Top 50 Most Useful Websites
You can find virtually anything on any topic on the World Wide Web. Whether you’re shopping for the best deals, researching for work or school, downloading apps for entertainment or to organize your life, or simply browsing your favorite topics for fun, you can find whatever you need on the ‘net. Every niche topic has its own established leaders in the space. We’ve compiled a list of the 50 most valuable online resources encompassing a number of popular topics.
NEWS
The New York Times – The digital presence for one of the world’s most recognizable print newspapers, The New York Times covers all the important and breaking news around the world.
Mashable – An online news resource known for its coverage of social media, tech, media and publishing and more.
TechCrunch – A part of AOL Tech, TechCrunch is the go-to source for news on the latest gadgets, technology, business, startups and more.
CNN.com – Covering world news, tech, lifestyle, education, health, travel, politics, justice and all the major news categories, CNN.com is a well-known and reputable resource for staying on top of all the latest happenings.
Reuters – A top resource for users interested in business, financial, investing and breaking news.
CBS News – The major television network’s online presence, CBS News provides up-to-date and breaking news in entertainment, health, money, politics and all the topics you need to know.
ABC News – Major news headlines and investigative reporting, delivered in copy, audio and video formats to keep you in the know on world news, politics, lifestyle, health and more.
Bloomberg – The sister site of BusinessWeek, Bloomberg is a reputable news source used by more than 420 publications as a source of content. Bloomberg covers everything from careers and news to market data, politics and sustainability.
JOB & CAREER
Glassdoor – As its name suggests, Glassdoor provides an inside look at potential employers through reviews from current and previous employees, offers a job search feature and provides salary information.
Indeed – With more than 100 million unique visitors per month, Indeed is a leading job-search platform including open positions aggregated from major job-search sites and company career pages around the web.
Simply Hired – Search jobs by category, job title, company, keywords or location at Simply Hired, another resource which aggregates job postings from various publishers on the web in one easy-to-use interface.
Idealist – The leading source for non-profit jobs and volunteer opportunities, Idealist also lets users connect with their favorite organizations and post events. Idealist also features a blog with tips on fundraising, stories about successful events and other non-profit information.
Optimal Resume – Helping job seekers make a great first impression with a stellar resume, Optimal Resume also includes resources for improving interview skills, managing an online portfolio, developing a personal brand online and more.
TRAVEL
Tripit – Organize your entire vacation or business trip with TripIt (and its accompanying mobile app), which turns chaos into order by providing a single platform to coordinate all those details, such as plane tickets and driving directions, and even restaurant reservations.
TripAdvisor – Plan the perfect trip by booking flights, hotels, car rentals, restaurants and checking out things to do all from one website with TripAdvisor.
Kayak – Aggregates information from across the web to find the lowest prices and best deals on flights, hotels, car rentals and everything you need for your next vacation.
Expedia – Book all your travel needs, find things to do, get Groupon deals and more at Expedia.com.
Priceline – Search more than 201,000 hotels and save between 40 and 60 percent on travel expenses by booking through Priceline.
Bing Travel – Search for the best prices on flights, hotels and car rentals, find out whether prices are expected to go up or down, access thousands of individual guides on destinations, such as Hawaii, and get valuable travel tips from the MSN Travel Blog.
FOOD & EVENTS
StubHub – The go-to resource for finding and scoring tickets to concerts, sporting events, theater productions, purchasing gift certificates and earning rewards for attending the events you love.
Foodler – Browse delivery menus, find out what restaurants are popular and order takeout online—faster and easier than digging through the Yellow Pages and picking up the phone.
OpenTable – The easiest way to make restaurant reservations at more than 27,000 restaurants and 400 million diners in cities across the globe.
Chowhound – Watch videos, get recipes and participate in discussions with other foodies about favorite foods, places to eat, cooking gadgets and more.
AllRecipes.com – A comprehensive platform allowing users to create profiles, store and organize their favorite recipes, provide feedback and search hundreds of thousands of recipes.
Say Mmm – Browse recipes, plan meals, organize your recipes, generate shopping lists and more, all designed to save you time and money.
Food Network – Watch videos of your favorite famous chefs demonstrating how to make delicious meals and desserts, read thousands of articles with cooking tips and advice, and get information on eating healthy, entertaining, quick and easy meals and more.
MUSIC & MEDIA
Grooveshark – Browse your favorite music genres for great music, search popular tracks and share your playlists and what you’re listening to with the Grooveshark community.
BearShare – Download more than 20 million songs and videos at BearShare, a completely free and legal peer-to-peer file sharing service.
Vimeo – Upload, share and view thousands of videos, including home-spun viral videos, advertisements, tutorials, music videos and more.
YouTube – The most well-known video site on the web today, YouTube boasts more than 800 million unique visitors a month. Watch your favorite shows, view previews of up-and-coming films, see the latest viral video sensations and even watch your favorite music videos anytime you want.
Pandora – A streaming audio platform that plays only music you like, based on your listening history and preferences.
iTunes – Download and organize your music, TV shows, movies, and other media, and access it and play it from any device in any location.
INFORMATION
WhitePages – Who needs a phone book? The WhitePages is an online resource for quickly and easily locating phone numbers and contact information for anyone. Search by name, business name or use reverse lookup to find the person behind a specific phone number.
BabelFish – A free, one-click translation solution that translates anything into more than 75 languages.
Angie’s List – Offering reviews on professional service providers, such as plumbers, housecleaners, dentists, hospitals, fitness centers and more, Angie’s List is a valuable resource for reading opinions of contractors and other professionals before hiring them.
About.com – Owned by Ask.com, About.com has thousands of articles, videos, tutorials, online courses, newsletters and more on niche topics surrounding everyday life and business. Examples include About.com Assisted Living and About.com Parenting.
iVillage – An online resource covering lifestyle topics, such as entertainment, beauty and style, pregnancy and parenting and more.
Kiplinger – Business forecasts, financial advice, helpful information on retirement, insurance and more.
FindLaw – Get free and reliable legal information on a variety of situations, search for a lawyer specializing in what you need, learn about laws and regulations on estate planning, intellectual property, wills and trusts and a variety of other areas.
TUTORIALS
Lynda – Learn about software, creative skills, business strategies and more at Lynda, which offers more than 1,645 courses online.
Instructables – Explore, document and share your creations with Instructable’s community of more than one million members. Get tutorials from other users to make your own creations, whether you’re interested in crafts, gadgets, furniture or just about anything else.
HowStuffWorks – Quizzes, countdowns, photo galleries and more compliment the thousands of articles explaining how everyday (and even rare and complex) products and processes work in an easy-to-understand format. HowStuffWorks is owned by Discovery Communications.
wikiHow – Find out how to do just about anything with wikiHow, a massive collection of more than 150,000. Users can contribute their own how-to articles to share with others, as well.
Academic Earth – Take free online courses from widely recognized higher education institutions, such as Yale, Harvard and Carnegie Mellon. Courses encompass dozens of topics, including business, humanities, engineering and more.
Khan Academy – A resource with thousands of video tutorials covering dozens of areas of focus, such as computer science, test prep for the SAT and similar exams, astronomy and pretty much anything that interests you.
ONLINE STOREFRONTS & E-COMMERCE
Etsy – Find handmade and vintage items, arts and crafts, and other creations from crafters and artists selling their wares through Etsy.
StoreEnvy – With more than 32,000 stores not found anywhere else, StoreEnvy is a useful e-commerce platform for crafters to sell their goods by creating a StoreEnvy storefront and a valuable website for shoppers to find products that are totally unique.
Big Cartel – A simple shopping cart for artists, Big Cartel provides an online storefront for independent clothing designers, record labels, crafters, jewelry makers and other artists to sell their creative works online.
Overstock.com – A major online retailer offering deep discounts on furniture, clothing, jewelry and other consumer goods by buying surplus stock from brand-name retailers and passing discounts on to consumers.
Amazon.com – One of the largest and most-recognized online retailers, Amazon.com is a one-stop shopping website featuring millions of products from other retailers. Find anything from movies and books (including e-books) to sporting goods and automotive parts.
About the author:
Michael Le is a tech and entertainment blogger for Bearshare.com and a variety of other music and entertainment websites.
