Jan 11, 2016 / Community Pool

Community Pool

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

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?

Did you just start blogging and you’re not sure how to get going? Has your blog been dormant for a while but you’d like to give it a jolt of life? Join our free Blogging 101 course (or any of our other offerings at Blogging U.).

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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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!
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    1. Hi Jan,

      I was already following you but didn’t notice the change. However, I must say that I like it as it is now. It’s informative and original, all it needs to be.

      All the best,
      Giulia

      Liked by 3 people

    2. Hey Jan, I really like the color scheme and images, but I find having two columns on the right side of the page with different sized boxes to be distracting.

      The content on the page is great, but you already knew that! 😉

      Liked by 3 people

      1. Thank you for the feedback 🙂 I will try to rearrange the sidebars. I am trying to improve my content and thank you for the compliment. I did need that 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

    3. Hello,
      You have a great About page! It’s definitely well thought out and very detailed. Great job. I took a look around besides your About page and I found your content to be very engaging and creative! No wonder you have a big audience! Keep doing what you’re doing and I wish you the best of luck 🙂

      Liked by 3 people

    2. Love the name. You seem to be using images well to support the content, but sparingly enough to make it clear it’s about the writing. I dig the content too. My only critical suggestion is some of your posts seem a bit excessively tagged. I’d like to read more from you so you have a new follower.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I just realized on closer look it’s not the individual posts but that megaconglomeration of tags of all the posts that appears under each separate post. Is it necessary to have that if you have each post tagged itself?

        Liked by 2 people

      2. From your previous comment, I was also wondering how I seem to have too many tags. But thanks for your observation, I think I need to change the heading from ‘Tags’ to something else to avoid confusions that they all belong to the same post. I have had thoughts of changing it a couple of times but was too lazy to act. 😉
        Valuable feedback it was! Thanks a ton! 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

    1. Calm down, you’ll get the hang of things eventually! Blogging takes time and it’s a learning curve if you’re new. If you have specific questions then ask but we can’t help if we don’t know the problem!
      Good luck! 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

      1. OMG I did in the commons and I’ve been around here for a couple of years, well really 1 year consistently. I just went into that “stupid room” where I think everything I do is stupid. You know you get that way when you are a 50 something homemaker and all your kids are gone and you wonder what was you purpose in life and I’m rambling, blah, blah, blah. Hey stay close, I’ll follow you if you follow me. Blessings ❤

        Liked by 2 people

    2. Hey hey hey, it’s okay! I took a look at your blog I think it looks just fine! Your blog does not look stupid and you are not in the stupid room haha. The layout looks very creative and well organized. I’ve come across many blogs and yours looks great. The contents of your blog are all great too. I actually enjoyed your most recent most 🙂
      Don’t let blogging be about others and what they think. At the end of the day, your blog is for you so don’t let the other things worry you. You’re doing a great job so far so keep it up and don’t give up 🙂 I wish you the best of luck!

      Liked by 2 people

    3. I have looked at your blog a couple of times now over the last week. It’s okay. Definitely not stupid. It’s okay and quite personal. The family, etc.

      Yet, what do we really know about Scarlett79? Writing is never easy and if we slip into the trivial for the sake of posting something. Then a sense of failure will loom. Your writing is very family orientated. Nothing wrong with that. I understand you as being Catholic. I suppose that’s okay too? You write about the “devil” in a personal way as well.

      Have you ever tried writing some fiction to demonstrate your beliefs? Or is that not what you wish to delve into?

      Without compromising your beliefs. Try to see it from another’s point of view, perhaps? Start to make the posts vibrate with the love felt for the creation, maybe? Pictures of xmas trees are nice and all. To attract others to your writing. You will have to step outside of your safety zone. To make your writing sing.

      Easier said than done … I’m sure?
      Good luck! Cheers Jamie
      Holding the Ball https://hirundinedotnet2.wordpress.com/

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Well that was an awful lot said. Interesting that you said I would have to step outside of my comfort zone. Very good at noticing that. I am holding back. My husband too is an artist. He paints and I have written a few things but after I do it really scares me to put it out there. I now know how he feels when he paints and he doesn’t sell. I’ll try, I think I am a very good writer and I have sooooo many ideas but I am holding back. I don’t trust this world… What can I say. Blessings ❤

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Okay Scarlett79, Fair enough. I can understand feeling afraid. Afraid to really put it out there. Maybe start with the one you can best live with and see how it fares?

        There are various maxims. Rome was not built in a day. One step at a time, etc. Be easy on yourself. When we create we need to accept failure, as much as success. I find it surprising how one post fails that I thought would succeed and vicky verky. Vice versa …? Good luck and keep writing. Unless we write or draw. Those muscles become flabby and need rebuilding. Please do not tear down what you have started. Use it to build on. The changes will come. After Blogging 101 there is 201, etc. You might consider planning it? There are worse ways of doing this. Cheers Jamie … rock on!

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi,

      Your blog seems very interesting. Your layout is pleasing especially with the colors and the font used. However, I would suggest you a theme where the categories and other buttons such as “Recent posts” and “Archives” would be more easily apparent such as on one side of your posts so that people will navigate more easily through your blog. I’m not sure if you can change the sidebar with the theme you’re currently using, otherwise you could check similar themes such as “Chateau” or “Origin”, I don’t know they are plenty other themes that may suit your blog. I’m sure you’ll find something you like.

      All the best,

      Giulia

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Hello there, let me give you some very technical feedbacks, on the layouts of course. On taking a closer look, I noticed that your widgets are not managed well, For example, you have search-widget three times on your footer tab. I guess one is enough? Infact you can completely take ‘search’ out from footer as the main tab contains a ‘search’ already. Similarly, there are some other repetitions. Also, carefully place all the widgets ‘distributed’ in footers such that they look more or less even. Remove the widgets for the while if they have nothing to show. E.g ‘Recent Comments’, you can always switch it on later when the site has some. For the time being without a list of recent comments, it looks incomplete. And most important, take some time to understand how the theme works to layout the best of its look. 🙂 I hope that helps.

      Liked by 2 people

    3. Hey Corrie,

      I like the idea behind your blog of writing about your experiences with rheumatoid arthritis, I think it will be a very unique point of view and will give you natural writing prompts. I have epilepsy and often feel like I’m the only one who understands what I’m going through.

      As far as layout goes, why have the home & about pages at the top but the categories on the left side instead of having all pages & posts in one area?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. It’s really weird, I did some adjusting before because I had so many duplicate categories, recent posts, etc and I removed all of the duplicates and I guess the system added the originals to the left. The home and about was previously added when I had another theme. I’m not really sure how I can change it but I will work with it and hopefully not screw it up. :). I hope you are doing well with your epilepsy. Thank you so much for the input. Be Blessed.

        Liked by 1 person

  7. Hello fellow bloggers!
    My best friend of 20 years and I have just started our blog. It is a light hearted, funny and honest depiction of our experiences as mums on the brink of insanity. With 5 kids between us we have plenty of material for comic anecdotes and relatable tales of the stresses and frustrations of parenting. It’s not intended to be in any way negative but a celebration of mums (and dads too) from our epic mum/life/family/relationship/house/work/career/blogging juggling skills to our daily ‘failings’ and everything in between. All washed down with a large daily medicinal dose of Vino, to help us re-set and calm the nerves.

    We’d absolutely love some feedback and some new followers.

    Thanks for reading x

    https://sarahandlouisemumstheword.wordpress.com

    Liked by 3 people

  9. Hi everyone, I have just decided to continue blogging as I did a very poor job last year! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated ❤

    Liked by 2 people

  13. Hello All – I am brand new to this blogging thing, but think this is exactly my thing. However, I am having difficulty with getting rid of my menu tab being displayed on my pages, i.e. HOME, ABOUT ME, BLOG, etc. Is there a way to fix this? Also, on my books I’m reading page, I know that it looks clumsy, ideas? I will be blogging on religion, politics and everything in between. https://musingsandmytwocents.wordpress.com
    Feedback welcomed on my first blog, too – Why Sit We Here Till We Die?

    Thanks all!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Removing the tabs means removing your custom menu — something I wouldn’t do lightly, since it’s the easiest and most straightforward way for your visitors to navigate through your site.

      For the Books page, maybe consider using a bulleted list (you can create it using the post editor’s toolbar), which will make things a little tidier? Also: try to size all images with the same dimensions for a more uniform/organized look.

      I hope this helps!

      Like

    1. Welcome to the blogosphere!
      I noticed in your first post that you really don’t know what to write and you’re relying a lot of reader feedback. While that can be beneficial later on, I suggest having a few of your own post ideas in mind to start. It’s YOUR blog and you can write what YOU like. Eventually, readers will come to you because they like what you write!
      I also suggest playing around with colours and settings and personalizing your blog a little.
      Happy Blogging! 🙂

      Liked by 5 people

    2. I second IAmDonovan’s opinion. I feel you have an interesting tone of writing and people would love to just read when you come up with your own topic of discussions. Start off with anything that you’d like to write to a dairy. Don’t make it too personal of course. 😛 And that itself will initiate an interaction. Moreover, it’s hard to write about others want you to write. It’s easier to write what you think inside your mind. Good luck!

      Liked by 2 people

      3. You do have some fun stuff to share. I’d however suggest you to pay attention to use appropriate punctuations. They make the reading really easy and smooth. If a sentence gets too long, find some ways to break them, using a semi colon or ‘–‘ helps. Last but not the least, grammar plays a major role in holding a reader’s attention. All the best for upcoming posts by you! 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

    3. Hi again! Like you requested, I read your new post. I’m glad you came up with your own idea, and one that I’ve never seen used before, so that’s cool!
      To make the reading experience better, I suggest making sure your grammar and writing is all correct. Use spell check and make sure your sentences are of a reasonable length. Also, add pictures to break up the text.
      Good luck and happy blogging! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  19. Hello all,

    I host an art blog publishing my own artworks as well as writing about the art of others, mainly specialising in classical and historical art as well as fantasy art.

    I would really appreciate any feedback on my blog layout and posts and I’m happy to return the favour.

    http://Www.jgloverfineart.wordpress.com

    Many thanks!

    Liked by 4 people

    1. I personally love your theme. Not too many photos thrown at you at once, but they’re all right there for you to see. I like the “clean” look to it too, very organized. Your photos are amazing by the way 🙂

      Liked by 3 people

    3. Hey John, Being a follower of your site I obviously like what you post. One suggestion that I can give you here is just start off write-ups without feeling an obligation to be apologetic for not having been frequently active. You are the boss of your site and your posts must follow the calendar that you set for them. Shouldn’t they? 🙂

      Liked by 3 people

      1. Thank you! Your words definitely encourage me and give me hope. And yeah, I think perhaps I should stop apologizing. I guess I just feel bad for not interacting with my followers as much as I want to. But thank you I will keep this in mind 🙂 Happy blogging!

        Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank you Jackie! It means alot 🙂
        I took a look at your blog and I think it’s great. You made great use of your categories and your About page is well developed. The posts are great too. The use of pictures really bring much depth. I would suggest perhaps a change of layout? I like the simplicity but I feel like it’d be more geared towards writers. Since you’re doing beauty, maybe using a more colorful/elegant layout would suit you best to bring out the “glamour” effect. I wish you the best of luck 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

  26. Hello all, I’ve been trying to build my blog for over a year with limited success in attracting regular commentators – I see plenty of the same people liking posts, but not much talking overall.

    Some feedback on what I might do better/different would be appreciated.

    My Blog

    Liked by 4 people

    1. First thing that I noticed is you have a different theme than a lot of bloggers do. Not a bad thing but it’s definitely different. Can’t say much else about it unfortunately. You’re not blogging about topics I’m knowledgeable about so I can’t tell you how your content is compared to other blogs similar to yours…

      Liked by 2 people

    2. I’ve never seen that theme before. Something about it is uninviting. Perhaps you could have more description under each photo, so we have a better idea of the topics?

      Also, you get many more likes and comments than most of us. You must be doing something right.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thanks for the encouragement. I’ve experimented with different themes, but keep coming back to this one since it allows me to use custom excerpts on the Reader.

        You’re the first to say the theme is uninviting, but I agree: I need better summaries to draw attention to each post.

        Thanks again!

        Liked by 1 person

    3. I agree.. the theme is different. it seems more ‘cluttered’ than a lot of the other blogs I have read. it confuses your mind a bit to look at it.
      I would suggest putting a different theme (if you like the theme, then don’t listen to me lol). it would probably be more reader-friendly. happy blogging!

      Liked by 2 people

  27. So I just started posting about my life. It’s strange to write, write about things I’ve never expressed to anyone. I’ve used fake names, even mine as I hope to express everything I feel and I don’t want to overstep the mark. If anyone has a chance, check it out and leave me feed back. I’m no writer but I hope to help others going through a similar thing.. http://www.peterkavanaugh.wordpress.com thank you x

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Nicely written. Definitely expresses the confusion one has about life at times and trust me you are not alone. 😉 Writing up things that keep accumulating in the mind surely makes one feel lighter and better. I wish you find all the understanding & support you are hoping for.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you! It is like brain storming back in school, I couldnt believe how much I remembered about how I felt. Felt weird actually expressing some parts! Thank you so much for your feedback!!!

        Liked by 2 people

    1. I love the format — nice blend of creativity and information sharing. Great range of titles, can’t wait to see what else is in store. By the way, I read “Mr. Penumbra” a year or two back at my wife’s urging, and was surprised how much I enjoyed it considering our rather divergent tastes in literature. Keep it going!

      Liked by 2 people

    1. Hello!
      I really enjoyed going through your blog. Besides the theme, it kind of reminded me of my own blog haha. We have very similar categories and it seems like our interests of what we post are similar as well. It’s always awesome to meet fellow photographers and writers on WordPress. I think your content is great and so I’m going to give you a follow 🙂 Cheers!

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank you! I loveeee your photos!! It is so cool to see other peoples work and to learn from them!! I was already following you lol thank you for the follow and cheers to you too!

        Liked by 1 person