Jan 8, 2018 / 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. HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE. 🎉🎊HOPE EVERYONES NEW YEAR IS TURNING OUT GREAT!! I JUST STARTED BLOGGING NEED AS MUCH ADVICE AS POSSIBLE, below is a link to my site

    About

    Give them a read let me know what you think ☺️ thank you 🙏

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Good start. I would consider adding a page with a list of your posts, because otherwise, one has to look hard to find it (at the bottom of the page under recent posts). They should be easier to access.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Hey I just checked out your post and I loved it! I really liked how detailed your pictures and instructions were. Unlike lot of other posts you actually showed me what to do. I also saw that you. had many other great posts easily accessible on the side. I would have left a comment but I did not want to put in my email. Sorry but I will be checking you out again soon: )

      Like

    1. I see what you mean. Is there a way to make the buttons bigger or more noticeable? If not, maybe consider writing it as a series instead? Another possibility would be making the pages shorter and adding more of them, perhaps. Great post, though!

      Liked by 4 people

      1. thank you for the response! in the past i have done that, separated posts into several parts. however, this was already part of a series so i didn’t want to do a series within a series.

        Like

    2. Please let me know if you find the answer to this. I’ve recently stumbled upon the page break myself and have it waiting for my next lengthier post. I was under the impression that the next page link would be right under the end of the post. In your case I see this is not the case. Kinda sucks.

      Like

  6. Hi everyone! Happy new year!
    I’ve been blogging for a few months now and getting to know a lot of great bloggers through the pool! I have been a little distracted lately, as I have just finished a drat of a book and sent it off to a few people to read (Which is incredibly scary!!) deciding on my next move, and leaning towards self publishing. Anyone have tips?

    Anyway, I’d love to connect with more of you now that I have a window of time to explore more! I love reading new things. I write stories, draw, and ramble. You can check it out here: https://thestoryaddict.blog/

    Liked by 12 people

  7. Hey there, I have created my wordpress site and would really appreciate any feedback. I added a feedback page but I don’t have enough traffic to get any feedback lol 😂 http://www.mariecooperactor.wordpress.com I intend on running through the blogging tutorials on here at some point, when I have time, but I’m studying at the moment and am hellishly busy with coursework. Thanks 🙂

    Liked by 8 people

      1. Thank you. I have to submit all my coursework by this Wednesday. Little stressed at the mo. Still a whole essay to write as yet 😮

        Well, ‘Non-alchoholic’ student. That’s definitely a niche lol 😀 I think every society at my uni involves meeting at some drinking venue or another. I don’t think I would be able to make it through my degree with out it. That and copious amounts of caffeine.

        I very much like the way you write. It’s so very genuine and deeply reflective. It’s great to read your experiences of uni from a different perspective 🙂 I love how your blog is set out to. Wonderfully clear and uncluttered.

        Thanks again, from a fellow introvert and occassional wobbler 😀

        Like

    2. Your site looks great. I skipped to your blog (since the rest doesn’t really pertain to me) and really enjoyed your “humpback whale” post. You have a nice voice. Hope to hear more from you.

      Like

  9. Hi everyone!

    Happy New Year!! 🙂 I hope you all have had a good start to the new year!

    I write blog posts about books and lifestyle, if that interests you feel free to check out my blog!
    https://gracesholeyear.wordpress.com

    I’ve been thinking of making some changes to my blog/layout. Is there anything that stands out to you, or doesn’t? Any feedback is welcome! – Grace

    Liked by 6 people

  10. hey everyone,

    i have an exciting series happening on my blog right now called ‘Dear South Africa’ in which i invited some really good friends of mine to write the letter they would write if they knew the whole of South Africa would read it. Even if you’re not from my country, these are worth a read:

    Dear South Africa – Intro

    But for those who LOVE FUNNY, this week my hashtag game totally outdid itself and apart from rising to number 1 in the USA and the UK we had so many great tweets for our best of list that we had to run it over two posts – the tag was #AnimalTopTwentySongs and so puns and cleverness galore, but do yourselves a favour and see how clever people are:

    A Frikkin Hashtag: #AnimalTopTwentySongs part I

    Hope you have an amazing week
    love brett fish

    Liked by 4 people

  11. Hello to all the readers and writers out here!

    Kindness is something that this world needs a lot of. We all need to be kind and selfless in order to make this world a better place to live in. Isn’t it?
    I wrote a poem which portrays the need for the same! I would love to know what you think about it!

    Here’s the link to my poem:

    Rise

    Hope you like it! Would be glad to receive feedbacks!
    With love,
    Meher

    Liked by 7 people

    1. LOVE your blog! You articulate things perfectly and without a hint of hesitation or self-consciousness…you are an inspiration.

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Great, I’m glad that you are interested! I hope you will come along for the journey and stay tuned for future posts.

        In what ways do you think we had similar ideas for starting our blogs?

        Liked by 1 person

      2. The premise of my blog is that I can’t stand to see the way Christians mistreat people, and unless I read your post wrong (which I definitely may have done), it looks like you’re tired of how people mistreat people with disabilities. We’re both fed up in that way. Am I misreading?

        Liked by 1 person

      3. No, you’re not wrong! I was just curious what parallels you were seeing. I don’t like to make assumptions about others’ thoughts. I agree, we are both unsatisfied with the status quo and are trying to change that!

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Great post. Your list of forthcoming releases (and the re-treading of the same movies / formats) seems to be unquestionable. Regarding the comparison between now and the mid-90s – hmm, you might be right about a drop in quality – but maybe it’s just that the current films need a bit of time to become defined as ‘classics’.

      You’re certainly right the ‘Shawshank’ is a stand-out. I’ve not watched that for years, must check it out again!

      JB / http://www.dynamicstasis.blog

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks! You’re right in that time will tell regarding Globes/Oscar winners of this decade. Although I don’t think there’s necessarily been a drop in quality (and I don’t have much to go on, as I miss most of the nominees lately). It just feels that award winners and the big office hits don’t overlap as much as they used to.

        Although admittedly Shawshank didn’t do well at the box office, it only became a household name in the years following.

        Liked by 1 person

  18. Hello all!

    I posted about rold models in the information age yesterday — how we see and relate to role models through social media. It’s interesting to think about.

    Coming up is a roundup of what I’ve been reading in December, and a reflective post on the person I’ve been this past year — I didn’t realize how stressed she was until I finally got a moment to breathe.

    http://www.missionincomplete95.wordpress.com

    Liked by 5 people

      2. Well, your writing deserves it. Also, you follow similar ideas as I do but through a different lens. Keep writing 😉 (but don’t expect the manual any time soon 😂 )

        Like

    1. It’s so much fun to start a blog! It might be slightly overwhelming to navigate at first but it becomes easier! Best wishes to you:)

      Like

    1. I think being true to your heart and having fun with what’s your creating is amazing. I recently read the Bible all the way through last year and it was awesome!

      Liked by 1 person

    2. The way you used block quotes in the linked post makes it seem like it’s not that much, especially since you only chose three biblical excerpts to analyze and didn’t linger too long on each one. However, 1000-word posts are definitely not blurbs. Coming from a journalism background, an average article would be 500 words. Stories/posts that are 1000+ words are considered features. Whenever you’re writing a post, just keep in mind who you’re trying to reach/what you’re trying to accomplish with that post. For example, are you trying to entice someone who may only have a passing curiosity to keep reading? If so, keep it under 1000 words and reserve longer articles for topics that would require a deeper interest in the subject matter. The structure of a story is something else to also keep in mind. In my opinion, your linked article is a good balance of both types of readers because of how you structured it. The post doesn’t look like a huge body of text, nor does it sound like one either because of the block quotes. They break up the text and adds another voice. Just be careful not to overuse them in a single post. Hope this helps!

      Liked by 7 people

      1. Thanks De Leon, that really helps! I have no background in journalism, so it’s good to know what a word count guide should be for each type of article. I also appreciate your opinion about the block quotes–I’m always afraid they’re too long or there are too many! I’ll keep your information in mind for future posts.

        Liked by 1 person

    3. Though I prefer shorter posts, I agree with De Leon that yur block quotes help break up your post visually so it doesn’t seem as long. For me, the second paragraph seemed like a tangent and unnecessary to the point you are making. Overall, I found your post a good read. Your plan is ambitious; however, if you are determined, I’m convinced you can do it 🙂 https://gracelead.co

      Liked by 3 people

      1. Hi Paminator! Thank you for your kind words. I’m always worried I’m rambling, so I’ll try to keep that in mind for my next posts! I’m glad you enjoyed the read–I’d say the same of your blog, but it seems to be private. Awesome! Diaries are private things, and I’m glad you have a good sense of boundaries for yourself.

        Like

  26. ‘The King Within’ is the story of Chandragupta’s rise to power, his helplessness against the will of destiny and the remorse he felt while turning against his own kin. It’s the story of love, friendship, betrayal and how power can render even the most supreme man weak in his knees.

    Book Review – ‘The King Within’

    Wishing everyone a very happy new year❤️

    Liked by 6 people

  29. Hello, WordPress community. I am in need of some advice. A few months ago I wrote a couple of posts about my travel experience, which in my opinion were written with the same style more or less. Yet, one post has done well while the other, not so much.
    Here’s the link to both my posts with the first one being the post which has more views and likes as compared to the other.

    Travel North India 2.0

    Travel- North India

    I would really appreciate some pointers or any suggestions on how to improve or bridge the gap as I’m looking forward to posting a few more travel posts. Thanks in advance.

    Like