Dec 15, 2014 / 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? Did you recently start your blog and could use some layout or design advice from your more seasoned peers?

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).

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

TIP: 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.

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

Photo by Brian Cantoni.

Show Comments

630 Comments

Comments are closed.

Close Comments

Comments

      1. Thanks Steve. I’ve gotten that feedback before, so I’m going to need to do something about it. 😉 I’ve been rather busy recently, but I’ll add it to my list of stuff to work on on my blog. 🙂

        I like how your blog doesn’t really have a theme. You just post what you want to post without worrying about sticking to a certain theme. 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Yeah i think you eventually work out what you post about a lot though. I had a lot of music posts which is why I recently decided to create a separate music blog. Thanks!

        Liked by 1 person

    4. I agree, I’m a photo lover, and think it could use a bit more. Fantastic writing however, If photos aren’t for you, your content is still very strong. Check mine out, let me know what you think ! 🙂 carelessfolks.com

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you for the insightful feedback. I’ll have to see if I feel that photos would add to my blog or not. 🙂 It’s good to know that my content is still strong, even without photos. I do like to include photos of the imprisoned Christians I write about, because there’s just something about providing a face to the person you’re talking about.

        I looked at your blog and like how you’re sharing your adventures with people! (And your many pictures!) 😉

        Like

      2. Oh, and for a blog like yours, I’d recommend adding the Follow widget that allows people who aren’t on WordPress to follow you via email, should anybody like that come across your blog and want to follow you. 🙂 Let me know if you don’t know how to add widgets (no offense), and I’ll tell you how. 🙂

        Like

      1. Thank you! I encourage you to keep coming back. 🙂

        I read your story and it was rather interesting. What inspired you to write it? In terms of feedback, I would recommend adding widgets, like a widget that allows people who aren’t on WordPress to follow you via email, should anybody like that come across your blog and want to follow you. Or a widget that lists recent posts, or recent comments, or even your top posts and pages. 🙂
        Let me know if you don’t know how to add widgets (no offense intended), and I’ll tell you how. 🙂

        Like

      1. Thank you. 🙂 I encourage you to keep coming back!

        I like your blog – you don’t write super long posts, which to me is good. I want to read a blog post, not a book. 😉 And your theme fits with your content! And hey – your dreams aren’t unrealistic. 🙂 YOU CAN DO IT!
        P.S. What’s up with your 49ers? 😛

        Like

    7. I like your style of writing! It flows smoothly, and I like how you sometimes ask questions to keep us engaged. I would add more pictures, and maybe a different theme? But that’s just my own preference. Best of luck on your blog! (:

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank you! The good thing about blogs is you can experiment with the theme until you like it. 🙂

        When I visited your blog, the thing that stood out to me was your theme. It’s impressive and attractive! 🙂

        Like

      3. I don’t see why you’d change it. Chances are, only your followers will know you’ve had it since you started, and even then, so what? It’s a cool theme! 🙂 My advice would be to leave it, especially if you only want to change it because it’s the same on you started with.
        But, then again, it’s a theme. You can always experiment with it and then come back to it after a little experimenting. 😀

        Like

      4. Haha thanks for the advice. It is a nice theme, but… once does grow a bit weary of seeing the same site repeatedly. I will probably leave it as it is though, since I have grown rather attached to it xD

        Liked by 1 person

    8. Hi Rach. I enjoyed your blog. I would also agree that more pictures would make the blog and individual posts stand out. I also think the menu at the top of the page looks a bit sparse. I would add more options there. That would also help people navigate through your posts a little easier, especially if you organize by topics. Keep up the good writing!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you. I plan on working on my blog soon, and I plan to add at least one more page. 🙂 I encourage you to keep coming back. 🙂

        I enjoyed your blog, Interestingly enough, it was only the second animal blog I’ve come across. Following!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Thanks so much! I noticed there weren’t a lot of blogs about dogs (and even less about birds) when I started searching for blogs to follow. I guess it never hurts to have much of the market cornered ;-). Thanks for the follow!

        Like

    9. Rach, i would suggest use of Justified alignment. It looks better.
      Try adding atleast one picture per post.
      Do have a look at my blogs.
      Need some suggestions on theme and styling..

      Like

      1. Thank you! I encourage you to keep coming back.

        I enjoyed your post “The literacy of the Illiterate.” I think different people can relate to that story.
        I like your theme. You’ve added widgets, which is great. One widget I’d suggest is the Top Posts and Pages widget. This will list the posts and pages people look at the most.

        Other than that, I’d suggest adding an About page. I’m not the best with About pages, as I still need work on mine, but it’s a way for people to get to know you. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

    10. Rach, I agree with Steve! Jazz it up. If you need photos of these pastors, l’m sure we can find them. Thanks for standing up for the persecuted church in Iran. Most people have no idea that Iran is the fastest Muslim country turning to Christ. These believers need every bit of prayer they can receive. Thanks for having a part in that.

      Like

      1. Thanks for the feedback! I plan to create a page about all the imprisoned pastors/Christians I know, and plan to include a photo of as many of them as possible. It’s a work in progress!. 🙂

        I very much enjoyed your blog and am now following. 🙂

        Like

    5. I took a look at your blog and I was immediately impressed with your courage to speak from the heart. I like that you’re honest and self-reflective in your posts. Please hang in there! I wish you the best! Warm regards, Kristin 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    9. Omg your theme. I love it. Is it snow? It’s so perfect and added the perfect touch to your simple and clean blog. On another note, I like your topics and how you so quickly introduce is into what you want to talk about. We can all relate to your post about failure, and that’s what it makes it an interesting read! 🙂

      Like

  3. Happy Monday everyone. I’ve just updated my theme at steve-says.net and would really like to get some feedback from people if you get a chance to have a look. Many thanks, Steve

    Liked by 3 people

    3. I think it does work well and is intuitive to navigate. The only minor point is that the titles across the featured images do not come out well when they contain very long words (or tags). I enjoyed reading your introduction!

      Liked by 2 people

    4. I was going to Like this, but… “Happy Monday”? HAPPY Monday? You need to get yourself together, friend, because something’s just not right with your head.

      Liked by 3 people

    7. Hi Steve, I went for a quick peek at your blog and I really like the visual component of how it’s set up. The only thing that really doesn’t work for me is the banner – I think it should go all the way across, rather than being in two lines across the top. It just doesn’t look right, visually. But that’s JMO.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Hi Yousra,
      I think your blog is going into a very nice direction, I particularly liked your colorful outdoor photography and the theme works very well with your content. To improve even further, I would suggest to pay a little more attention to the placement of colons, points and exclamation marks (a few more overall but only one at a time, no space between a word and the colon that follows) – your pictures deserve to be surrounded by text that looks just as carefully done.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you so much for your reply , I really appreciate your comments. They are so helpful in order to improve my writing skills !

        By the way , your blog is a wonderful discovery !

        Regards
        Yousra

        Like

    1. Is it unusual to start a post with a question? Because I did the same thing. Anyway, your post brings up a subject that I think everyone is struggling with, how personal is too personal? And you brought up some excellent points, so good post 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    2. I really enjoyed the topic you wrote on! I think it’s perfectly fine to start a post with a question, you rocked it.

      A quick thing about your blog in general, it took me a second to figure out your theme / layout but I really liked it. Your photos are awesome!

      Like

    1. You have this light hearted tone that I really love and it’s like you’re talking to me face to face while I’m reading. Your personality really comes through which is great!

      Like

    2. I really love that you are open to writing about your illness. My mother is a tad bi-polar, and I don’t mean that cause I’m her daughter, but she literally is mad sometimes. Your humor regarding it is hilarious, and you are very inspiring. I will be reading more 🙂

      Like

    3. Loved your post about the party. That was a pretty big affair! I loved your conversational tone and how you recounted the events of the day. It really was like you were a friend telling me about what happened. Sure that draws your readers in. The photo of the cake was darling too and really added an interesting element to your story! Keep up the great writing, and thanks for being fearlessly open about your mental illness.

      Liked by 1 person

    4. I love your blog! Like a lot of the other comments on here, it was really relatable. Especially as someone who struggles with depression and anxiety, it’s nice to see someone that’s open with their life (I feel like I could live from my couch as well sometimes). I also love that you write about a myriad of different topics and your format is easy to view!

      Like

    5. I like your language, but you could use some more images to break up the long post. Same advice I got several times and am working on it in my last post, but other than that keep it up

      Like

  9. Hello Bloggers 🙂

    I’m struggling to write shorter posts (around 500 words) that are fun and make sense. I don’t know if I’m hitting the mark and would love some feedback on my latest one. I will gladly return the favor.

    http://writeowls.com/

    Thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

    2. I read the post comparing writing to driving and I agree. It is a fresh perspective and an insightful one. Your blog looks like a pleasant place, and the shorter posts work for me! I don’t like to read too much at once…

      Liked by 2 people

    3. HI Stacey, I liked the length, tone and content of your blog post. However, I really found the format of the page (with the menu and follow options on the right, just below the cartoon) distracting and difficult to follow. I just didn’t know, at first, where to look. Having the click to choose whether or not I wanted to read more (which I did), made me feel, at first, hesitant to continue reading. Then, I saw that there were other blog posts just below (in the same format). So once I got over the formatting, it was okay, but that was my first impression.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you so much for the honest feedback! It is a group blog, but I am the one who chose the layout, so if it’s a problem I really need to know, and I appreciate you telling me. My writing friends may not feel comfortable being that honest (which is one of the beauties of the community pool.) My design taste level is not ‘clean’, and that may be a problem. So thank you for saying it 🙂

        I will have a peruse of your blog tomorrow (have to finish dinner right now.)

        Thanks 🙂

        Like

    5. I’ve always been a HUGE fan of the Muppet Christmas Carol – but I want to add a couple other films to your list: The Santa Clause (Tim Allen as the reluctant Santa), and Scrooged (Bill Murray… and the ghost of Christmas Future …. loved that scene) .

      Liked by 1 person

  11. Hi! I’ve had this blog for quite a few weeks and I’ve got a lot of great feedback from bloggers and the community. I can never have enough feedback though! If you like it or you think that it has potential, please follow! I’ll look at your blog in return!
    whatiliketodobysteve.wordpress.com

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s an interesting and very personal post! Perhaps the most remarkable from my point of view is that you kept my attention until the very end even though it is a very long post. So, I guess I have to say that you should continue writing and make sure that you do not neglect it. Why not follow photography as a side project? Even if you may not become a professional writer and a professional photographer at the same time, the pictures can for sure help you to grow your blog. I am neither a good writer nor a talented photographer but I am approaching blogging from the other side and my impression is that people love visual elements between the text.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks for your valuable input. I think I’m just expecting too much … to be equally good at both. I just have to change my expectation, strategy and follow the path you advised.

        Like

    2. I understand your dilemma all too well. I’m a writer by trade (Ghostwriter, Book Coach, and freelancer), and yet there is a side of me that is very creative (like to paint, draw, sew, play with textures and colours etc). Am I an exceptional talent as an artist? No – not yet. But with time and practice, maybe that can change.

      I’d like to encourage you to continue to do BOTH, because (as you know), the more you practice something the more your skill will improve. Keep doing what you’re doing. You’re doing good work now – in just a short time, your photos will be even better!

      Liked by 1 person

  14. hello!
    As always, I would appreciate any feedback on my blog. From writing to layout – you’re always very giving and the better my blog becomes because of it.
    I mainly try and put my own ‘tell it how it is, sarcastic tone’ onto the subjects I write about. Most of the time – nothing too serious

    Thanks!
    Sare x
    http://www.newteacherlife.com

    Liked by 1 person

  15. We here at SWM have started an open discussion for expensive Social Justice Campaign ideas, and we’d love some suggestions! See the post for guidelines and submit in the comments! Non-White Power!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. This is my favorite line of the poem: “Fabrics of forgiveness they recommend”. I can’t decide whether you are trying to have a serious tone or a sarcastic one, but that line strikes me as terribly wise.

      Liked by 3 people

    2. I really like both the ‘not first but …’ and ‘quick silliness …’ poems, so kudos on your poems.

      Somehow, in clicking through your blog, I wound up on the PG-18 post without seeing the rating, so that one kind of came out of the blue at me and made my head tilt. I think I got there by hitting the previous post button, then scrolled up from the bottom without noticing the title.

      That may not be a problem for anyone else in the world, but I would hate to see someone write your site off because they wound up on that post before discovering the more general audience, quality material that is on your site.

      Maybe segregating those types of posts a little or slapping the PG warning on both the bottom of the post as well as the top. It’s just a thought.

      Like

      1. I apologize if the content of the pg18 post offended you or made you or anyone else feel unconfortable, I appreciate your honesty a lot. Truth is that I don’t believe I will be doing that sort of hardcore material anymore, I really felt I had to put something out there like to liberate me from some taboo or inner complex, again I’m thankfull for your feedback.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. No, no–you did not offend me, not at all. You surprised me. There’s a big difference. And what you wrote is not nearly as explicit as things I’ve read in many novels meant for teens. It was just a bit of a lurch coming across it unawares. And please note, I did read all of that post 😀

        Like

    1. Your post was insightful and made many great points which I agree with. I left a comment on your site, though I could hardly add anything substantive to the lively dialogue already going on.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. First, I think your writing in general is very strong. But you asked for specific details and i am an English teacher, so I’m going to list some very specific details. But don’t get discouraged–it is only because you asked, and the whole thing is strong.

      brisker–I don’t think people are brisk–walks are brisk, pace is brisk. Do you mean quicker, or sharper, or faster?

      splendid time are: splendid times are–plural

      Waking up to see the sun rise, birds chirping, no sound of traffic, dwell in a noiseless and a peaceful surrounding.–you need to have parallel construction here, even if it is a fragment on purpose. basically, what is the stem you are adding things onto? keep that stem consistent and make sure each piece adds on the same way: is the stem waking up to se the…list of things to see? or is it implied: it is great because of… So: waking up to see the sun rise, listening to the birds chirping and the silence on the streets, dwelling in a noiseless and peaceful surrounding. Or: Waking up to see the sun rise, the birds chirping, the empty streets, the noiseless and peaceful surroundings…

      Well, I wasn’t, I–Well, I wasn’t. I…

      I would just get out of bed–I would just be getting out of bed.

      chatting in Yahoo messenger has become a–chatting in yahoo messenger had become a…

      At this phase–at that phase…

      My pilgrimage where?

      I was back home and back to–As soon as I was back home, I went back to…

      I’m going to stop there. A few problem areas come out–the biggest is making sure to get your tenses right and consistent. The other is just to make sure that at the end of your sentences (when your voice drops and stops while you read it out loud) you put a period. it’s good to have some short sentences and some longer ones, and you clearly speak this way, so punctuating the end of those short sentences will bring that variety into your grammar.

      Still one of the best helps for writing and grammar is Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. And it is a fun and fast read as well.

      Good luck! Keep up the good writing!

      Liked by 1 person

    3. You can’t get better than an English teacher for feedback and I agree your writing is very strong. The only thing I had a problem with was the font size, in which case, I agree with hampshirehog – a larger Arial font would do the trick.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks for this bang-on post. I have long lamented all the points you made and it does my heart good to see them onscreen. Here is to emancipation and equality in every realm of our culture, there is lots of work to be done!

      Liked by 3 people

  24. Hello everyone. I would like for you to take a look at my most recent blog post. My blog is food and fitness related. Big thank you in advance.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Have you considered adding a personal background story? I was wondering where your respect post is stemming from. Pictures, at least every other blog post, is also a good way to engage the reader. Much respect. Do you mind critiquing my recent blog post?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thankyou for following me. I think I followed you back. 🙂 I’m glad you liked them. May you Leave some feedback on my main ones I just posted up. I was curious about those. Also thanks for leaving that comment on “My Dream House” 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you I appreciate that. Congrats on becoming a wordpress blogger. I will be following you. Make sure you leave feedback/comments would love to see some. 🙂

        Like

    2. Hi! Thank you so much because from your blog I found out the specifics about short stories because honestly I was lost and not sure how to start some ideas I had but now I know what to do! Love your blog and thanks again 🙂

      Liked by 1 person