeps the same header photo but smaller and perhaps has more customizable color options (thought that is not a deal breaker).. Please let me know if you have any suggestions! Thanks all,
    J

    Liked by 2 people

    3. I have to say that I’m quite fond of my theme, Chateau. Lots of space for widgets and a nice clean background colour (though it can’t be changed). I suspect though that most bloggers like their own theme best, it has a certain comforting feel when you see it so regularly.
      Best, Matt

      Liked by 2 people

      1. that might be true what you’re saying.
        I guess many people feel that way too.
        I have to say that most of us are trained to know how to read a text. there is a shallow part and a deeper, you reach it depending on your reading/interpretation/creativity skills (what is written, how is it written, how is every word, sentence build. how is the text constructed, etc). that is very interesting, important and complex somehow.
        The same happens with images; you can spend time on them. they actually can be very interactive if you see them. just have to know how to read them ;))
        and if you want, react back, with another image, with a text or whatever fits you.

        ***

        Like

    1. Hi there,
      I really enjoyed the intro to your story, enough suspense to hook me in and seemingly in one of my favourite genres.
      I did get a little lost the more I read though – I think setting the foundations of a story is always difficult and getting the balance right. I just wasn’t sure as a reader whether I needed all that backstory.
      However, I’d like to read further chapters and based on your most recent posts, your writing voice has certainly matured and is much more solid. Well done on keeping the writing going – I’m great at starting to write, useless at finishing stories!

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Hello! I am currently in the works of creating my blog on specialty coffee. I do coffee crawl on the weekends. Have finalised four pages already and will start posting about third wave coffee shops soon!

    I would appreciate if you will let me know what you think on my pages (ie What is Coffee Crawling?, About Third Wave Coffee Shops).

    Here are the links:
    http://coffeecrawlerph.com/what-is-coffee-crawling/
    http://coffeecrawlerph.com/about-the-third-wave-coffee-shops/
    Thanks in advance for the feedback!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I love the content (I mean, I’ve only been a coffee addict for 20 years) but I think the site setup/navigation is a little awkward. That may just be because it’s new and there aren’t many posts yet. The left sidebar is set up nicely though.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hi Leisel! What’s your favorite coffee?

        Thank you for the feedback! Yes, I’ve been focusing on the left side bar but now have shifted and is more concentrated on working on the main body content.

        Hope to hear more from you!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Oh. Oh geez, don’t ask me that. For the most part I prefer a strong, dark roast. A little sugar, no cream/milk (unless it’s a bad day, then I pollute the crap out of it). I think the best coffee I’ve ever had was a strong, dark roast served to me in Rome, Italy by nuns at a sort of hotel. I didn’t even put sugar in it. It was so pure, mmmmmmmmmm.

        Liked by 2 people

      3. We have the same taste. I seldom put sugar in my coffee. A strong, dark roast seems perfect to me. I’m pretty sure you had a lovely time in Rome!

        Hope you’d like what you’ll see in my site soon!

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Hi coffee crawler, such an interesting and different concept to what you do, I love coffee so you’ve earned a follow from me. Keep up the good work and feel free to check out my blog, I’m an artist and in my portfolio section you’ll see a painting that I created using coffee as a medium depicting a scene from the history of coffee.

      Like

    2. Hello!

      I’ve just had a little read of your blog and I really like it! I especially like the way you edit your photos (as in the writing on them!) and your friendly writing style 🙂

      I’m now following you hehe 🙂

      Graciellen xx

      Like

    3. Your blog looks great and I love the layout, easy to navigate:)
      I am a beauty/fashion lover so for me it’s quite simple…you are doing great! Love the products you’ve posted about so keep on writing and sharing best tips:)

      Like

  8. Hey there amazing people!!
    Hope y’all are having an amazing day!

    For my latest post, I’ve tried something new. This time along with my poem, I have included a tiny portfolio of pictures (clicked by me, of course) related to the poem’s theme.

    So, please do check it out and let me know what you think of the formatting, pictures and the poem. I’m starving for some feedback!!

    Thanks in advance!
    Cheers,
    Bhavika.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. I’m struggling with design and layout. I want to have each blog under a section with the blog’s title appearing on the side so readers can navigate to a specific blog. As the site is now, readers see the newest one first and the rest of under that one. I’m trying to move blogs in their own section, but I haven’t figure out how to make each blog appear under its own separate heading in that section. I want it set up more like a site where there are articles and you click on the article to read it. I’m using Hemmingway. Do I need a different layout or is there widgets I’m not using?

    Like

    1. Hi Terry,

      I’m not entirely sure what you’re trying to achieve, though when you say you “want it set up more like a site where there are articles and you click on the article to read it,” it sounds like what you might be aiming for is something fairly straightforward, namely only showing an excerpt of each post on your blog’s homepage, instead of the whole post. If that’s the case, you can find instructions on how to accomplish that here:
      https://wordpress.com/support/excerpts/

      You might also want to take a look at some of our “magazine” themes, which often provide interesting / less blog-like layouts to present posts.

      Like

  10. Hey there!
    Community pool helps a lot to know more awesome boggers and to get good feedbacks, always works superb. Thank you soo much.
    In my blog its all mix beauty, decor, fashion, meditation, mindfulness..lile whatever i do i like to share, so turned a bliss full blog. Hope you like it, likes, views, comments and feedbacks most welcome.
    Have a tour on https://designinglife01.wordpress.com

    Like

  11. I’ve had my blog up for nearly a year and included a “Follow” widget from the beginning. Just recently my follow button disappeared on my site. It should be located right below my picture. I’ve tried a couple of times to get it back by going into “appearance/widgets” to no avail. My site is The Fruitful Life at paulageister.com
    Any feedback is appreciated.

    Like

    1. I can see the widget there. What I have noticed on my blog is that it can take a few seconds after the page loads for it to appear. However, I think there is a ‘hide to followers’ setting (or something similar) which may be turned on, so that you cannot see it.
      Best, Matt

      Like

  12. Hello lovely bloggers!

    I blog over at graciellen.wordpress.com about beauty, baking, fashion and my faith in God. I’m a teenage girl who’s still relatively new to blogging and I would love some feedback!

    Thank youuuu! ❤️
    Graciellen xx

    Like

    1. I can clearly see that you have been writing for a long time. I scribble notes in a notebook myself, and your story reminded me of a book by Paul Auster, where a character is quite obsessive about a favorite notebook! I like your writing style and look forward to more from you. Couple of things I would suggest is that you definitely should fill in your About page so your readers can understand you as a writer better. Also, it may just be your theme, but a dash of color might enhance the look of your blog. If that is a choice then ignore it, but I feel readers want at least some sort of visual when they click on a blog.

      Like

      1. Thank you! I haven’t noticed the About Page until now. Would you rather I post photos along the posts to make it visually enticing?

        Like

      2. Well it is all what you want ultimately of course, but I think a photo, or an appropriate meme or something along those lines helps. Barring that, depending on your theme you could change the color of your page so that it gives a little ‘pop.’

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Thank you, again. It really helps, knowing that people actually read it and know that these people see that it can still improve. Thanks!

        Like

    2. Great writing, but a very sparse design. You should also write an actual About page and toss the dummy page. Play with the features your theme has to offer!

      Like

      1. I’m currently accessing through my phone that’s why I haven’t played with the theme yet. Can you give my ideas regarding what theme suits my writing? Thank you!

        Like

    4. Hi,
      I’ve just had a little read and I liked the variety of styles that you have already established between your posts.

      My critical comment would be that sometimes your writing lacks accuracy and can therefore distract the reader from your meaning. Example paragraph from your first post: So imagine what I felt when I first stumbled upon the perfect notebook my eyes have ever laid on. It’s definitely not that much, but upon seeing it, I just knew in that instant how it’s a perfect fit for me – style and attitude together.

      So maybe take a closer look at the draft stage before you publish.

      Hope that helps 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Hello!
    I’ve just had a little read of your blog and I really like it! I especially love the way you edit your photos (as in the writing on them!) and your friendly writing style.

    I’m now following your blog!

    Graciellen xx

    Like

  15. Hello! I just have a question for this round:
    I’m looking to create more pages on my site to organize the various series of posts that are all related. More specifically, I do a weekly “Face Off Digest” where I discuss the events of the show “Face Off.” I know there’s a way I do it, but I haven’t been able to find an answer to my question, so I hope one of you lovelies could help a sister out! How do you add published posts to a new page on your site? Thanks so much for being a great community!
    Also, if you’d like to check out my site, it’s nerdilyblog.com (formally Nerdy by Nature).

    Like

    1. I probably do it in the most convoluted way possible. When I have a post I’d like to add to a certain page I open up that page to edit it and input the text and link I want. Though from what you’re saying it sounds more like what I do with my categories (that bar I have where you can search by fandom). I just add the post to the category when I’m writing it (or I’ll go back later and edit it in there if I forget) and so far everything works out. Hope that helps. It’s a very cross-eyed sort of Monday.

      Liked by 1 person

      2. If you’re looking for something like the stuff I’ve done with my Special Features page, yeah. Otherwise everything else falls into the categories.

        Like

      3. Okay, cool. Thank you! I have been trying to find an answer for weeks now. I even tweeted the WordPress Beginners page and didn’t receive an answer.

        Like

    2. There are a couple of ways to accomplish this — the most straightforward one is, as Leisel suggested, via Category Pages:
      https://wordpress.com/themes/filter/magazine/

      The slightly more complicated way — though not overly so — is with the Display Posts Shortcode, which allows you to tweak the posts you add to a page with quite a bit more control. You can learn more about it here:
      https://wordpress.com/support/display-posts-shortcode/

      Like

  18. Hello guys. I believe this is my first time in this pool and I am loving the warmth, care and input.
    I have been blogging for a while now but cannot seem to get much comments or followers. I would appreciate it if you guys can visit http://stlh2oo.wordpress.com and give me your input and thoughts on my blog.
    Leisel, big ups.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks! So, I’m a little confused when I visit your blog. Is your landing page also your About page? It seems to be mixed up with another article above it. I think a lot of what I’m seeing is that you may need to look into a bit of reorganizing. I’d also like to see more on your About page as it doesn’t really give much context regarding what your blog is all about.

      Like

      1. Thanks for that propt action Leisel. I was trying to reorganise the page so that my landing page will no longer be static, but it is prooving difficult for me so I got stuck with that.
        I would work on the about page.
        I really appreciate this.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. hi! sorry to but in, I just thought I would mention that if you head into your WP admin and find APPEARANCE in the menu on the left had side, if you hover your mouse over that and click on CUSTOMISE, it will take you to a place for you to customise your blog. in the customiser you will be able to alter your front page (landing page) from static post to most recent posts. find the area that says STATIC FRONT PAGE, click it and you will then be able to untick the static page option and change it to most recent posts. hope that helps 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Thanks a lot dear. I have tried that and even had to change themes when it kept telling me my theme does supports only static page. Could it be I got it all wrong?

        Like

      4. I’ve not encountered that problem myself, if your theme a wordpress one? you could also try altering it in the settings options there is a place there for you to choose most recent posts instead of a static page, that might help

        Liked by 1 person

      6. if you head to your wordpress admin again, the old version, not the new one. find in the menu on the left hand side of the screen at the bottom the word ‘settings’ in there you will be able to adjust from front page static post to most recent posts. *if* your theme lets you. it should though

        Liked by 1 person

  22. Hi everyone,
    I recently published a post about getting into university and I would love some feedback. The end of this month will mark a year since I published my first ever blog post and I would like to think that I have improved greatly. All feedback about my writing style, blog layout, topics etc would be a great help.

    https://infinitedaydreamer.wordpress.com/2015/08/15/university-coming-soon/

    https://infinitedaydreamer.wordpress.com/

    Thank you 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. hey! I popped over and I thought it was really nice. Its a bit blank over in the side bar area, you could think about adding widgets but I don’t think it hinders your blog not having them. I liked your content and I thought that it was really well presented 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      2. well, you take photos, maybe you have Instagram? perhaps not all your photos make it to the blog but having an Instagram widget would share a little more of them. you could have a follow by email, wordpress follow button, ive noticed you have your categories already, maybe a search bar? There are lots of different widgets you could explore. Maybe check out the customizer as see what you find 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Thanks so much! And no I’m keeping my Instagram and WordPress separate for privacy reasons. But yeah the others are definitely something I can look to. Thanks so much!! 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  25. Since the last Community Pool I did a bit of a design makeover, feel free to let me know what you think.

    Plus, I’m always on the spot to hear what people want to read about (especially social and cultural issues/burning topics). Your own thoughts would be awesome to read!

    Giulia

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Hi emma, I just popped over to visit your blog 🙂 its really nice, clean and tidy, well written, well presented and your content is pretty good too! the only thing I would recommend is changing how you tag and categorise. There’s a limit of 15 for both (together) so you’re overtagging your posts. Having too many tags can often be worse than having just a few as the system doesn’t know where to put your post so its doesn’t go into any different catergory readers or tag readers. I always find its best to stick to one category for each post and then 14 or less tags to get yourself noticed. 🙂

      Like

    1. Hey! I just checked out your blog. The layout is great, easy to read, and I love the brightly colored background. It gives off a lively, fun atmosphere. And I’m loving your blog name!

      Liked by 1 person

  28. Hello, all.
    I’m afraid this is less of a question and more of a shameless plug. I wrote a piece for a think-tank called “im-possible” and would be grateful to any who’d be willing to read my post and follow the link ( http://tinyurl.com/nzhrv7m ).

    Thanks,
    Alexander.

    Liked by 1 person

    3. Hi Alexander,

      Half an Audrey Hepburn quote will always get a look from me 🙂

      I enjoyed the piece, it was interesting but I actually much preferred your latest fortune cookie post (reminded me of someone very close). That and your bio, especially the part about having pre-hipster facial hair and the herding cats line on im-possible!

      Liked by 1 person

  30. Hi guys…I do have a question…I’m a high school writer and though I’m currently writing a book, I wanted to start blogging again, after ten months. I feel as if I have changed…Is there anyone who can give me any advice on this/or my book? I’d be willing to send excerpts followed by suggestions from you. 🙂 Thanks so much!

    Love,
    Aditi (xxwriterwomanxx)

    ~~
    Hey there! Check out the wonderful word of the writer xxwriterwomanxx!! I’m a high school writer and I’d love it if you could just stop by.
    http://www.xxwriterwomanxx.wordpress.com

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’d love to help you out. I’m not a professional, but I write short fiction on my blog. Send me whatever excerpt from the book you’re working on that you want, and I’ll give you advice.
      It’s great that you’re blogging again!
      Oh, and here is my email address invisibleworld418@gmail.com

      Liked by 1 person