As the official method to our madness, this list is the sum of a year’s worth of Internetting, asking around and getting lost down the rabbit hole of the best (and sometimes weirdest) of the Web.
We’re forever indebted to our friends in the ForbesWoman community: from the ongoing conversations in our Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook groups to the brilliant contributors and commenters on our site, you continually inspire us, enlighten us and not-so-gently nudge us to look past our own personal tastes online.
[source: Meghan Casserly and Jenna Goudreau, Forbes staff reporters]
So what do we look for? Informative and compelling content, smart navigable design, engaged communities and, of course, a voice that speaks to and for the female reader that’s kept fresh, timely and in-the-know by savvy staffers and impassioned writers. Inspire us to save money, change the world (or just ourselves), climb the ladder or strike out on our own and we’re getting on board. Of course, there are extra fun points for the sites that suck us in and help to pass the often-painful three-oh-clock hour. But here’s the real challenge: Does it have that amorphous and often indefinable quality that inspires us to share–with our social networks and in e-mails and conversations with our moms, sisters, friends and colleagues.
This year you’ll find some familiar favorites—no one can dispute the “best of” status of bloggers Dooce and Penelope Trunk, who don’t just chime in on the mommy wars—they often start them. We’ve also kept up with some of the giants: 85 Broads, LearnVest and Catalyst have become old friends—and contributors to ForbesWoman–and you can rest assured they’re bookmarked.
But you’ll also notice a slew of new names on this year’s list. It’s no surprise, really. When we posted a call for candidates, we received more than 1,100 suggestions (and counting) from commenters, contributors and staffers.
One of our nominations was Hello Giggles, the new content site founded by actress Zooey Deschanel and two L.A. friends, Molly McAleer and Sofia Rossi. Content is girly if not saccharine-sweet–how-tos on nail art and something called a BunnyCam (yes, really) get top-billing—but Deschanel describes the mission as broader. “If we can be the place where 13-year-old-bloggers are engaging with 30somethings, finding out how much all women really have in common, then I think we’re on to something,” she says.
Commenter Tamara Simon nominated The Full Plate blog to help “Busy parents nourish their families and themselves with fabulous meals. [Blogger] Eila Johnson does a great job vetting recipes and placing them in the context of our busy lives. She is a creative dynamic force who is mindful of balance and her blog reflects these values.”
One thing you’ll notice from last year are two new areas of focus, one highlighting the rising tide of female entrepreneurs and another that takes note of the cultural shift of the millennial workforce.
85 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.
Alexandra Levit: A career blog by author and journalist Alexandra Levit that regularly dispenses wisdom on all things work.
Babble: A community for new parents with advice, recipes, news and resources, plus a witty blog called Strollerderby.
Betty Confidential: A fast-growing women’s site that features celebrity news and lifestyle content.
Birds On the Blog: This London blog features career advice and breaking women’s-interest news from 11 resident bloggers (aka “the birds”). All ad revenue from the site is used to fund the education of 5-year-old Ugandan twin girls, Princess and Perfect.
Bizzie Mommy:Very busy mom Stephanie Elie blogs about juggling her two kids and multiple businesses.
BlogHer: The premier women’s blog platform is celebrating its fifth year this year–and it’s still going and growing strong.
Brazen Careerist’s Blog: 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.
CafeMom: An online community for moms that hosts parenting forums, games and blogs.
Care: A community and blog for the “sandwich” generation who juggle caring for their children, parents, pets and overall sanity.
CareerDiva: MSNBC.com career columnist Eve Tahmincioglu blogs about navigating the job market, networking, negotiating and more.
Catalyst: This website by nonprofit group Catalyst hosts research about women in business and an insightful blog,Catalyzing.
Common Sense With Money: Accountant and mom Mercedes Levy offers smart advice on budgeting, saving and where to find bargains.
Cool Mom: TV host and pop culture writer Daphne Brogdon blogs and posts videos to fuel the “momversation.”
Corporette: A fashion and lifestyle blog for corporate women: lawyers, bankers, MBAs, consultants and “otherwise overachieving chicks.”
Count Me In: This community for women business owners offers career resources, webinars, blogs and a network for female entrepreneurs.
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.”
Dames Bond: “When dames bond, dames thrive” is the motto of this networking site for women in business. In addition to feature articles on advice, it features an extensive business directory of female services and businesses.
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.
DivineCaroline: A curated blog platform for women, DivineCaroline hosts entertaining and thoughtful content about work, travel, style and relationships.
Dooce: With stunning pictures and crisp wit, mom and former Web designer Heather Armstrong chronicles her life and the world around her.
Escape From Cubicle Nation: Career coach Pamela Slim offers easy-to-follow marketing and business advice to help workers funnel their passions into their work.
Families and Work: The blog from the nonprofit group Families and Work Institute features thoughtful pieces on the changing workplace and family structure.
Feministe: A feminist blog that tackles gender issues with both humor and gravity.
Feministing: An online community and blog with a feminist perspective that analyzes how pop culture and mainstream media reflect modern women.
Frances Cole Jones: Former nonfiction editor and career expert Jones offers business advice and tips on workplace etiquette.
From The Gen Y Perspective: Emily Jasper blogs about career and workplace issues with the perceptive vantage point of youth.
Glam: This women’s style site features beauty advice, must-have products and celebrity fashion trends.
Healthy Women: A go-to information source for women on all things health, with hard medical data and breezy lifestyle articles.
Hello Ladies: Calls itself “the intersection of feminism and life,” and features breaking news stories, feminist essays and work-life advice.
Home-Based Working Moms: An online community and association for work-at-home moms with useful resources to help with the juggle.
Hybrid Mom: This community for moms features articles and blogs on parenting and work, as well as a digital marketplace where users can buy and sell their products.
InStyle: The official InStylemagazine website provides an insider’s view on celebrity style and easy tips to get it yourself.
iVillage: One of the Web’s largest communities for women featuring lifestyle stories and tips and a ton of active message boards.
Jane Has A Job: Jane Has Job is a blog and community hub for working women in their 20s and 30s. Their mission is to address the many challenges of a woman’s life, recognizing that no two women are the same but do share certain desires and concerns.
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.
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.
Lemondrop: This edgy women’s lifestyle site features posts on love, sex and beauty.
Lindsey Pollak: LinkedIn spokesperson and Gen Y expert Lindsey Pollak blogs about social media and work for the next generation of leaders.
Maggie Jackson: Author and journalist Maggie Jackson posts about the balancing acts of working parents and how technology is changing the way we live and work.
Martha Stewart Living: The digital platform of powerhouse Martha Stewart features inspired tips, recipes and guides to perfecting the home.
Minti: User-generated blogs discuss pregnancy, parenting, childhood and education.
Modite: Entrepreneur Rebecca Thorman writes with fury on the state of the Gen-Y generation, women and work.
Mom Invented: Tamara Monosoff launched this online community for entrepreneurial moms. It supports and inspires women inventors with business advice and product licensing opportunities.
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.
More: The Web presence of Moremagazine, the lifestyle title for women over 40.
Motherlode: New York Times’ Motherlode blog by Lisa Belkin 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.
Ms. Money: A personal finance resource for women that covers everything from investing and budgeting to debt reduction, all to give financial peace of mind to its users.
Mystic Madness: A blog for women that addresses personal development, relationships and work issues through the lens of self-improvement.
On The Job: A workplace blog from columnist and author Anita Bruzzese, On The Job tackles outsourcing, unemployment issues and procrastination with just the right quantities of journalism and snark.
One Louder: Microsoft staffing manager Heather Hamilton blogs about marketing, recruiting and corporate culture.
Oprah: It’s Oprah–she’s everything–and her site is, too.
Our Bodies, Our Blog: A blog from the nonprofit group Boston Women’s Health Book Collective that aims to educate on women’s health issues through topical newsy content.
Parents Connect: Nickelodeon’s community site for parents has the tagline “we’re not perfect, we’re parents,” and features networking opportunities, vacation advice and a platform to swap parenting war stories.
Pink Magazine: The Web presence of Pink, the national women’s magazine that addresses the needs, interests, ambitions and accomplishments of working women.
Pioneer Woman: Ree Drummond juggles homeschool, career and life on a ranch, and blogs her recipes, photography and family stories. Inspiring and delicious.
Protocol School: From etiquette expert Diane Gottsman, the site is a resource for manners and protocol in business. Gottsman says, “If you think business and manners don’t mix, try talking with your mouth full.”
Punk Rock HR: HR expert Laurie Ruettmann, one of CareerBuilder.com’s Top Five bloggers, shares her insights into corporate right and wrongs–and how to get ahead without kissing butt.
Rachael Ray: The queen of 30-minute meals offers her unique brand of getting things done with a smile, and her site offers advice and features culled from her daytime TV show as well as must-cook recipes.
Real Simple: Real Simple magazine’s Web presence is as no-fuss and impeccably designed as the print version. Stop here for lifestyle advice from these organizing, cooking and DIY experts.
Salon’s Broadsheet: The women and pop culture blog from Salon is always entertaining and enlightening and more than worthy of a bookmark.
Savvy Miss: A community for “real” women who are curious, fun-loving, philanthropic and intellectual.
Self: Self magazine’s online presence and a destination in its own right for features and advice on fitness, healthy eating, stress-management and quick exercise tips.
She Finds and Mom Finds: Buying guides from shopping experts save busy women the trouble of pre-shopping research on must-have fashion, gifts and kid gear.
She Takes On The World: 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.
Smitten Blog by Glamour: The community website of Glamourmagazine, the site features magazine content, a blog platform and community forums on fashion, love, work issues and fitness.
Start Up Princess: A resource for female entrepreneurs by female entrepreneurs through education, encouragement and networking opportunities.
Style: Vogue’s online home for fashion news, runway shows, trends, designers and insider industry tidbits. A great resource for women looking to update their working wardrobe, or to keep on top of trends each season.
Team Sugar: The parent site for all of the ‘Sugar blogs that cover all manner of life, from work and fashion to kids to celebrities. Teamsugar is one-stop shopping for hip female-friendly content.
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 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.
The Football Girl: 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.
The Glass Hammer: An award-winning blog and online community created for women executives in finance, law, technology and big business.
The Juggle: WSJ.com’s The Juggle blog provides news and views on work, caregiving and time management for working parents.
The Knot: A community website for engaged or recently married couples that offers wedding advice, registry information and planning features for women and couples.
The Nie Nie Dialogues: The world has been watching Stephanie Nielson as she’s raised her family of four and miraculously recovered from a plane crash that burned 83% of her body. We can’t stop watching.
TheBloggess: Jenny Lawson blogs about sex, love and motherhood, and whatever else comes to mind.
Total Leadership: Stew Friedman blogs for Total Leadership on improvement in all domains of life–work, home, community and self, advice all women can take to heart.
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.
WFN: The blog of Boston College’s Alfred P. Sloan Work and Family Research Network is a destination for information on work and family balance and features articles on public policy and evidence-based information on workforce issues, talent management and the impact of work and family issues on business.
Woman’s Day: Woman’s Day is one of the most popular women’s magazines on the newsstand and the website follows in its footsteps, providing thorough content with a particular slant towards recipes and home life.
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 On Business: The goal of Women on Business is to expand the international network of businesswomen online by promoting conversation on common issues. It was founded by writer and consultant Susan Gunelius.
Women Success Coaching: A blog from success coach Bonnie Marcus, Women’s Success Coaching weighs in on the many building blocks of empowering women in business, from assertive communication to self promotion to sensitivity training.
Womenetics: A networking platform for professional women that features daily content on business and personal relationships.
Women’s e-News: A nonprofit news service covering issues of concern to women and their allies and provides a woman’s perspective on changing public policy.
Women Fitness: Aims to improve women’s nutrition and activity levels. “Wanting to look and feel good may feel shallow,” they say, “but if it means reducing body fat and building toned muscles, it’s a truly wonderful thing.”
WomensForum: As one of the first online women’s communities, it still boasts 8 million page views a month as a destination for working women.
Work Happy Now: A blog and newsletter from career coach Karl Staib, WHN focuses on developing career “superpowers” to find the job that’s right for you.
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.
Work Life Fit: Resource for work life fit and flex scheduling for organizations and individuals.
Working Mother: The web presence of Working Mother magazine, the site features articles on the intersection of parenting and professional life.
Works by Nicole Williams: Author Nicole Williams curates WORKS, a resource for young professional women with a sophisticated voice.
WowOwow: WowOwow is a daily blog and newsmagazine written by an A-list cast of female writers and entertainment icons who share their opinions on news and women’s issues.
Yahoo! Shine: A women-only curated blog platform that serves up career advice, style tips, whatever’s-in-your-fridge recipes and pithy takes on current events.