BabyCenter LLC, is just what it sounds like. Much like the community center in the local church, this site helps anxious parents and parents-to-be find answers to everything they need. This well-designed, interactive website brings reliable advice to a consumer audience, along with peer-support for the most anxiety producing experience many of us will ever have—parenting. BabyCenter is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, giving it the resources to bring the best of Web technology to bear on their goal of being the center for all things parent-related. They haven’t slacked around either. The site won a 2005 People’s Voice Webby Award, and enjoys 3.2 Million unique visitors a month (as of May, 2006). BabyCenter offers a real value to their target audience, but have they taken every opportunity to facilitate the different needs of the user? This Membership Website Review demonstrates how they score on the 14 design and usability principles important to Membership Website success.

This review is part of a handbook titled Membership Website Publishing.

• Handbook: Membership Website Publishing
• Chapter 18: BabyCenter.com Membership Website Review