Sorry guys, this is a very female focused post! Forbes just published its 2013 edition of the 100 best website for women. I’m copying the full list below for your browsing, but here are some of my highlights:
Websites that I currently check out on this list: Surprisingly I was aware of very few of them. This has a great upside that there is a lot of content to discover. What do I browse: Pinterest, Jezebel, Huffpost Women, Popsugar and The EveryGirl
Top 10 websites on this list that I am bookmarking to browse ASAP: These are the websites that called my attention from the Forbes description and made me want to learn more! I’m already following now some of these on Twitter and I can see myself checking them out with some regularity.
1. Chic CEO
Forbes description: A slick site for women with the entrepreneur bug. Advice covers everything from patents and copyrights to the pros and cons of buying a franchise, but a particular emphasis on downloadable tools (think business plan outlines and contracts) makes this a must-visit.
Website description: At Chic CEO, we believe women should have the business knowledge and support they need right at their polished fingertips. We created this website as a resource for all the amazing women we’ve met who either didn’t know how to implement their ideas or were too afraid to take the plunge. At Chic CEO you’ll find easy to understand, easy to implement business knowledge in its most basic form. Best of all, you’ll find other women who are willing to share their advice and experiences simply because someone else did the same for them. The ground level information is here for you to get started in being your own boss – the rest is up to you
What appealed to me on first look: I’ve been getting the entrepreneurial bug as of recent and I love cool websites that make your life easier. It also looks like a fairly simple to use resource for people that don’t have such a strong business background but want to get something started
Forbes description: A reader-nominated find, Grace Kelly’s blog provides articles and resources to rejuvenate career women, allowing them to achieve greater wealth and better health.
Website description: Grace Kelly is a Mentor, Teacher & Blogger. Her mission involves assisting burnt-out & bored career women in achieving better health and greater wealth doing work they love.As creator of the CityGirl Career Style™ System, Grace helps women identify and create careers more in line with their values, purpose and personal style. She speaks globally on the link between vocation and vitality, as well as the connection between one’s work/purpose and the Divine. Grace also offers transformative intensives and retreats in cities around the world.
What appealed to me on first look: Its always good that there are more resources for women starting out in the business world. This has potential in that there is quite a lot of mentoring. I also liked that it is quite holistic at first glance. First article that caught my eye: 7 Ways women block themselves in Life & business
3. Corporette
Forbes description: A fashion and lifestyle blog for corporate women: lawyers, bankers, MBAs, consultants and “otherwise overachieving chicks.”
Website description: Corporette is a fashion and lifestyle blog for women lawyers, bankers, MBAs, consultants, and otherwise overachieving chicks who need to look professional but want to look fashionable. The site was started in May 2008 by Kat Griffin, who was then a litigator at a Wall Street law firm. She wrote the site anonymously until April 2010, and now focuses on Corporette full time.
What appealed to me on first look: As a member of the corporate culture, Its nice to know there is a focused website. Its mostly style based, but it could have some useful info. Some of the articles that i browsed upon: The Intern with the $9,000 Handbag and How to Build a Professional Wardrobe for $150
Forbes description: Melissa Jacobs blogs about football, “because women love football too.” Her site features game analysis, exclusive interviews with players and fantasy football tips for women.
Website description: FootballGirl.com, is a lively NFL community catering to sophisticated female fans. With national news, analysis, fantasy, unique and irreverent features, Football 101, exclusive player interviews and so much more, we offer everything any football fan could want. TFG is not exclusionary, and thus we welcome male fans as well. After all, why shield our content from over 50% of the fan base? However, we do have several elements that are more female-friendly, including our signature Featured Football Girl series, where we profile prominent women under the NFL’s vast umbrella. But overall TFG caters to everyone, from those new to the game to those who came out of the womb wearing their favorite team’s onesie.
What appealed to me on first look: I am a girl, i like football, so i think it might be fun to hear a different kind of commentary
5. Mental Floss
Forbes description: Seemingly random collection of trivia, quizzes and articles for people who want to keep learning, without it feeling like a chore.
Website description: mental_floss magazine is an intelligent read, but not too intelligent. We’re the sort of intelligent that you hang out with for a while, enjoy our company, laugh a little, smile a lot and then we part ways. Great times. And you only realize how much you learned from us after a little while. Like a couple days later when you’re impressing your friends with all these intriguing facts and things you picked up from us, and they ask you how you know so much, and you think back on that great afternoon you spent with us and you smile.
What appealed to me on first look: Some of the first articles I’ve stumbled upon: 11 Things We No Longer See in Movie Theaters and 62 of the World’s Most Beautiful Libraries. My amazing fact of the day: The phrase “always a bridesmaid, never a bride” was popularized in ads for Listerine mouthwash in the 1920s.
Forbes description: PickTheBrain encourages self-improvement on a broad spectrum, covering topics in the realms of productivity, motivation, self education, psychology and philosophy.
Website description: a website dedicated to self improvement with a focus on personal productivity, motivation, and self education…. PickTheBrain diverges from traditional “self-help” by taking a broader approach. Rather than sticking to a small set of topics, the site covers anything related to self improvement. Any information that people can use to live more prosperous, satisfying lives is a potential article. Although the site covers a wide range of topics, most articles fall into 5 core categories. Personal Productivity, Motivation Self Education, Psychology – and Philosophy
What appealed to me on first look: I’m all about self improvement websites. The first two articles that caught my eye: 5 Tips To Overcome Exercise Apathy and The Top 7 Mindset Secrets for Success
7. Quarterlette
Forbes description: Oh, the quarter life crisis. Is this really the career path I should be taking? How the hell do I find a mentor? On no! We’ve run out of ramen. All this and more at Quarterlette, with a healthy dose of wit.
Website description: Quarterlette.com will be a community space to help Quarterlettes (women currently in their quarter-lives) navigate through the highs and the lows of their quarter-life escapades.
What appealed to me on first look: I had a quarter life crisis and so did most of my friends. I just found it fun that there is a website for it!
Forbes description: One of our picks for the 20 best marketing and social media blogs by women this year, She Takes On The World is an award-winning business and lifestyle blog for women.
Website description: Hi, my name is Natalie MacNeil and I want to change the world. As a woman business owner and globetrotter, I decided to start blogging in 2007 to share my experiences as I started my own business and traveled to about 60 countries around the world. That blog grew into what She Takes on the World is today -one of the top blogs in the world for career-minded women and women entrepreneurs. I am also the co-founder of Emmy award winning digital media firm, Imaginarius. I contribute to a number of media outlets discussing entrepreneurship, women in business, and using social media and online tools
What appealed to me on first look: It has a great name first of all! Their design is also quite cool. First article I’m reading: Successful Leadership: 9 Characteristics of a Good Leader
Forbes description: Need a 30 second distraction? VSL is it. Each day a new expert curator pulls together three pieces of content around a theme (film, maybe, or food or technology) for our perusing pleasure. We’re never disappointed. Sign up to have it delivered to your inbox or visit them on the web.
Website description: Very Short List is a delightful e-mail that shares cultural gems from a different curator every day.
What appealed to me on first look: I like my information concise and to the point, so this had to appeal to me! Every day has a color and a theme. Today’s very short list: Did you know you can explore the world using Google Treks? It’s not the real thing, but it’s pretty cool
10. The XX Factor
Forbes description: A female-focused look at “politics, culture, and anything else that strikes our fancy” from the XX writers and editors of Slate.com
What appealed to me on first look: I like Slate so it made me want to check this out.
Below is the whole list, with the descriptions from Forbes. which ones appeal to you??
- 5 Broads: A members-only international network of 20,000 inspired, empowered and connected women started by female staffers at Goldman Sachs. Nice offering of blogs from members on work-life issues.
- 20 Nothings: With Jessie Rosen hitting the three decade mark, her blog is making the transition from 20-Nothings to 30-Nothings. Since 2007, Rosen has built six years of anecdotes, advice and musings on everything from dating to body image.
- Babble: A community for new parents with advice, recipes, news and resources, plus a witty blog called Strollerderby.
- BlogHer: The premier women’s blog platform is celebrating its seventh anniversary this year–and it’s still going and growing.
- TheBloggess: Jenny Lawson blogs about sex, love and motherhood, and whatever else comes to mind.
- The Boss Network: A community of entrepreneurial women who support each other through conversation, online and event-based networking.
- The Bump: The Bump, from TheKnot, is a community website for expecting and trying-to-conceive couples that offers support, advice and features to women and their partners.
- Brazen Careerist: Serial entrepreneur Penelope Trunk writes about work and life for over 40,000 subscribers. Her top piece of advice? Control your professional identity to stay employable.
- Catalyst: This website by nonprofit group Catalyst hosts research about women in business and an insightful blog, Catalyzing.
- Change The Ratio: The tumblr presence of the Change The Ratio campaign, which aims to tip the scales on women on the corporate and entrepreneurial level, features updates from women’s events and inspirational content. Take Sheryl Sandberg’s Harvard grad address: “If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat. Just get on.”
- Chic CEO
- City Girl Confidence
- Colored Girl Confidential: This online community for women unpacks race and gender issues, providing thoughtful “career and life advice that is as fierce as you are.”
- Corporette
- Daily Worth: A personal finance and business site for women updated daily with money tips and blog posts. Their motto is: “We believe all women should be in charge of their financial health.”
- Daily Mom Report: Think Drudge Report, only more organized, and curated with moms in mind. One-stop-shopping for every headline you might otherwise have missed.
- Daily Muse: An advice hub for the Gen-Y careerist, the content side of The Muse (also worth a visit for those of us on the job hunt) features accessible (and entertaining) advice for recent grads and working gals and a bang-up portal for job hunting. New in 2013: The Muse University for career advancement.
- Deal Seeking Mom: With five kids, Tara Kuczykowski lives on a budget. She blogs about money-saving tricks, alerting readers to freebies, coupons and sales. Extreme couponers, beware: this girl’s good.
- Diane Gottsman, The Etiquette School: The etiquette expert assists readers on everything from finishing up an internship to gracefully accepting a compliment.
- Dissent Magazine: While Dissent has been around since 1954, this is the first year the quarterly of politics and culture has made it on FORBES best websites for women list. Articles address contrarian viewpoints on an international scale. One recent standout post: “Kicking Back, not Leaning In.”
- Dooce: With stunning pictures and crisp wit, mom and former Web designer Heather Armstrong chronicles her life and the world around her.
- Dutiee: This website dedicated to “all things social good” provides advice for social entrepreneurs, nonprofit success stories and must have ethically-manufactured goods.
- ED2010: What began as a project for aspiring young writers who hoped to attain editor status “by 2010” is still going strong years past deadline. The hybrid networking hub, educational resource and font of media industry advice is a must-see for those aspiring to join the death rattle of the publishing biz.
- Emily Bennington: Author of Who Says It’s A Man’s World: The Girls Guide to Corporate Domination and leadership coach, Emily Bennington aims to help women “who want to kick ass & love the journey.” Judging by the level of support from the FW community, we’d say she’s succeeding.
- The Everygirl: An everything-you-need-know site, The Everygirl inspires career-driven, creative young women to create the stylish, successful lives they’ve always dreamed of through finance, fashion and travel tips.
- The Everywhereist: Geraldine DeRuiter got laid off and became a full-time traveling companion to her frequent-flyer husband. The result? From the mundanity of our cubicles we get an on-the-ground view of their journeys.
- Feministing: An online community and blog with a feminist perspective that analyzes how pop culture and mainstream media reflect modern women.
- The Football Girl
- The Forte Foundation: Major corporations and top business schools created the Fonte Foundation to direct talented women towards leadership roles in business, providing the tools and resources necessary for success.
- Founding Moms: Offline meetups match with online resources to allow mom entrepreneurs to connect, exchange and learn from each other.
- Generation Meh: By ForbesWoman contributor J. Maureen Henderson, Generation Meh focuses on “providing practical personal development tips, tricks, and guidance for twenty and thirtysomethings who shun (or would like to shun) the 9-5 corporate grind.”
- GetRaised: A seriously simple step-by-step guide to getting a pay bump that was created with women in mind. According to the site, 65% of women that have used it have, in fact, earned a raise. Average amount? About $6,700.
- Get Off My Internets: The antidote to Mommy blogs, this snarky site offers endless commentary, criticism and gossip on a web of lifestyle, fashion and mommy bloggers.
- Girls Who Code: On a mission to provide computer science education and exposure to 1 million young women by 2020, Girls Who Code provides immersion programs, clubs and networks to high school girls.
- The Glass Hammer: An award-winning blog and online community created for women executives in finance, law, technology and big business.
- The Good Guide: GoodGuide ranks on green-ness, healthiness and safety. Users can search or browse over 145,000 food, toys, personal care and household products to discover the best and the worst of each category.
- Half The Sky: Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s 2009 book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, helped launch a movement to fight international issues of gendered discrimination and violence. The site acts as a resource—and a megaphone—for continuing their work.
- The Hairpin
- Hello Giggles: Cofounded by three Los Angelenos including “New Girl” Zooey Deschanel, this site was first envisioned as a comedy site for women—think Funny Or Die without the fart jokes. Instead it’s grown into an exchange where women of all ages share their writing on life, love and all things adorable.
- Hello Ladies: Calls itself “the intersection of feminism and life,” and features breaking news stories, feminist essays and work-life advice.
- HerCampus: By college women, for college women, HerCampus is made up of students from over 200 college campuses creating content for their own chapters of the website.
- Her Agenda: An information and inspiration hub for millennial women, HerAgenda offers up events, scholarships, conferences, internships and job opportunities to empower young women pushing themselves to reach their goals.
- Home-Based Working Moms: An online community and association for work-at-home moms with useful resources to help with the juggle.
- Huffington Post Women: The best part of Arianna Huffington taking over AOL? Her shrewd application of HuffPo vaudeville to the women’s space.
- Intern Sushi: A portal for connecting college students and young professionals with internships in creative professions. Slick, smart and well-designed, Intern Sushi encourages users to ditch the resume for creative video introductions.
- In Power Women: A resource for women in business with the goal of succeeding on their own terms, packed with blogs, research and advice.
- I Want Her Job: This savvy site doesn’t mess around—and puts the work/life divide from the front page, which is split in two: “Meet the women changing the face of business” and “Find inspiration for balancing your family, home and health.”
- Jezebel: Owned by Gawker Media, a must-visit blog about celebrity, sex and fashion that bites into the media’s representation of women and critiques gender in pop culture.
- The Juggle: WSJ.com’s The Juggle blog provides news and views on work, caregiving and time management for working parents.
- Ladies Who Launch: An active and engaging site for female entrepreneurs that provides a resources for starting, building and running a business.
- LearnVest: Easy-to-understand financial advice, information and tools for women hoping to take control of their financial lives. New updates bring certified financial planners to the table—and a renewed chance to get our $$ in order.
- Lean In: The social movement inspired by Sheryl Sandberg’s 2012 book by the same title, which encouraged women to take responsibility for forward momentum in their own careers by putting the pedal to the metal. The Lean In community online is the “next chapter” of the book, with on- and offline resources for ambitious women.
- Lindsey Pollak: LinkedIn spokesperson and Gen Y expert Lindsey Pollak blogs about social media and work for the next generation of leaders.
- MAKERS: A project coproduced by AOL and PBS—and the foundation of the 2013 documentary by the same name, MAKERS is a repository of 200 (and counting) insightful, uplifting and illuminating interviews with a who’s who of trailblazing women. Madeleine Albright, Hillary Clinton, Marissa Mayer
- Mint.com: A free tool for setting a budget–and sticking to it–by synching bank accounts and sending email reminders to stop spending and start saving. Easy to set up, easier to stick with.
- Mental Floss
- Mommy Tracked: This multi-tasking website for modern moms provides a fresh take on motherhood with sharp columns and commentary.
- Moms Rising: Members of this “motherhood movement” take to the site to rally behind family-friendly policies like paid sick days and parental leave, flexible work options and quality health care.
- Motherlode: This New York Times’ blog tackles studies, news and first-hand insight of modern motherhood.
- Ms. Magazine: The Web presence of feminist frontrunner Ms. magazine, the website boasts the most extensive coverage of U.S. and international women’s issues.
- National Association of Professional Women: This national resource and network of business women provides seminars, podcasts, webinars, speakers, and educational tools to foster skills that help its members to achieve personal and career success.
- On The Ground: Here, New York Times’ columnist Nicholas Kristof expands on his award-winning human rights coverage.
- Pick the Brain
- Pinterest: Everyone’s favorite online scrapbook/bulletin board hybrid continues to dominate the social scene with upwards of 70 million users (more than 2/3 of us are women). We’ll admit it: we’re hooked.
- Pioneer Woman: We’re suckers for escapism. City girl turned down-home mama Ree Drummond juggles homeschool, career and life on a ranch, and blogs her recipes, photography and family stories. Inspiring and delicious.
- Plum District: Known as the “Groupon for moms,” this deal site provides daily offers specifically designed for savvy moms. Staffed by other mothers across the nation, it’s tapped into what women want and now counts over one million users.
- PopSugar: The parent site for all of the PopSugar Network blogs that cover all manner of life, from work and fashion to kids to celebrities. PopSugar is one-stop shopping for hip female-friendly content.
- PureWow: As one commenter put it (seconded by nearly two dozen more plus a few savvy staffers), “This relative newcomer has it all and is my ‘one stop shop’ on the web for fashion, beauty, health, food, travel, tech, books, etc.
- Quarterlette
- Racialicious: Billed as the “intersection between race and pop culture,” Racalicious is a whole lot more. FORBES 30 under 30 member Latoya Peterson uses the platform to explore issues of race in culture and politics. Entertaining and informative, no matter what your background.
- Recessionista: They call it “financial news you don’t need a dictionary for,” but we’re not convinced that’s the best description. What you’ll find here: entrepreneurial know-how, money-saving tips and snappy content like “Five Random Ways To Make Money From Home.”
- Reductress: Do you know us well? Well then you know we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Reductress is a satirical take on women’s content (think the Onion—for ladyblogs) and is sure to make you crack a smile—and email your friends.
- Rookie Mag: Since 17 year old fashion blogger Tavi Gevinson founded the website for teenage girls in 2011, Rookie has featured teen writers and fashionistas alongside columns like ‘Ask A Grown Man/Woman’ with Jon Hamm and Paul Rudd. Each issue, curated around a theme, is a unique look back at the life of a modern teenager. As we like to say “never forget.”
- Salon: Irin Carmon may be out—off to join MSNBC this year—she brought her Jezebel news sense to the site, and it appears to be lingering—and not just in the Lifestyle section. A recent post on race and feminism spotlights the dual struggle of minority women to make their voices heard.
- Savor the Success: The focus of this particular women’s network is accountability. Join a circle and push each other to achieve through meeting benchmarks—together.
- Savvy Auntie: A kid-friendly site for those of us who love other peoples’ kids. Because it’s always more fun when you can give them back!
- Secret Society of Women: TV journalists Lisa Ling wants women to share their deepest secrets online and created SSOW as an anonymous portal to make that happen. On the site, read and share with other women on topics ranging from addiction to parenting issues and infidelity—without the fear of judgment.
- SheKnows: She knows everything–entertainment, beauty, parenting, shopping, health and more. The entire busy woman’s lifestyle hub wrapped up into a slick, searchable website.
- She Takes On The World
- Smitten Kitchen: New Yorker Deb brings us mouthwatering recipes and just-as-delicious photographs. Want to make your own ricotta? It’s possible–this site has turned many a ForbesWoman into a foodie. Side note: this kale salad. Just do it.
- Stiletto Woman: With the motto, “It’s more than a business, it’s a lifestyle,” Stiletto Woman aims to support business women in all aspects of their lives. Articles on entrepreneurship, beauty and home decor make up a site that aims to empower.
- Sous Style: Australian transplant to Brooklyn, NY, and current photo director of Elle magazine, Pippa Lord launched Sous Style for a “new generation of homemakers.” The lifestyle blog offers beautiful photos, quirky interviews and smart fashion and design ideas.
- Tech Mamas: A tech blog for mamas, a mom blog for techies, this California-based site offers advice on software, hardware and marketing for the working-from-home set as well as marketers in the tech sector.
- The Li.st: That Rachel Sklar’s always got another thing cooking. This year she and partner Glynnis MacNicol launched The Li.st, an email we think every woman should subscribe to. The pair—tapped into politics, technology, entrepreneurship and good old fashioned activism—never miss a beat.
- TrustLaw Women: The newest channel from TrustLaw, the international legal news and assistance hub sponsored by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
- UN Women: The online presence of UN Women, the recently created United Nations arm led by former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet until this year. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka from South Africa was sworn in as Executive Director in July.
- NEW Very Short List
- WAHM: An online magazine and resource for work-at-home mothers that includes features and advice on finding work, self-marketing and keeping the kids busy while you freelance.
- What The Flicka: This sassy self-help blog was created by Desperate Housewives actress Felicity Huffman to give moms, women and anyone else who needs it a daily pick me up. Huffman and a host of regular celeb contributors share everything from workouts and recipes to tips for the “survival of the mommy-est.”
- WebGrrls: Webgrrls International is a networking organization of women focused on propelling their careers and businesses forward through technology. Info on joining one of more than 60 local chapters is the first step.
- Why Not, Girl: First and foremost a female empowerment site that was launched just a year ago, Why Not Girl profiles women of the week who’ve made inspiring life or career choices, and guides readers into pursuing their own dreams.
- Women 2.0: With daily content on women in technology, Women 2.0, which is underwritten by the Kauffman Foundation, has made its mission to increase the number of female founders of tech startups with inspiration, information and education.
- Women Entrepreneur: The female arm of Entrepreneur.com, this site is a resource for current and aspiring women business owners, featuring in-depth profiles of success stories as well as up-to-date advice on funding.
- Women For Hire: A hub of recruitment services for women, this site offers career expos, blogs and feature articles as well as an online job board that connects leading employers with professional women.
- Women’s eNews: An award-winning nonprofit news service covering issues concerning women and providing women’s perspectives on public policy around the globe. A particular emphasis on the women’s-focused news stories that often get very little play in mainstream media.
- World Moms Blog: For a truly global perspective on motherhood, World Moms brings together writers from the US and Canada to Australia, China, India and Japan to discuss parenting across cultures.
- Work It Mom: A community and blog for working mothers. Their philosophy is that if mothers share their experiences with each other, working women can successfully juggle career and family.
- Women & Hollywood: Women are more than 50% of the population, film ticket buyers and TV watchers, yet are not represented in equal numbers on screen or behind the scenes. Melissa Silverstein’s W&H is a call to arms.
- xoJane: Former Sassy Editor-in-Chief Jane Pratt gives us a women’s site as irreverent and informative as her previous lady mag that’s as heavy on the “It Happened To Me” as you’d expect. A smart stable of bloggers and Pratt’s celebrity friends keep the content fresh.
- The XX Factor
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