There's a lot of good advice here. One thing not pointed out yet, is the fit of the handgun to the hand. I tend to be the gun guy that folks (mostly women) come to for a discussion on firearms. IMHO, one of the most important factors for finding the right gun is finding the one that fits you well, doesn't have too much recoil, and that you can shoot well. It's a Goldilocks thing. Not to big, not too small, but just right.
I have very small hands, as do most women. I sold off all of my too-large handguns to replace them with ones that fit me well. Several of the knowledge-seekers have fallen in love with one of my handguns and after taking to the range to shoot with a variety of arms, they marched down to buy their own.
