Aug 28, 2017 / Community Pool

Community Pool

Where WordPress bloggers support each other with 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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    1. Hello Ida, thanks for the ‘heads up’ on KMW’s site. It sounds good from your description. I have her book, Structuring Your Novel, on audiobook but haven’t listened to it yet. It came very well recommended though. Looking forward to checking out her site, and the audiobook too!

      Liked by 13 people

    2. The blog is nice and clean. And thanks for sharing this book. surely will give it a try, don’t actually plan to write a whole novel, but it might help in improving in my general writing skills.

      Liked by 12 people

    11. Hi, I just followed the link to your blog and I totally love it. The design is fantastic and attractive. What WordPress Theme are you using please? Did you have to do any resigning or you simply installed it and began using it. I would appreciate a feedback. Thanks.

      Liked by 6 people

      1. I think the name of the theme is “Nucleare”. I’ve customized it a bit, changed the colours, added a background image, made a kind of “cameo” with a picture of mine… that sort of thing. ^_^

        Liked by 1 person

    15. Ida, I scrolled through and read a number of your posts and they’re all just so insightful as to how exactly you go about writing everything, it’s lovely to read! In fact, I landed on the post about repetitions and loved it, although it felt a bit similar to something I’d read before, and then I scrolled down to the comments and realised that I have actually read it before haha

      Shall continue to read, and hope you’d do the same with some of my writing – it’s all arranged by poem/story/reviews along the top of the site 🙂
      justaplatypus.wordpress.com

      Liked by 4 people

    16. Thank you Ida! I’m a new blogger and actually came here to ask what course should I take to improve my writing skills. I’m thinking of going back to school. But I would consider reading KM Weiland’s books and articles for now.

      Liked by 3 people

      1. Haha, KM Weiland’s last newsletter was on her favourite books for writers. Also, if you don’t know Writer’s Digest, it’s one of the best sources out there. And my absolute most favourite book on writing in general is “On Writing Well” by William Zinsser.

        But yeah, books don’t beat courses. I’m actually taking one this fall at the University of Toronto (online). I’m very excited about it!

        Good luck in your writing!

        Liked by 2 people

    3. Hi Shreya. I so loved your post. I can so relate to it. I too sometimes feel like I’m backpaddling in a world that seems to have lost old fashioned values. Whatever happened to love that was raw and tugged at your heart? Great post. I’m following your blog!

      Liked by 5 people

      1. Hi Ukdicha, well what a compliment! Seriously there are some great videos on YouTube about WordPress, and plenty cover basic things, not just advanced stuff. But I hope my article is a useful reference point to start from. Thanks!

        Liked by 3 people

      3. Well, you learn something new every day, as they say! I’d never heard of a ‘modak’ before. Just been reading all about them! Thought ukdicha modak might have been Bulgarian or something LOL (steamed sweet dumplings for others who don’t know :-))

        Liked by 2 people

    4. This is such a great post and very helpful. I definitely agree with all the ideas you’ve listed. Thank you for sharing. I’m 2 months into my blog and these tips will be really help. If you have a second could you check out some of my writings and let me know what you think? I’d really appreciate it. thanks. https://bloggerinablogworld.com

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Seriously ? You’ve been doing this just for 2 months ! You have so many interesting posts from GoT to music to poems and what not ! Respect. I think have you not enabled the like button, you might wanna check that.

        Liked by 6 people

      2. I try to post everyday. It’s been a lot of fun and expands my horizons. I will definitely check that out when I get home today. Thank you so much for taking the time to check out my blog/writings.

        Liked by 5 people

      3. Hi Holly,
        Thank you very much. I had a look at your blog and the overall appearance is lovely, especially for just two months!! I followed you via the pop up generic icon but I think you could add some of the widgets I mention, especially the ‘follow button’ and maybe the ‘my community’ one. Also, you should enable likes and comments. Right now we can’t give you that feedback. That’s via dashboard/settings/sharing.

        Also, the category menu is good, we can select what interests us and there aren’t too many posts to scroll through right now as it’s early days and there are a lot of categories. When the number of posts per categories gets large you could maybe think about drop down menus. There’s a very good video on that, embedded in my article.

        One other thing, you’ve used one of the WP headers, not one of my favourites TBH, so I’d recommend changing that to something more in tune with the theme of your blog. That’s via the customizer.

        Good luck with your blog and I’ll look forward to reading more from you!

        Liked by 3 people

      4. Thank you so much for the input! I will definitely look into these more this weekend when I have some time to get lost in my blog. Yeah, I’ve been thinking about the header- I havent found anything I really like yet. But I totally get what you’re saying with that. Again- Thank you so mich for the insight!

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Hi Holly, you’re welcome, and with regard to the header, you can go to themes/customize/header image and click ‘randomize suggested headers.’ Then your visitors would get some variety whilst you decide on a better one/better ones. In fact I might just do that myself with my uploaded header images!

        I would type into Google what the theme of your blog is, and click on images. Then see what comes up and carry on from there.

        Anyway, best of luck with the tips in the article!

        Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you! I think it covers a lot of the areas that give problems (well, they gave ME problems!) so hopefully will set people off in the right direction, along with all the stuff on the internet and YouTube. The point is that a lot of that is quite advanced and I wanted to address more basic things, but still in sufficient depth.

        Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank you Traci, and thanks for tweeting it, as you’ve got a lot of followers.

        I joined twitter earlier in the year but only started using the account last week (simonjwood@2CutAShortStory) and just followed you. Very interesting bio BTW. There’s actually a (proper) witchcraft shop in my local town!

        Liked by 3 people

      2. You’re very welcome, Simon! I just found you on Twitter and followed you back. I’ve had an account for ages, but only started really focusing on tweets & such earlier this year. It’s been a great way for me to connect with other bloggers.

        That’s wicked cook that you have a witchy shop nearby! Seems like more and more of us are stepping out of the broom closet every day. *grin*

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Hi Traci, wow, well you got a lot of Twitter followers pretty quickly then! Anyway, it’s something new and interesting for me to explore. I’ve not had many referrals yet, except for an article which is stored as a page not a post, about 40 views so far via Twitter. I didn’t ‘post’ it as it’s probably not of interest to anyone outside the UK but it’s selectable under Blog in the menu. for anyone interested (It’s about the ‘Putney Bridge Jogger’ affair).

        A lady in my village told me she was interested in witchcraft and once kitted out her children with talismans. Also, if you haven’t seen it, I wrote a story called If Two Witches Were Watching. It’s essentially a completely true story. I’d never have been able to think it up otherwise!

        https://simonjwood.wordpress.com/2017/04/09/if-two-witches-were-watching-400-word-version/

        Liked by 2 people

      4. Coolness! Excellent story – I’ve bookmarked it to share next week for my #WitchBlogWed Twitter hash tag party (say that three times fast – LOL)! Great connecting with you, and be sure to shout out if you have any social media questions – I’ll be a bit scarce for the next few days, but I’ll be sure to get back to you as soon as I can. 😀

        Liked by 1 person

      5. That’s great Traci, I’ll have a look at that hashtag myself on Wednesday, it sounds interesting.

        In fact I did ask the lady if she was on the internet, as it was basically a private witch museum. She seemed surprised and said no. She did say that she was frequently visited by a well known male witch though, a ‘warlock’ I suppose, or is it a wizard?!

        Yes, it was a weird experience all right. She even said I could live there. They were looking for a lodger!!

        Anyway, thanks for the social media offer. I may well take you up on that!

        Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you Josypheen. I replied to your blog comment, and yes, I hope the ideas will help to save people time and frustration!

        As I mention in the article, I love the ‘my community’ widget. It brightens up the page, comes in three flavours and takes a couple of minutes to install once you know about it! I always thought it was something really advanced when I saw it on other people’s blogs!

        Liked by 3 people

      1. Oooh thank you. Living in Japan was fun I keep meaning to write more posts about my experiences there, but then so many fun things are happening this summer that I didn’t get around to it.

        I’ll probably write more once it starts raining this Autumn!

        Liked by 1 person

  5. Hey everyone ! How are ya’ll ! Coming back after a long time actually. Here’s my recent post. Not sure what form of literature it is 😅 ! I think it kinda lies somewhere between a shortstory and poem. Have a look, and please clear this confusion for me. Also view my other posts named ‘sometimes…’ and ‘i’m coloured and i know it’ , not putting the links , just to keep it neat. Hope you enjoy 😇 . All feedback and criticism is appreciated.

    Gather ye rosebuds while ye may !

    Liked by 25 people

    1. Yay another writer. I enjoy all kind of blogs but love finding more writer blogs. I really enjoyed the peice you shared. I love the “My Space” area of the of the post. It’s so true we write for our humanity and to share it with the world. Thank you so much for sharing this. If you have a second could you check out some of my writings and let me know what you think? I’d really appreciate it. https://bloggerinablogworld.com

      Liked by 7 people

    4. Great poem, I really enjoyed it. Shall check out more of your writing for sure 🙂 I’d appreciate if you did the same, I write a lot of poems, some short stories and recently, a lot of reviews; so do check it out! justaplatypus.wordpress.com

      Liked by 3 people

    1. Great post – I love yoga it’s so relaxing it doesn’t feel like exercise! The photos are fantastic too. Followed 🙂

      Liked by 8 people

    5. I need to start doing this again!!!! I have been practicing yoga for over 3 years now, and I’m more of the YouTube yoga practicing variety vibe if that’s a thing 😅, but recently it seems I’ve allow life to dictate my time. I always tell myself 5 minutes is better than nothing, but the longest routine I do nowadays it seems is 15-25 minutes. I miss my 45 minutes to an hour plus sessions. You have inspired me to kick my butt back into shape and start increasing my practicing increments. Also, I’m so happy you’re enjoyed the challenge!!! THAT was the main thing I meant to say instead of rambling on about myself. Yikes. 😆😅
      I would like to point out I really like the layout and flow of your blog! It’s a lovely design. Thank you very much for sharing and I wish you the best! 💫

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Well I definitely appreciate you sharing your story and I love your enthusiasm! It’s clear yoga means a lot to you and you should definitely spend time doing the things you love. I’m so happy I could inspire you, I wish you the best as well, and I hope you get back to the Yoga life!

        Also thanks for the feedback on my layout I’ve been playing with it over the past couple weeks and I’m glad you like it!

        Liked by 4 people

      2. Certainly! I do really like it. And thank you for the support. 🙂 You are correct: we should spend time doing what we love.

        Liked by 3 people

    6. Really enjoyed your post, I really like how you’ve written it. I’m now a follower 😁. If you’d like other hobbies to try I have a card making blog with how to’s. If you try any let me know, I’d love to see/hear

      Liked by 2 people

    1. The layout of your page is phenomenal! Very eye catching and easy to navigate. You’re most recent post is great as well. I’ve been wanting to do some more traveling lately and this post just makes me want to pack my luggage right now!

      Liked by 8 people

    1. Thank you so much for sharing this post. I’ve been blogging for about 2 months and I definitely think all these tips are helpful. I was nervous to interact with people at first but once I took the steps it’s been so rewarding and made blogging more fun. If you have a second could you please check out my blog/writings and let me know what you think? I’d really appreciate it. Thanks! https://bloggerinablogworld.com

      Liked by 4 people

    3. Really good tips, thank for sharing. After reading some more community pool posts I’ll be off to browse through Pinterest 😁

      Liked by 3 people

  13. Hello everyone. I invite you to come check my blog and give some reviews on how I could improve my blog as a whole, regarding writing style, writing topics and overall overview of the blog. Any critiques, constructive or otherwise are very welcome. Thanks.

    Liked by 17 people

      1. Thank you, I was hoping people could visit my blog just by clicking on my name itself, but as I see it, clicking on the name only opens it in the reader mode. Thanks a lot. Will check out your blog too.

        Liked by 6 people

      1. Thank you. I’m happy you enjoyed it. Although, when I realized how old I was getting, I was not happy at all. I guess it’s just part of life, I suppose. XD

        Liked by 6 people

    5. This was a great and fun read. I shared it with some of the ladies I work with as well. They all laughed and agreed with you. Thank you for sharing this post and brightening a very boring office day. If you have a second will you please check out my blog/writings and let me know what you think? I’d really appreciate it. Thank you! https://bloggerinablogworld.com

      Liked by 6 people

      1. Thank you for reading. I’m happy you liked it. Please tell your coworkers that I’m glad it made you guys laughed. I’m smiling right now. I’m happy it brightened your day, if only just a little. 😀

        Of course, I would love to take a look at your blog as soon as possible. 😀

        Liked by 4 people

      1. Thank you.
        I don’t think your follow went through. I didn’t get any notification, but thank you for following me! 😀

        Liked by 5 people

      1. Thank you. I’m glad it made you happy. 🙂

        I cannot imagine life without dairy. That is a crime against humanity.

        Liked by 3 people

    1. I’m so glad I came across your blog post. Your poetry is phenomenal. I loved Summertime fight. The words you used and the phrasing made it flow so well. I followed you so I can see more. If you have a second could you please check out my blog/writings and let me know what you think? I’d really appreciate it. Thank you! https://bloggerinablogworld.com

      Liked by 6 people

      1. Thank you for taking the time to read it and it’s always great to hear that one of my poems can blow someone away. I’d love to hear what you think of some of the other poems on the site if you have the time?

        Liked by 5 people

    2. I really appreciate your writing style. Your words flow elegantly. Thank you for sharing. Interacting with other bloggers has grown my site and made blogging so much fun. I also post on the daily prompt and use the word to create a poem. Then I post to a twitter account that I made just for my blog. There’s so many supportive bloggers on twitter as well and twitter handles there just to retweet you. I’ve only been blogging for 2 months but that’s some of the things I do. I hope some of these help. If you have a second could you please check out my blog/writings and let me know what you think? I’d really appreciate it. Thanks! https://bloggerinablogworld.com

      Liked by 6 people

    5. Beautiful poem.
      As to how to grow your audience, I’d suggest two things:
      The first is your tagging. Remember WordPress is okay with up to fifteen Categories and Tags. You’ve used six, poetry twice, and one is spelled wrong; it’s relationships. 🙂
      Check out https://wordpress.com/tags for more ideas, but I’d suggest adding Poems, Personal, Thoughts, Musings, Reflections. Devotion, Marriage, Romance.
      The other thing is to hang out with other poets by checking other postings in Poems and Poetry. Poets love and share poems; it’s not everyone else’s cup of tea.

      Liked by 7 people

  22. Hello all!
    I’m back from a slump with a number of reviews this week – been doing one each day of the week. They vary in length, style, and type of movie, so do check out whichever appeals to you most and let me know what you think!
    Following – https://justaplatypus.wordpress.com/2017/08/23/following-a-review-schedule/
    Lipstick Under My Burkha – https://justaplatypus.wordpress.com/2017/08/24/2846/
    Passengers – https://justaplatypus.wordpress.com/2017/08/26/passengers-choices/

    Like

    2. Social media is great to see reactions to creativity. I have a twitter I post my blog posts too. I love the idea of combining photos and music. It brings the song together in a different light. Thank you for sharing and keep up the great work. If you have a second could you please check out my blog/writings and let me know what you think? I’d really appreciate it. Thanks! https://bloggerinablogworld.com

      Liked by 6 people

      1. Social media really helps for sure. I have FB, Twitter, Tumblr, even a YouTube channel to promote. The order I just put them in is the highest to lowest number of views I get off of them! But that is just me of course. Thanks for your comment. I gave you a follow and will check out more of your posts. My initial thought is it looks great and I like how it is a bit of everything.

        Liked by 5 people

      3. Whatever works, that is all that counts! Part of what helps with FB for me is that most of the artists I write about have some sort of FB presence, or a tribute page. So I always try to get those pages to share it. Usually I try a combination of both. Tumblr I still don’t really ‘get’ lol

        Liked by 6 people

    5. I love a good food blog. Yours is really good. The writing is easy to follow and the images are well placed. Though I am not a vegan, I have been looking for a way to alter my diet and would love to follow your blog.

      Liked by 2 people

    1. I know the feeling of being early to community pool, and knowing that so many great new bloggers will now have the chance to discover you haha
      Thanks for the blogging tips, hope to read more from you!

      Liked by 4 people

      3. Ah had that as well. It might be because askimed? marked your comment as spam, you need to text them to fix it (if that’s the problem). It might be the internet as well. But it’s super disappointing indeed 😩

        Liked by 2 people

    3. I like your blog, an interesting mix of different topics. Looking forward to reading future posts, I’m now following

      Liked by 2 people