Apr 17, 2017 / Community Pool

Community Pool

Where bloggers come for friendly 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 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.

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.

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.

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    1. Hi, I left a reply on the first post. In general: I really like the look of your blog, very clean! Followed on instagram.

      Liked by 5 people

    3. I saw your blog and have commented on a few posts that I liked. One bit of feedback though – I didn’t see a wordpress follow button anywhere, so I haven’t actually been able to follow you although I’d have liked to (without subscribing by mail).

      Liked by 3 people

  2. Hello everybody. Simon from To Cut a Short Story Short here. I’ve been revamping my menu system and installing drop down lists. Due to the limitations of my free theme (Sela) it’s not brilliant but I hope it will help. I’d be very grateful for any feedback on ease of use!

    Also, here’s a link to my latest story, a tongue-in-cheek SF tale of what happens when a robot gets to keep 10% of her earnings! Heartless Desires, just 600 words.

    BTW, I run a fortnightly 300 word writing group, please let me know via the contact page on my blog if you are interested. New members always welcome!

    https://simonjwood.wordpress.com/2017/04/14/heartless-desires/

    Liked by 17 people

    1. I’ve noticed you among the first to dive into the pool every week. Just a suggestion – If you checked out other blogs and made some friends I’m sure your followers will incline in no time!

      Peace 😏✌

      Liked by 5 people

    2. I personally wouldn’t include that much in the drop down menu, rather work with general categories our make a simple page with an overview, but that’s my personal taste 🙂

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Hi, many thanks for the feedback and I appreciate what you are saying. The long lists DO look a bit too much perhaps, that’s what I wondered. I’ll look into simplifying them a bit after a little more feedback. Thanks again!

        Liked by 2 people

      1. Hi Kristen, many thanks for taking the time to check it out. In fact, the feedback I had was that the dropdowns were too long, going off the screen, and that this made things look a bit messy. So I found some time today to change it to the alphabetical system you saw, where all the lists should stay within the screen (I designed it for a small screen). Sounds like that has improved things anyway!

        Like

      2. Oh! I didn’t even read the other comments, but I liked your dropped down screens 🙂 I think you have everything organized very nicely. I have been working on doing the same with mine. It will be awhile before I have more post and it’s necessary. But I like the way you chose to do yours!

        Like

      3. Thank you Kristen, a couple of comments were left on my blog as well as those here and I also mentioned it in a previous CP post.

        I saw a video on YouTube of how to do those dropdown menus. You have to do them manually on wordpress.com which is a bit fiddly but basically you select menu items (via dashboard/appearance/menus) and drag them into position. You drag them a little to one side to make sub-menus. That isn’t obvious – if I hadn’t seen the video I wouldn’t have guessed!

        I have to say that when I look at some blogs I’m left wondering exactly what is on them, so I wanted to make it easier on mine. So, yes, you might incorporate that idea into your own blog in time. Good luck!

        Liked by 2 people

    5. I’m planning to do something similar in my own yard! Maybe your pictures will give me motivation to actually start it because so far… I also agree that exercise is torture! Great post 🙂

      Liked by 4 people

      2. Thanks and yes I am! We just moved into our house over the winter and it needs some type of better landscaping that won’t break the bank. I’ve been waiting for all the flowers and everything else to grow fully so I can decide to keep/move or chuck.

        Liked by 2 people

    7. Exercise is not torture, it’s invigorating! Glad you are trying new things though, it’s always a lot of fun and a key to healthy living. Time seems to go by more slowly when we change our normal day to day, thus, more enjoyable. Great post

      Liked by 5 people

    10. I like your style of writing…and had to chuckle a few times as you describe the patio project. The pictures are great, especially the one of your husband sitting back while you do the heavy digging 😉

      Liked by 1 person

    2. You are a fantastic writer, dare I say I am a bit jealous of your skills! – I read Orwell’s 1984 recently, and I had to constantly close the book, stop, and think. It’s an eerie feeling when you can picture so much of his writings coming to fruition.

      Liked by 4 people

    2. I really appreciated reading your post where you are talking about this from such a personal angle. You do a great job of weaving together all of the stories of the people connected to the tragedy, while connecting your own thoughts as well!

      Liked by 1 person

    4. I’m always reading my work several times, then after I post it sometimes I still catch mistakes after using a pair of “fresh eyes”.

      Like

    7. Thank you for the pointers and the link for ‘On Writing Well.’ I complete a walk-through after finishing each piece and full edit before posting, but still don’t find all the missteps; hopefully the book helps.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Its a really nice poem you made there. I especially like your reference. Its not easy coming up with such a piece from a sacred piece.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi, nice recipe! I suggest adding an ingredients list at the beginning of the post for convenience (sorry, couldn’t watch the video so I’m not sure if you address ingredients there).

      Liked by 4 people

  11. Hi there!

    I became active on wp a few months ago, and I’ve been playing with several different ideas of things I can post. Mostly, it’s silly poetry and a few short prose pieces, but now and then I try to throw in some articles with my thoughts and opinions of things. Here are links to two of my recent posts, https://justaplatypus.wordpress.com/2017/04/17/the-art-of-napping/ (article) and https://justaplatypus.wordpress.com/2017/04/15/i-love-you-more/ (poem) so you can check out whichever interests you.

    Eagerly awaiting feedback on everything you like and dislike!
    Thanks 😀

    Liked by 19 people

      1. Haha it’s so nice to hear that, most people just laugh it off as silly and childish when they hear it (I used to be called Perry the Platypus growing up by my friends, and that’s where it originated haha). But I’m glad it attracted the attention of someone new, and I hope you like what I write!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Ooh!! Perry the Platypus!! Used to watch Phineas and Ferb all the time!
        And i must agree – a catchy name you got there.

        Liked by 3 people

    2. The most important thing is that you are writing for you, and not monetization. Therefore, you are doing everything correctly!

      And your pieces are good, I wouldn’t hit dislike even if the button existed.

      Liked by 3 people

    3. Your napping article was informative. It’s strange how much there is to know about naps. When someone tells me, “Somebody needs a nap,” I wonder what type of nap they are recommending? 🙂 The images seemed to be repetitious, although, some people might prefer one style over another. https://gracelead.co

      Liked by 1 person

      1. @paminat0r, the image criticism is very helpful, thanks, as this was actually the first post where I’ve included any images at all. So perhaps I went a bit overboard xD i’ll keep that in mind

        Like

  12. Hey fam,

    Hope everyone’s having a super duper Monday and a lit swim!
    Bits and pieces of my life carefully placed into little posts of Micro tales, poems and paintings on my fairly new blog!

    A little love, some appreciation and heartwarming feedback would be highly appreciated!
    And definitely a lots of friends please!
    Hop in and say hi if you’ve got a min!
    Much love! xoxo 😏✌

    https://chaosxdblog.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 14 people

    1. Thanks for checking out my latest post via Community Pool, Chaos. Really like your stuff, as I am in a kind of “dark phase” of writing myself. At least, temporarily till I finish this short story!

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Hi everyone! Yesterday’s post was a very personal one. Last week, as I about what Easter meant, I decided I wanted to give my daughter a story that she could cherish longer than any amount of Easter candy. It is a story about two lives: one that began and one that started over. One day I hope she reads this and understands just how precious the gift of her life was to my own. I would love for you to check it out: https://nostalgiadiaries.com/2017/04/16/the-gift-of-a-new-life/

    Liked by 15 people

      1. Did you comment in my blog, Chaos-XD? I didn’t get a notification. Thanks for the feedback. We can connect on another platform if you’d like to flesh out your comment.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Yes I did, your nasty spam monster caught it up! Have you ever visited your dashboard and discovered there is this secret place that most of your comments get held up at?

        Liked by 1 person

  15. Hello everyone, I ahve a photography blog. I post pretty reguarly every week a mixture of film and digital photos (although film is what I prefer to share). Why not check me out and let me know what you think;

    This is a like to a new series of mages taken on a recent trip to Budapest:

    https://the6millionpman.com/2017/04/17/hungarian-adventure-part-one-to-palinka-or-not-to-palinka/?frame-nonce=a4f71f672b

    And this is a link to a long running street photography series:

    https://the6millionpman.com/2017/04/17/street-photography-olympus-om-d-em-5-85/?frame-nonce=a4f71f672b

    Thanks for your time

    Liked by 14 people

      1. I do love shooting film ,hence why so much of my blog is devoted to it, the look and process of it is just fantastic. But I really don’t like the whole film vs digital debate thing because at the end of the day it’s about what works best in the situation and for the photographer (also because I own 2 digital cameras and shoot a lot of street work with a digital camera). Thanks for your comment and for taking a look 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Everything looks good from here, I love book reviews (I do them too!) If I may say though, the pink is a bit hard on my eyes, perhaps a darker tone would be more suited. Just my 2 cents! Great work!

      Like

    3. I’ve been experimenting with writing book reviews, but it took a few drafts to figure out how to blend summary with opinion in a way that worked for me. Your format, structure and wit all look good; you got all the important stuff in, so if that format works for you…go with it.

      Liked by 1 person

    5. I love engaging with you all. I sat staring at your post for a good 5 minutes, trying to think of a reply without putting my personal life out there. Really all I can say is “be strong” and I think you can connect the dots with the rest.

      Great work so far, looking forward to more.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank you. That makes me feel very comforted and supported that others can relate to what I’m writing. I really appreciate the feedback!

        Liked by 1 person

    7. I love the way that you write. I left a comment on your blog but it says awaiting moderation, what does that mean?
      I would really appreciate if you could check out my posts, I’m writing a daily blog and often feel like you have…

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Like your site! This was great informational post, I worked in mental health for many years and it still amazes me how the world isn’t aware. Only thing I could suggest is possibly some links to good articles or sources where the info came from.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank you, mluvbug24. I’ll keep your suggestion in mind. I think you are referring to the information on neurotransmitters?

        Like

      1. Hi Joseph. Thank you for looking at my post for the word “jolt”. You suggested to “colour the word jolt differently”. Do you suggest removing all color (just black and white) or some other color. It is colored just because it is the necessary hyperlink for the Daily Post. Thank you!

        Like

    3. I loved your post! I thought that your article was really informative and helpful. I could really relate to it in boys and pieces. I would really appreciate if you looked at my blog (I’m writing a daily log).

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I’m thinking of starting a travel section for my blog, or maybe a new travel/food blog altogether, so I love seeing people’s travel related posts. I’ll be sure to go through yours now, and give feedback there!

        Like

    4. Your pictures are breathtaking! I went to Scotland a few years ago but your pictures transported me back, I felt like I was reliving my holiday 🙈

      Liked by 1 person

    2. You have a good variety of information, I like it! I had no idea about this app, it sounded better at the beginning than the end so I’m glad for the review. I just made a post on Mindfulness and Exercise for my health and fitness blog. If you have time, Check it out there’s a couple good links for mindful meditation practices. beyoubestrongblog.com

      Liked by 3 people

    3. Nice post. I’d suggest breaking up the days a bit (By this I mean change the colour of the text) . Maybe also use photos of where your doing stuff etc. This would make the overall feel of the blog less word heavy.

      Like

      2. My two cents worth. I’ve stopped showing the tags in my post so it doesn’t clutter up the page especially on a small mobile screen. I still use them though. Personally I try to include as little non blog related info as possible so readers can focus on reading the blog eg I always think author / written by is a bit redundant unless you have multiple contributors to your blog.

        Liked by 2 people

    3. I really like the theme you’ve chosen, I think it suits your posts a lot! And your writing is good too. One thing to be careful about is how many tags you use though, I think over 15 is generally not advised. Try and stick to the most relevant ones only, or I think there’s a chance of it being seen as spam or something (I’m not the most knowledgeable about this, hopefully others can help more on it)
      But overall, nice blog! Keep it up! Also I recommend using the daily prompts, they can be very helpful for when you’re starting out

      Liked by 3 people

    7. Hello! I’m a student too, so I understand you!
      I have a few suggestions for your blog. One, consider adding images to break up the text. And two, I feel like your font might be a little small, so consider making that larger.
      Happy Blogging!

      Liked by 1 person

    9. I checked out your blog, it’s super cute! I loved your writing too. I recently started my blog a few days ago too, so I was hoping you could check it out… thank you 🙈

      Liked by 2 people

      1. It’s always a delight in making others happy 😍😘
        Thank you for staying by 💖
        And for the link too…. I’d surely come by to read some of your beautiful blogs 😊💖

        Liked by 1 person

      1. You know I was actually waiting for you to read through my piece and give your thoughts and corrections, and u am so glad you did. Thank you for reading it and your feedback..

        Much love 💕💕💕

        Like

  27. It has officially begun, all of you bloggers and blog followers out there-It’s “DC Superhero Girls Hero Of The Month Week” here at KALEIDOSCOPE, in which I present past special “Hero Of The Month” webisodes of that popular cartoon series direct from YouTube, all to whet your appetite of those super-heroic females(Well, at least it would keep you satisfied until new episodes show up)! But that is not all-There are also other posts to peek through, and I also have new ones lined up this week as well, so I strongly advise to keep it here for all of the fun, right here at KALEIDOSCOPE-At http://www.j2w7.wordpress.com! (PS-I hope that nobody ate too much Easter candy yesterday!)-JW

    Liked by 10 people

      1. Well, that is just marvelous! And remember, if you make a mistake, just keep trying…You’ll get better! Thank you again, and I very much hope you keep visiting my blog in the near future!-JW

        Like

    1. Paying it forward is so important. I used to be the angriest son of a bitch on the planet, now I am calm and collected – its just not worth it. Being kind makes me feel so much better than being a raging lunatic lol.

      Liked by 2 people