Jan 29, 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. Hey beautiful bloggers!

    My latest post & podcast is all about growing up. I interviewed Daisy Buchanan, the author of How to Be a Grown Up about important life skills like how to be confident, how to manage money and how to wash your hair.

    https://myinstructionmanual.com/2018/01/29/how-to-be-grown-up-with-daisy-buchanan/

    You can listen to the podcast episode directly on the blog post or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, etc. I’d love to hear what you think here or on the post itself!

    Keith

    Liked by 33 people

  2. Happy Monday Everyone,

    Thank you for all of the great advice I have been getting on community pool for the last few months. On Fridays on my blog I post free vector graphics/patterns that I have created if anyone needs free graphics for their blog https://kelciemakespatterns.com/category/freebies/
    I want to improve my skills and try new things so do you guys have any suggestions on future graphics I could make as freebies? Are there any graphics you would want for your blog?
    I hope everyone has a great week.

    -Kelcie

    Liked by 31 people

    1. haven’t a clue what “vector graphics” are for…but after looking at them, I’d think some fabric printed with them would be wonderful! What exactly are they used for and realize I am an ancient person with zero comprehension……..lol

      Liked by 8 people

      1. I have never made a logo before so I don’t know if I would be any good at it, however, I want to try. I am in grad school right no so between school and keeping up with my blog it might take me some time to work on the logo but this will be good practice for me. If you don’t like it when I am finished don’t feel like you have to use it. I won’t be offended.

        Liked by 2 people

      3. No problem. I actually decided to do this because you had such a distinct picture like the eye so it will hopefully make it easier for me.

        Like

    5. This is the first time I see a blogger giving away freebies of this kind. Like someone else already mentioned, I am not 100% sure of what vector graphics really are, except that i have used one or two before… one thing I am sure will draw even more attention from this community are the logos. Other than that, your patterns are lovely! Just not sure where or how to use those in my boring blog.

      Liked by 6 people

      1. Ya so the patterns are less likely to be used on blogs and more likely for those wanting to put them on products or make them into fabric. I guess you could use some of them as background to your blog but I find that to be too busy sometimes. The graphics, however, I would use to make blog graphics. For instance, I made some makeup graphics which I thought would be good for bloggers who talk about makeup. I would specifically use it to make a title graphic for one of my posts where I would overlay one or a few of the graphics with the title of my post. Anyways, thank you for the lovely comment.

        Liked by 1 person

    6. I think this amazing! I have contact I want to connect you with and I have an idea on how we might be able to collaborate. Please email me when you get a moment. (Heather aka Down to Business Mom), just use my contact page at dtbmomblog.WordPress.com – I would like to test it to see if is working properly anyway 😉

      Liked by 3 people

    1. Hi, Priya! I took a quick peek inside your blog to see what you’ve done to it, and I sincerely like it! Everything is nicely organized and easy to navigate. And I believe the new category works because it fits you and your blog. I look forward to exploring some know, but wanted to provide my insight. Nice blog, too, by the way! 😃 Kelsey

      Liked by 6 people

    3. I liked the sentiment of the post but I think you have to carefully toe the line between encouraging mindfulness and minimalism without seeming judgmental. After all, many of your readers might be reading your blog on their smartphone, like I am right now 🙂 I think the more specific tips you give to a reader to achieve those goals, the better.

      Liked by 7 people

      1. Awesome. Thank you for your feedback. I’m still in the process of organizing the widgets on the side bar. Are you aware of how to remove unwanted widgets? The current side bar widgets are not showing up in my customized

        Like

  4. My motivation and love for blogging is coming back. Anything that people would love to see me blog about more then please leave a comment.
    This is what it’s about: I started my blog a while ago because I got scared of the fact everyone’s going to uni and starting their lives whilst I’m here on a gap year not knowing what I want to do. I thought I love to write and read so why not start a blog and so I plucked up the courage to do so. I don’t know where this will lead but I’m writing about travelling, health and food so if that interests you then this should appeal.
    So please give my blog a read and comment any tips you have for me or things you liked on certain posts as I’d really appreciate that and i’ll be sure to check yours out too.
    Thank you for your support.
    https://strawberrytravelsblog.wordpress.com

    Liked by 28 people

    1. You have such a thoughtful blog. I took an unconventional gap year after I graduated from college so I completely understand how you feel about everyone else starting their lives. It would be interesting to see your take on the gap year at the very end of it and if you think you benefited from taking a gap year.

      Liked by 3 people

      2. I hope you do that post because I would love to read it. As of last week my gap year is over since I am now in grad school, but it was good while it lasted.

        Like

    3. Checked out your blog and I think it’s good! It has a nice range of topics so for me that’s appealing, pretty honest opinions and tips/advice as well which is appreciated.

      Liked by 1 person

    7. Great decision to blog while moving through this period. I send support to you – my gap years, in my case sort of a euphemism, were scary because I couldn’t see ahead to what would happen. All I can say is not to worry…life happens, and you’ll have plenty of time to find your way.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Happy Monday swimmers! Can you believe January is nearly over? 😃

    I run a daily British English blog, though I’m American, and essentially I post a word or phrase of the day, define it, then use the word in an example. But wait— it’s much different than a dictionary definition!! I use the word in a story or poem to give readers a better grasps than a five word sentence the dictionary passes off as acceptable. All works are original. I also like to use Irish, Australian, and Scottish words, too. Oddly enough, nobody has requested American words….

    I just finished a new trilogy, if anyone’s interested! For me, it’s a suspense. I’d love to hear your opinions on it, if a longer piece is your interest. (I think total it’s round 1700 words.) They are: It Won’t Do, Plummy, and Blinking, all in a row.

    https://britwitblog.wordpress.com/2018/01/26/it-wont-do/

    If length is not your thing, I posted a short poem today.

    https://britwitblog.wordpress.com

    Now I’m off to dive right in!

    Kelsey 💫💜

    Liked by 12 people

  6. Hello hello wonderful WordPressers. Last week I celebrated my second anniversary on WordPress pulling my hair out in an exam room. I got through it okay in the end -the exam not the hair pulling (am open to suggestions for the best toupee shops in town)- and got back home to put polish on the next two parts of my microfiction series which I hope you will enjoy reading through this link:

    The Order Of The Forgers (A Microfiction Series)

    For those who’ve been following the series, am curious to hear your thoughts on my pacing with the whole series, as well as the flow of thoughts and events. Have I captured it well, where should I improve upon?

    Have a lovely week of blogging everyone!

    Liked by 17 people

  8. Hi all!
    How are you? My name is Melanie Gabrell. I have a blog called The Story Addict – because, well, I’m addicted to stories like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and so on. I often wish I lived in a book instead of reality. Anyways, on this blog I write short stories, I draw, and I ramble. Some of it you might find interesting, and I am looking for my own new stuff to read because I just can’t get enough and this is a great community.

    Please check it out and drop your link!
    https://thestoryaddict.blog/

    Have a great day : )

    Liked by 23 people

  9. Hello wonderful people and welcome to community pool of this week, recently I have taken an interest in photography and I would like to hone my skills in this field, but not forgetting to blog too don’t worry. I truly am fond of those who read what I write, rather than blindly following me. Thank you, its been a great start of this year and I am really blessed to have found some amazing bloggers through wp and insta.
    Check out my insta feed here if you would like – https://www.instagram.com/pia.majumdar/?hl=en

    And here’s my wp site- https://finallyunchained.blog/

    Liked by 14 people

      1. Heyy! Umm. I am not sure about that. I never intentionally closed my comment section. And I have had received comments in past. Could you please let me know where you found this issue? Like on which blog post or section of my blog?

        Liked by 1 person

      2. The link you provided on Community Pool. “Reckoning”.
        It’s weird, because I see the comment section under other posts of you just fine. It seems like there is an issue with your latest one.

        Like

      3. Thank you for letting me know. I just noticed my comments were off, somehow. I allowed it. But it is still not showing up on my latest post. Do you have any idea how to correct this?

        Liked by 1 person

      1. Both ways. If someday I don’t have an incident or plot in mind I just start writing random thoughts and then edit and put them together. My recent post ‘Reckoning’ is one such post, where it is just contemporary thoughts. Not based on any specific incident.

        Like

  15. Hello fellow Bloggers. Hope you are having a great first month of 2018. I am a second yr college student, studying Fashion Designing. and currently balancing between my college stuff and blogging. Although I try to post everyday so my readers aren’t disappointed.
    If you are a poetry lover, I would for you to see some of my stuff and share your feedback. Here’s one of my latest.

    Mad Mind

    If you’re a photography enthusiast, check out some stuff here.
    https://thekayasthajournal.wordpress.com/category/photography/
    If you love to see art, check out my latest artwork.

    Artful Saturdays – PC Sketch #5

    If you’re a fashion enthusiast, I have recently started blogging about it, so check it out here. https://thekayasthajournal.wordpress.com/2018/01/26/indian-fashion-in-1970s/

    Liked by 7 people

  19. Hello wonderful people and welcome to community pool of this week, recently I have taken an interest in photography and I would like to hone my skills in this field, but not forgetting to blog too don’t worry. I truly am fond of those who read what I write, rather than blindly following me. Thank you, its been a great start of this year and I am really blessed to have found some amazing bloggers through wp and insta.
    Check out my insta feed here if you would like – piamajumdar
    And here’s my wp site- https://finallyunchained.blog/
    🙂

    Liked by 10 people

  20. Hello, Hello, Hello,

    I’ve been blogging since December and I feel I’ve been growing quite slowly. Any tips or advice for me?

    Visit my page:

    wordsofosiris.wordpress.com

    Thank you for your time,
    Mr. Osiris 😀

    Liked by 12 people

    3. Firstly, it’s good to share the URL of the post you’d like us to read. It is so much easier to click on that and then I don’t lose my place in the thread when trying to give you feedback. And then share the love and read and comment on a few other blogs. 🙂
      Secondly, you can add your social media links to your blog depending on your social followers you can gain a lot of traction with that. Depending on your theme you may find a group on Facebook that you share in. My Twitter feed is rubbish to be honest, but then it’s mostly anonymous.
      Thirdly, use tags and categories up to a max of 15 combined and these help search engines find your posts. Think about titles, I’ve now three that are regularly picked up by search engines 5-6 times a week and I’m convinced that I’ve inadvertently chosen the search terms that people use for my title.
      Hope this helps. 🙂

      BTW – I’m off to visit your blog!

      Liked by 6 people

    4. I read your ‘Men in 2018’ post – great post – and FYI I’m happy for the males in my life to cook and clean and I do not think I can do it better . . . because I’d really rather not! 🙂 It’s quite insulting for females to belittle men when they see them doing traditional females chores. I grew up in a house where my dad cooked and cleaned as much as my mum and so there were no gendered chores.

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Different countries have different cultures. Wish there were no gender defined chores either, but change in mentality takes time. Apart from that men seem to have a god given superiority in certain areas which I think by time is proving to be false.

        Liked by 5 people

      1. When I think of aspiration and goals, I associate that with vibrant colors. Also, some feature images would help to break things up, I think. I think you’re on to something with your curiosity about a more inviting color scheme for this subject matter.

        Liked by 4 people

  22. Happy new year to all! I’m a little late in posting my first Manhood Monday Post of 2018 but … here goes! It’s called: “Forget the past.” Very appropriate don’t you think?
    2 minute read that I hope will inspire you.
    https://wp.me/p876wZ-UU

    Excerpt:

    I’m not much of a Disney fan, especially given their stand on recent social issues, but as a kid, the Lion King was a huge favorite in my home. There’s a part of that cartoon that really resonates with me. It’s when Rafiki tells Simba in that unforgettable accent: “It does not matta, it’s in de past!”
    Those words provide us with a great life lesson. Leave the past where it is. Don’t bring it into the present. Here are 3 reasons why:

    Liked by 12 people

    1. “something to transform your consequence into a blessing for someone else.”
      I really loved that quote in particular; as well as the post! Well done, genuinely!

      Liked by 2 people

  23. Hi everyone,
    My blog is here for support and encouragement for those who’ve been in situations such as loss, heartbreak and just trials of life. My first blog offers encouragement and solutions for getting over the holiday blues due to a break up. It’s my truth and I’m sure someone out there feels they are the only one going through it or to have gone through it. It’s lengthy but please let me know how you take it.

    I used to hate holidays!

    Liked by 14 people

    2. I’m an autistic blogger. A lot of what you’re describing is similar for me (though historically I run a little leaner on the sleep tank, and then binge on sleep about once a week after hitting a wall of pure exhaustion). Good fortune to you on this journey. I know there’s a huge community out there that feels a little less alone with every person like you laying yourself bare to them.

      Liked by 2 people

  27. My latest poem is about the demons that are inside all of us in some form or the other. And how, rising against them is purely our choice! More power to everyone.

    musingsundwindled.wordpress.com/2018/01/23/demons

    Liked by 9 people

  29. Hi everyone! My latest post was inspired by the quote “go after what you want.” It’s a nice quote but if people don’t know what they want, they won’t know where to go. I wrote a post about my process of finding out what I like and want out of life. Hope you enjoy 😊 https://wp.me/p9eZP9-2O

    Liked by 17 people