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Online Dating Reviews

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You don't have to read a lot of online dating sites reviews to know that each person's experience on a free or cheap dating website is unique and largely depends on their overall experience; that is, what they're looking for, what they find, and how it all goes down. One dating sites review might say potential matches met their expectations, another for the same site might express disappointment, and a third might say the whole thing is a scam.

Also remember that every online dating site is plagued by its share of ill-intentioned people. Keeping all this in mind, we tried to discount online dating sites reviews from users who seem bitter or who didn't use the site in its intended way (i.e., as an avenue for meeting people for potential relationships, rather than for sex or spamming). We looked at dating sites reviews from users and dating sites experts, such as the About.com Guide to Dating, to inform our conclusions.

Matching.

Obviously, before you start using a dating website, you want to know who's out there. This is a matter that's difficult to assess because individual perceptions are subjective. Take, for example, Plentyoffish.com. About.com likes the pool of potentials found on this free online dating site and notes that it bans people who don't meet its terms of service. One woman posting an online dating sites review on About.com who used Plentyoffish.com for "intimate encounters" says she was satisfied with the results and was contacted by only a few weirdos. But Plentyoffish.com also gets dinged. A few dating websites reviews on Viewpoints assert that it suffers from low-quality singles and that women using the site have excessively high expectations.

The usual gripes about slim pickings surface in online dating sites reviews of Lavalife.com, but lots of match-seekers seem to like what they find. One possible reason may be that Lavalife.com lets users post in separate dating, relationships, and intimate encounters communities; for each community you can create a different profile and post a different picture, so there's less chance of misunderstandings. According to dating websites reviews on EDateReview.com, some users claim to have found their perfect someone through this cheap online dating site and others report a variety of successful connections. For example, one bisexual woman says she had better luck finding women than men on Lavalife.com, and one man writes that he found the site useful for meeting women socially, not just romantically. Another female user posting an online dating sites review on EDateReview.com says Lavalife.com is fine if you use the site properly; that is, your profile is honest and the posted photo is recent.

OkCupid.com gets a shout-out in online dating sites reviews on Viewpoints for what seems to be a diverse user base. Another dating websites review on the DatingDame.com calls OkCupid.com the best dating site she's ever used because of its mix of intriguing people, some of whom became friends instead of dating partners. In fact, this is the only site we found where users seem happy even when they didn't find a match because, according to dating websites reviews, they simply enjoyed meeting quirky, engaging people with whom they could connect on a friendship level. The DatingDame.com credits the interesting questions the site asks and lets users ask for generating such satisfactory results.

The novelty of speed-date by video has a certain appeal, according to dating sites reviews of SpeedDate.com. One review on TheTechBrief.com says the three-minute format was fun even if it didn't produce the one-and-only. A woman posting an online dating sites review on Mashable reports meeting several catches and another user commenting on DateMeLoveMe.com appreciates the absence of long questionnaires or profiles that other sites require before potential matches are made.

"Futile" might best describe the experience of match-seekers using True.com and PerfectMatch.com. Several users posting dating websites reviews on EDateReview.com about True.com claim they were only able to contact members who live far away, a comment echoed by a user on DatingSiteReviews.com. And according to scores of dating websites reviews about PerfectMatch.com on Epinions, many profiles seem inactive.

High-priced online dating sites don't necessarily outperform the cheap and free dating sites when it comes to making matches. According to online dating sites reviews of eHarmony.com (starting at $59.95/month) on OnlineDatingMagazine, one big downside of the site is that you might be matched with non-paying members and then can't communicate with them. Other eHarmony.com users posting dating websites reviews on DatingReviews.org grouse about not being matched well, and some report receiving as few as two matches a month, which they don't consider adequate given the price.

Communication.

If there's going to be a match, communication is a must. Overall, users of Plentyoffish.com had plenty of good things to say in online dating sites reviews about communicating through this free dating site. A user posting a dating websites review on ReviewCentre.com likes that everyone can message each other back, unlike paid services where both members have to sign up to reply. And a match-seeker commenting in an online dating sites review on About.com says Plentyoffish.com is more fun and interactive than an online dating site she paid for.

A gripe about Lavalife.com, according to online dating sites reviews on EDateReview.com, concerns the fact that you have to sign up for the paid version of the site to return a smiley, but not to send one, which seems to deter some users. Another online dating sites review of Lavalife.com at OnlineDatingMagazine.com grumbles about not being able to turn off the IM feature, which lets people contact you even though you have no interest in them. On the other hand, some users appreciate being able to chat 24/7 via phone -- and it's free for women (men pay $0.79 per minute).

Communicating proceeds relatively smoothly on OkCupid.com, users report. Online dating sites reviews on Viewpoints and DatingSitesReviews.com indicate few problems either getting through to, or avoiding, a potential match. The site also has an active journaling and blogging community where users can "favorite" others' profiles so their page displays the other users' journal entries .

SpeedDate.com is something of a front runner in the communications realm. In addition to the video chats, the cheap dating site offers text and voice chat options. Going one step further, you can access the site through an iPhone and iPod, which lets you go on speed dates from any location using your smartphone or music device; Mobilemarketer.com reports that SpeedDate.com is now one of the top 50 iPhone apps. Although some dating sites reviews on Dating-service.com say the site is a hunting ground for overseas scammers, other users value the ability to actually talk to people rather than just scrolling through profiles.

Both PerfectMatch.com and True.com suffer from communications glitches, according to online dating sites reviews. Unhappy users report on EDateReview.com that many PerfectMatch.com profiles are empty and introductory emails or icebreakers float off into cyberspace and generate nary a response. Complaints about True.com posted on Viewpoints concern issues such as inability to access a chat room, random contacts, and unexpected charges even during a trial membership.

Interface.

Cheap and free dating sites get mixed reviews for their site design and ease of use. For one thing, some cheap online dating sites, including SpeedDate.com, Lavalife.com, and Match.com hide critical information like membership fees behind a wall of personal questions. Moreover, the graphics and interface of some dating sites could use a makeover.

An expert online dating sites review on TopTenReviews.com criticizes the poor site navigation and small photos on Plentyoffish.com, and a user's online dating sites review on RealSimple.com calls the site unattractive and says profile images are blurry. A dating sites review on OnlineDatingMagazine.com says PerfectMatch.com is poorly designed, and notes that you need to go back through a "sent" folder to locate a member again. Users of True.com write in dating websites reviews on eDatereview.com that the site crashes regularly.

Some dating sites, however, pass muster for design and usability. OkCupid.com, for example, is organized and accessible, according to an online dating sites reviews on YourTango.com, which specifically mentions the horizontal navigation bar with drop-down menus. Lavalife.com wins kudos from PCMag.com for its decent site design and easy navigation. The expert dating websites review also likes the simple sign-up to create a profile, nickname, and "opening line," and OnlineDatingMagazine.com praises the top navigation bar menu that requires just a click to view a new section.

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PerfectMatch.com
True.com
Plentyoffish.com
SpeedDate.com
OkCupid.com
Lavalife.com

 

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