Aug 7, 2017 / Community Pool

Community Pool

Where bloggers come together to give each other feedback and advice.

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 more information about custom domains, advanced design options, and other enhancements for your blog? Find the WordPress.com plan that’s right for you.

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.

To help us make the Community Pool a productive space for discussion, here are some tips and guidelines 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, as well as for not starting numerous threads in a single Pool.
  • 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. Also note that including multiple links in your comment might automatically put it in the moderation queue, which will delay its publication.
  • 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.

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.

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    3. I read your piece The Endless Journey and thoroughly enjoyed it. I love the picture you used and found the writing for it compelling. I also like that you showed how the picture inspired you and brought you to create your finished product.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank you! Sometimes I’m hesitant to narrate exactly what led to the piece because I want to give readers the freedom to interpret it however they want. But I’m really glad that you liked it! Appreciate the feedback 😀

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Nice looking blog with good content as well based on a quick look. I know opinion varies on both of the suggestions I might make, but just a thought. First, I wonder if you want a little bit more text before you insert the ‘continue reading’ link. Not too much, but maybe just a bit more so you can decide whether you will commit to reading the full post. Second, this might be a layout restriction, but maybe you might try your social media links on the side of the page? This all might be stuff you have done before but just a thought.

      Liked by 2 people

      2. No problem! By no means is it a ‘must have’ but anything you can do to get people to see your alternative sites-Facebook page for your blog, twitter, Instagram, etc. I actually write out the link on the bottom of each post, but have them towards the top right of every post so I am doubly covered!

        Liked by 2 people

      1. Hello! I’m glad it works. I was worried it wasn’t organized/simple enough. I like the content 🙂 my two main suggestions would be to change the background color. It’s the first thing I noticed. White sounds boring but it’ll make your content pop. Ivory is also good. The yellow feels a little overbearing to me. I use a CSS website to pick my colors. If you want, I can give you the link. The other suggestion would be to add more to your header/banner. Because of the background, it blends in and I’m not immediately drawn to it. I used Canva (free only graphic site) to design mine. Overall though, it’s a good site. Please let me know if you want those links!

        Liked by 4 people

      2. Thank you for the suggestions Ari 🙂 I’d love those links. I tend to go overboard customizing. You’d think being an artist would make that easy for me but there are just too many possibilities. Hopefully these sites will help me make a final decision lol.

        Liked by 2 people

    2. I finally got the chance to visit your blog and I think it’s great, content wise. I do think you have too many tags though. Maybe you can limit it to 5 tags. Hope that helps. 🙂

      Liked by 3 people

    3. Love the layout and content of your blog ❤ "When life Awakens" is such a beautiful title to me. I agree with your latest post in that following your dreams you will always find opportunities coming your way. It's hard to remember at times, scary even to be yourself over trying to play to an audience. I find myself having a hard time pinning down one identity for my site and my self– something your blog has a very solidified sense of to me. I'd love some suggestions if you have the time. Here's a link to my blog:

      http://www.talking2myselves.com

      Liked by 3 people

  11. Hello everyone!!!! Hope all has been well! 😃

    I post daily fiction stories with a guide in British words and phrases. It just go happens that today’s is a Scottish word! 😁 I’d love for any and all feedback.

    https://britwitblog.wordpress.com

    Also, does anyone have strong feelings one way or another about paying for a domain? I’m contemplating and would appreciate insight. Cheers! 💫

    Liked by 9 people

    2. Hi and welcome!! Your layout looks great and I think you’ll have a lot to discuss as you continue to blog. One tiny little thing I noticed was on your main page you still have some filler text that says it’s an excerpt of a blog post. Best of luck!! 💫

      Liked by 2 people

  14. I’m struggling with my blog, I have a couple short stories posted but can seem to get folks to leave a comment, good or bad 😦 working with this layout is driving me insane…but I will keep trying 🙂

    Liked by 9 people

    1. Just got done reading through your stories. I think they’re great. As a suggestion to your problem, maybe you can add more tags in your posts. Posting in the community pool is always a good idea if you want people to visit your blog too. Also, visiting other blogs and leaving a comment or a like, makes people notice you as well. 🙂

      Liked by 5 people

    1. You might want to make sure you have a wordpress for business. If you only have basic wordpress or wordpress premium you won’t be able to use Google Adsense. I had the same issue a few months ago! I upgraded to wordpress premium and with that you get “adwords” which is just like Google Adsense but specifically for wordpress. You should also look into amazon affiliates if you are thinking about monetizing your blog. I hope this helps! 🙂

      Liked by 3 people

      2. No problem! I had the exact same issue in May and it took me weeks to figure out why it wasn’t working! Upgrading to premium is worth it if you are wanting to get into the advertising aspect of blogging. Amazon affiliate is also really great for learning how to monetize it as well! I only have a few amazon links in some of my blogs. It’s all a learning process!

        Liked by 3 people

  17. Hey Inquisitive writers! I write about mostly everything: travel, poetry, debatable topics, blogging tips, lifestyle posts, and more. You Inquisitive enough to check out my blog?
    theinquisitivewriter.com

    Liked by 7 people

  21. Looking for a fun blog? Here it is-The ☝variety blog that you have been waiting for is here: KALEIDOSCOPE, the WordPress-hosted blog that is chock-full of posts that cover so many topics, plus a whole lot more! So the very next time that you are 👀-ing for a fun blog that you can 😆, 💘, and learn along to, look no further than KALEIDOSCOPE! Join in the fun and become a follower today at http://www.j2w7.wordpress.com! KALEIDOSCOPE:It’s Time To Get COLORFUL! Take ❤, With 💘-JW

    Liked by 5 people

  23. I just wanted to thank you for making this process a little easier to understand. I have no idea what I am doing and am just trying to figure everything out slowly, while lol surviving. I’m going to be spending a lot of time in hospital waiting areas in the next few months and am needing something to focus on; thus my blog. For someone such as I, who really does not have any clue what I’m doing, your content is easy to understand and follow. Exactly what I need. Again, thank you.

    Liked by 6 people

  28. Everyone is a mystery and every life is an answer or key to the treasure.

    The strength and power of a girl, empowers her weakness and strength.

    Who is she?

    Read. Relate. Review.

    Who is she?

    I have now become more of a random blogger than specific and thoughtful. Maybe it is good or it ain’t but, it is definitely interesting.

    So, my random morning blogging.

    I am a fish who is not fishy.

    Read. Relate. Review.

    Liked by 8 people

      2. Hi, thanks so much! It was actually written as an entry for a Writers’ Forum Flash Fiction competition, in which you had to write a ‘Humorous Postcard From Abroad,’ whilst ‘telling a story between the lines.’ (The result will be out in about a week’s time). I wasn’t even sure whether to post it TBH but it’s been surprisingly popular!

        Liked by 1 person