Newcomers Research

http://durantnewcomers.com/

Clean way of presenting information

Makes content easy to follow
Home page… right column is shaded to separate content
Navigation is easy to read and follow

It's also a very nice layout

The color scheme matches the header image
Titles and sub-titles help user understand organization
Calendar/weather nice touch in the left column
3 rd column on home page is eye-catching with nice image headers

http://westsalemmoms.com/

They have an easy to use navigation bar

good contrasting colors which makes their content easy to read
There are a limited number of links (there aren't too many links)

User friendly… they have images for:

Email
Print
Favorites

On every page to aid the user

Color scheme was popular with the class
Nice margins between text and graphics. Paragraphing helps readability

http://www.pampclub.org/home.php

Clever navigation:

Bubbles add certain flair to the usual boring navigation
Image in the “large circle” change with each page adding more interest

Color:

Color scheme is nice and helps readability
Different borders on “boxes” helps to separate information
“Boxes” have pure white boxes for contrasting color for text readability

http://columbiamoms.org/

I like how the header blends with content area,
The picture below navigation adds to header image,
The color scheme works with the header also
Menu text needs to be darker for contrasting color
Images in general add a fun element to the site

Doug, I will look at the websites that you attached. I have attached the website for the Lake Oswego Newcomers which I really like.

I like the artwork at the top which creates a warm welcoming feeling

I would like to create with our site

I also like the way they have the 'menu' of activities at the top.