Feb 1, 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).

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. The content is great and I like the fact that you go through the effort to link quite a bit. However, I would potentially look into figuring out a way to make the links blend in more (the blue is a little jarring). I’m not too experienced in WordPress formatting, but if there’s a way to change the color and maybe remove the underline from links, I feel that your page could benefit aesthetically from that. Also, some people might get turned off by all the links, so making them a bit more incognito may benefit your viewership as well. Otherwise, great site and layout. Thanks for sharing!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you sooo much for visiting and commenting. Shall certainly look into it. I also feel the links are just too many. Shall try and reduce them too. 🙂 Thanks so much for taking time out 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

      2. No problem. If you get the chance, feel free to drop by adayinhellmanifesto.wordpress.com and let me know what you think of my blog. Thanks!

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I was just trying to find the link to your blog only 😀 Shall certainly come round tomo. 🙂 It’s really later here, right now. Good Night! 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

    1. I just left the following comment on your post: “I love the layout and flow of this post. Nice use of pictures as well. Very informative and easy-to-follow narrative. Thanks for sharing!”

      In terms of constructive criticism/feedback: There’s something about the text font/style that seems a little bit…bland? On one hand I like it because it’s simple and clear, but there’s just something about the aesthetic that leaves me thinking it could be spiced up a little bit. Other than that, looks good!

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Hi,
    started my blog this week and would love to have your feedback. It’s not only about parenting, but about my experience as a woman, mum and host mum. Hope to see you around: mumsgoingnuts.wordpress.com

    Liked by 2 people

  6. Same as all these lovely folk – just starting up with my blog and would love a good bit of feedback, perhaps some sharing about! http://www.thehipsterimposter.wordpress.com
    I don’t really have a niche, I’m blogging about a broad range of life experiences & want to keep general if I can (again some recommendations!)
    Thanks all 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  7. Hi all,

    I am a two month old blogger. Today I published my first short story. You can find it here:

    http://thesilentexplorer.com/2016/02/04/self-preservation/

    I have planned to write essays and short stories about things I care about and things that have affected me in life. The short story linked above is about suicidal thoughts and hope.

    I really want to improve my writing and I would appreciate your feedback very much.

    Liked by 2 people

  8. I just started a blog which I hope will expose people to a lot of the dirt that exists behind the scenes in human services direct care. My fear is that I will come across as crude or disrespectful of the special needs community. I don’t want to hurt any special needs individuals or families of those with special needs, but I also don’t want to sugar coat the reality that the human services field is in desperate need of reform.

    If you guys could please let me know of any questions, concerns, or suggestions related to my blog over at adayinhellmanifesto.wordpress.com I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

    Liked by 2 people

  9. I just started my blog this morning. It is something I have been thinking about doing for awhile but I have finally found some time to put it together.

    I am kind of just throwing my thoughts out there, whatever comes to my head that I think would be interesting to write about.

    Please take a look if you have a second and let me know if you have any advice, it would be greatly appreciated!

    Elimination Chamber: Presidential Candidates

    Liked by 2 people

  11. Hello world!
    I started my blog not too long ago and I am constantly trying to better myself, most importantly my design layout. I’m not particularly happy with the bottom of my blog which features my social media, so if you have any knowledge of the theme I am using or any ways in which I can improve it, please let me know!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. If you go to the WordPress.com Reader — just click on “Reader” in the top-left corner of the screen — you’ll see, towards the bottom of the sidebar, the “Tags” section. If you click on “Add,” you can enter any tag you wish, then see all recent posts using the same tag. You can add as many as you wish, and they’ll automatically update with newer posts whenever you click on a tag you’re following.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. One thing that might help on the home page is an explanation of the purpose of your blog. How is it different from TBBT fan site already in place? What do you offer that they do not?

      Liked by 1 person

  16. Hi all, recently, I have subscribed to a self-hosted site and domain. I understand that wordpress have a function to direct to the new site but it cost money. In order to migrate, I know I have to import and export to the new site. However, a question I am wanting to ask, will it affect my followers and how should I re-direct my followers to the new site? I am kind of comfortable in wordpress now, but there are some restrictions on certain criteriaes. Any good suggestions will be appreciated.

    Liked by 2 people

      2. It won’t be! The WordPress.com Reader can be used to follow any blog or site with an RSS feed; any self-hosted WordPress.org site will have one. As long as you redirect your domain to your new site and the migration is done properly, people should be able to follow you in the Reader as well (I’ve seen numerous cases where blogs I’ve followed switched between WordPress.com and self-hosted — and vice versa — and their posts kept appearing in my Reader just the same.)

        Like

  18. Hi! My name is Jordana, and I have a blog called “Just A Disney Kid”, at http://www.justadisneykid.wordpress.com
    I’m 13 years old, and I’d love some feedback! If anyone has constructive criticism, awesome. I’m pretty new to this, but since I love to write it seemed like a good idea to start a blog. I post pretty frequently, too!
    Thank you so much for checking my blog out.

    Liked by 2 people

    2. While there’s a way to display all posts using one category on one page — it’s called a category page — there’s no way only show them there. If it’s absolutely crucial for you to have them on a separate feed, you might consider starting another blog (you can have as many as you wish; it’s free) dedicated solely to your prompt responses.

      Like

  20. Help Please!

    I am having the same issue again and again and can’t work out why – or how to solve it…
    When I publish a new post – as I just have – any image appears blank in the wordpress reader.
    The images are fine on the site.
    Any ideas at all would be fabulous – even where to go from here for more technical help! Oh – and while you’re at it comments on the blog very much welcome too.

    https://hannahkenwayblog.wordpress.com

    Thanks

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Why do you like those particular songs/ what about them makes you feel good? do you have memories associated with them? answering a few questions about them would make the blog more personal and people will want to read to find the answers.

      Liked by 1 person

  23. Hello dear people. Sorry, I’ve been off for a while. Hope not to have to pop off again, there’s so much beautiful content here to catch up on.
    I did something I’ve not done before, wrote on a topic from two opposing views. It was suggested to me by @crystaldailey
    Pls do come around and tell me what you think.
    First one:
    https://amyloaded.wordpress.com/2015/12/28/malicious-silence/
    The reverse:
    https://amyloaded.wordpress.com/2016/02/04/malicious-silence-reversed/
    Thank u!

    Liked by 2 people

  24. Hi Everyone, my very first post in 2 years of having my page created! indeed I am feeling very accomplished already…such big steps today! 🙂 I am apprehensive about anyone viewing my page as I am still learning how to even navigate around my own page. LOL. Your suggestions and candid comments will be well taken…thank you! You can find me here:

    https://ga345.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Hi, Dot – and welcome to blogging!

      The queen of procrastination, huh? 🙂

      I know how you feel – I have had to set myself specific, timely targets to actually keep my blog ticking over.

      I’d suggest you do the same.

      Decide how often you want to post (say, once a week) – and make it a scheduled event.

      The same way you have church on sunday, or work at 9am … you have a blog-post that’s due on saturday evening (or whatever timetable you set yourself)

      I hope that helps – and I look forward to seeing your posts, now that I’ve followed your page 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  25. Hey everyone!! I have an older blog that I recently made some updates to and would love a little feedback. It’s pretty personal and I want to make sure the design doesn’t take away from the content or anything, and that it all flows.

    I also created a second one that is more related to my career, I’ve only made one post so far but I would love some feedback about the design and any ideas!

    https://abeautifulcatastrophe1987.wordpress.com/

    https://coffeecareersconnections.wordpress.com/

    Leave a comment and I’ll be sure to check out your blogs as well! I think this is such a great resource for us to utilize and help each other!!

    Thank you!!
    Meg

    Liked by 2 people

    1. The design definitely doesn’t take away from the posts. With the personal nature of many of the articles, I can see how that would be a concern. But you have a nice style to your writing, and the site doesn’t take away from that. The only thing I would suggest is to add in a “read more” button to your longer posts to help condense the content (or space if you view it that way) between posts.

      And the “career” site looks very promising. Maybe, since it seems part of the site is to bring people together and to post good tips for your readers, move the “follow” button up higher on the page. It’s not a mind-blowing suggestion, but may help encourage readers to follow you instead of it being somewhat lost among the other widgets.

      Liked by 2 people

    2. Hi! I checked it out, and it looks like you’re on a great path to whole foods! I left a comment, and hope you take me up on following my blog, as I’m wheat/rice/oat free, so I enjoy creating and sharing healthy combos I make😃

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I would complete the “about me” page that you have..and possibly edit the picture on that page. it looks a little wide and the words are fuzzy. I liked the intro to who you are, and your enthusiasm for the product really shows. Possibly make a page with links to individual product you sell? just a thought

      Liked by 2 people

    1. I don’t know why more people aren’t following you. I have already tried a few of the recipes, and love the way you write. Maybe send a post to facebook or twitter…not that i even know what a twitter is but other people seem to do it.

      Liked by 1 person