May 16, 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? Are you redesigning your blog and could use some layout or design advice from your more seasoned peers?

The Community Pool is for peer feedback and advice. Looking for more specific information? Check out some of these resources:

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).

Looking for free, self-guided courses to help you get started with your blog (or revive a dormant one)? Check out our current offerings at Blogging U.

To help us make the Community Pool a productive space for discussion, here are some tips you might find useful:

  • 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!
  • 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.
  • If you haven’t looked at our Commenting Guidelines in a while, now might be a good time.
  • No running on the deck.

Are you a new blogger looking to share your very first post? We have a special forum for bloggers just like you in our weekly First Friday posts.

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  2. Hey guys, I would love some great comments on this new post I wrote. I would definitely return the favor! Have fun swimming!

    Being happy should be easy. Like breathing, it should be automatic. Gary was fortunate and regained his ability to breathe. Others with Guillain-Barré Syndrome were not so fortunate. So for now, while we still have the power to breathe on our own, let’s use that power. Choose to breathe. Choose to be happy.

    Paralyzed Breathing and 2 Simple Steps To Be Happy Now

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Happy birthday! Or, belated birthday, probably. You have a very inspiring family and I think it was beautiful that you’re celebrating not only your life but also the lives of those who are meaningful to you.

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Hi there! I’m a new blogger, still trying to find my way around. It’s a slow process typing and fixing mistakes etc on my phone. I really should get another laptop or iPad , something a lot easier to use. Today’s post is a lighthearted ramble on what makes each of us unique 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    5. I liked the diary-style of your blog. Gives us a peek into your life (In a non-creepy way of course). Looking forward to more!

      Liked by 2 people

    3. I read your most recent post and it was one of the cutest things I have ever read. However, there doesn’t seem to be a comment button.
      You’re off to a good start. All the Best.

      Liked by 2 people

  13. Hi, I have questions about two previous posts on my website. Although similar to others in name and published in the same time period, they have received almost no visits. We did spend quite a bit of time on them, researching background information and selecting appropriate photos, so any insight would be welcome. (Today I did add slugs and excerpts, just in case.) These posts are:

    Henry Hill (Manassas National Battlefield Park)

    Cuban Diary Day 2: Squares of Old Havana

    Thanks for any help.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. both posts are very good. It could very easily be that people are so “sick” of hearing about white privilege and the civil War that they just don’t want to check out anything having to do with the subject. History buffs will visit though.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you for your insights. The Civil War is still very evident in this area, with preserved battlefields, historical markers, and the names of roads and schools. As you say, though, it is a specialized interest.

        Liked by 2 people

    2. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like WordPress has a very lively history lovers community. I completely understand your struggle; sometimes I feel like my hard work gets ignored too. Maybe the best way to get traffic is to reach out to other people and build up your own network/community. At least, that’s what I’ve been told.

      I for one think it’s awesome that your posts cover both history and culture. Your photography is beautiful as well.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thanks for your insights, and (of course) I am flattered by your comment on the photography of our blog. History as presented in school was never exciting, but if my teachers had tried your approach, I think I would have appreciated it much more! As George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Thank you! It makes me happy to know that, at the very least, I can spark in people some sort of excitement about history.

        Liked by 2 people

  15. Hey everyone! Tomorrow I’m going to have a new post and page up. As part of my bucketlist I want to go to all 50 states, all 7 continents, and all 5 oceans. I’m going to start posting about the different states, continents, and oceans that I’ve been to. I’d like to interact with people on the posts about where they’ve been in those states or continents and what they liked or didn’t like.

    Tomorrows post is all about Illinois and the places I’ve been there. It’s called “Illinois…Not just Chicago”. I talk about hostels, concerts, lakes, and hiking. Come check it out tomorrow 🙂
    https://cee91blog.wordpress.com

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Your site is well-organized, easy to navigate, and easy to read. You have a good About page. The tags on your latest post seemed appropriate. You might want to consider putting posts into Categories. Once you have many posts, it would make it easier for a reader to find the ones of most interest of they were grouped into Categories. Of course, the latest posts will still show up on your Home page. You can put the Categories in your Menu. https://gracelead.co

      Liked by 1 person

    2. I think that was a beautiful story with a great message. The ending was quite poignant. I also agree with paminat0r below that grammar is an issue; however, it’s very easy to fix so don’t worry. From one creative writer to another, good luck!

      Liked by 2 people

      2. I totally understand. Sometimes I only realize a mistake I made AFTER I publish something. Ahh, such is the life of a writer 😉

        Liked by 2 people

    3. I just did the exact same thing. Blogger was poorly executed, and I enjoy the community aspect of WordPress as well. I hope you’re enjoying it as much as I am!
      Check out my page if you feel like it. (:
      mariandemma.wordpress.com

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Oh yes …. Its too good over here. However at first I was confused in relocating or not … I had 3k pageviews over there but WordPress is totally worth it 💟
        Yeah sure , I would love to read , hope you will read mine too !😍

        Liked by 2 people

  20. Hello! I am a brand-new blogger, and I’m looking for some constructive criticism. I only have an intro post and another short post musing about nature and solitude–reading will take a couple minutes only! (: Please, please, please offer advice and responses!
    whirlysquirrel.wordpress.com

    Liked by 1 person

  21. Hey everyone!
    I’m a brand new blogger, and I just published a new post.
    I would love to hear your thoughts, and all constructive criticism is welcome!
    Please take a couple minutes and read my thoughts on solitude and finding inner peace and a connection with nature.
    Thanks so much!

    Desiderata

    Like

    3. I like your writing style. I think you’ve got the beginnings of a great blog 🙂

      Like

  26. Hey everyone!
    I am a blogger from Iceland. I started blogging this spring to help teach myself better English. I cover a variety of topics ranging from literature, history, poetry and more. I would love some feedback on my site. Thank you for your time, t.thenightshiftguy

    Liked by 1 person

  28. Hello All,

    I’ve been blogging for a whille but I am still extremely technically challenged. I just enrolled in blogging 101 and the first assignment is to publish my first blog. However, since I’m not a new blogger I didn’t think I met the criteria to add the link to First Fridays so I’m adding it here since I do need some help. I am having difficulties seeing my entire categories list when I’m trying to publish and therefore cannot add the post to the correct category prior to publishing. Example: In this post I want to add it to the category travel and sub-category Kenya but the list won’t show up and I don’t know how to make it appear. Thanks in advance for your help.

    https://onbecomingmyself.com/2016/05/18/my-two-month-trip-to-kenya/

    Liked by 1 person

    2. Hello! I double checked your account, and was able to see the categories — including the sub-categories — when viewing your post in the editor. Are you still experiencing this issue? If so, please feel free to contact our Support team, at help@wordpress.com. Thanks!

      Liked by 1 person