Day 27: Do We Need A Better SiteFeedback Function?

I hadn't originally intended to create another blog post so soon after my last one, but I thought it might be useful to get my thoughts out there on a topic I've seen come up a few times.

The SiteFeedback function is, honestly, not ideal.

The purpose is great; a place to get reviews of your latest posts without having to drop links to your site everywhere.

But I'm just not sure it really works as well as it could.

For example, we've all received SiteFeedback messages that mean well but are just not helpful at all.

Comments like 'There's not much you can improve' or 'just keep up the great work'.

A lot of people seem hesitant to actually offer any criticism, and that means that issues with your site may end up sitting there for months.

I know, looking back, that most of my early content was not great.

However when I look back at the feedback I've received, the messages were usually highly positive and didn't really let me know that I was doing anything wrong (even though I was doing A LOT wrong).

The problem is that when you submit your site to get feedback, there's no guarantee that whoever offers you the feedback is going to know what they're talking about.

That's not their fault, it's just as a result of the fact that we're (rightly) encouraged to take part in the give and take system at WA from almost straightaway.

While this is good in some ways, it also means is that there's a huge mix of experience levels within the SiteFeedback function.

Because of these factors, I know there are a lot of people who either:

Use SiteFeedback but don't gain anything from it,

OR,

choose not to use SiteFeedback but in turn don't get the chance to help others out.

What is the answer? Is there a better place to go when we want good quality reviews of our work?

Didn't mean to go on for so long but there we go! Let me know what you think.