Selecting Your Online Dating Site Tips and Reviews

Dating Sites Reviewed

There is probably a dating site for just about any interest imaginable. It can be overwhelming. Our goal is to provide you with not only a list of popular online dating sites, but, also, give you some information about what each site has to offer and is about.

In selecting the internet dating site you wish to participate in you should first determine what your goals for using the dating site.
● Who are you hoping to meet? Friend, casual dating partner, long term relationship, marriage?
● Are there particular characteristics/interests that are important to your dating? A particular ethnic group, age group, religious affiliation, hobby/activity that you wish your dates to share?
● What are your geographical requirement? Date someone from your city? Within 100 miles? More? Find an international friend?

These are a few of the issues you need to decide before you spend any money on a dating site. This is NOT to say, you shouldn’t be browsing and trying out different sites-for free or trial periods- while you determine what, who and where your special someone might be found.

In fact, I encourage you to sign up for several sites during the free or trial period so you can get the feel of the site and the participants, before you commit yourself to a site. You are going to be spending a significant amount of time and energy there, so you need to feel comfortable and be familiar with all the sites rules and benefits.

And benefits there are! I have searched the web and compiled a list of some of the best internet dating sites for your convenience. Along with the list, I will provide an overview and pro’s and con’s, if need be, to help you choose the best online dating site for your dating goals. I’ve segmented the sites into groupings and will be adding to the lists as I discover new dating sites.

Let the Dating Fun Begin!!

Overview

Some services, including top dating sites like Yahoo! Personals!
(singles dating) and eHarmony (soulmates) focus on one type of relationship only. The advantage of choosing a dating service that’s dedicated to a particular type of relationship is that everyone will be on exactly the same page as you are in terms of intentions.

If you’re not clear what your intentions are, you might be better choosing a dating service where members can pursue different types of relationships within the same site. Again there’s no shortage of choice.

However, at some multi-relationship services it’s not immediately clear who’s looking for what and it’s up to you to figure it out, using the search tools. If you have set ideas about the type of person you’d like to meet, finding them in a mainstream service, which has a diverse membership, could be like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. If this sounds like trouble (and it can be), consider choosing a relationship service that specializes in bringing people together who have something very specific in common — religion, political beliefs, ethnicity, body size, certain lifestyles, you name it.

Dating sites have thousands if not millions of members so good search tools are important. However, it’s still up to you search out your perfect match and not everyone has time for this.

Luckily many dating services have matchmaking features (more sophisticated search tools) that will help you find “the one” quickly and easily. Matchmaking features range from the very simple, based on profiles and/or basic wish lists, to the sophisticated, based on personality and other tests as well as more detailed profiles and wish lists.

Unless you’re unusually picky (or just very unusual), these one-click options will typically churn up a good selection of possible matches on a regular basis — popular dating services attract many new members a day.

You can usually opt to have these matchmaking searches run automatically on a regular basis and receive new match details by email — another time-saver.

There are two levels of communication to consider when choosing a dating service — what you get for free and what you get as a paying member. On both fronts, some services offer a lot more than others.

Free communications matter because they let you get to know someone, or at least that the interest is mutual, before you spring for a subscription. (A subscription will let you communicate as much as you like.) At most services, free communications are limited to flirty icons and preset messages that members send to each other, but search around. Some services are much more generous than others.

Once you subscribe, the norm for communicating is by on-site email and instant messaging. Many of the top dating services, Yahoo! Personals included, have stuck with this simple set up and show no sign of changing any time soon.

Others, like Match.com, are continuously adopting new technologies to offer members more communications options. Typically you’ll pay more so think about whether or not you really need to to be able to access their services anytime, anywhere.

Most online dating services charge about the same for a subscription — between $20 and $25 a month — so cost isn’t going to be much of a deciding factor when choosing a dating service.
Instead, look for value — services might charge about the same but there are big differences in what you get for your money.

Also, check out payment options. Several dating services accept money orders and checks as well as the usual credit cards.

Find out what discounts will be available if you sign up for several months at once, and if any special offers are available. Finally on this one, look for free trials and try out all the extra subscriber features before committing to a subscription.

Most of all, though it’s important to choose a dating service that’s right for you, one you’ll enjoy using and are mostly like to have success with, choosing a dating service should be fun.

If one dating service doesn’t work out for you, move on and choose another!

Dating Sites Reviewed

Mainstream Dating Sites

Mainstream dating sites are designed to have broad appeal to anyone. They are dating services where the members can pursue different types of relationships within the same site.

Yahoo! Personals!
helps you pick from tens of thousands of members to find exciting dates in your area. It is one of the largest internet dating services. Powerful matching systems help you focus your attention on singles who might be compatible with you. You have the ability to select and search within designated ethnic group, religious group, common interests, geographical region, area, or city, plus lots, lots more. Some of the highlights include:
* Save searches to find new results
* Find individuals matching your interests
* Get matches sent to your inbox 3 times a week
7 Day FREE Trial offer
allows you to create a free profile and ‘test drive’ the service to decide whether you’re comfortable and like the site. When you begin your search you may define your criteria by selecting from 10 ethnicity types, height preferences, body type, hair and eye color, lifestyles, educational level, employment and professions, religion, and so much more that it enables you to automatically weed out inappropriate matches before you start!
You can pay a monthly membership fee to join as either a regular member or a premier member. The cost difference is only a few dollars, and it all depends on what you’re looking for and how much you’ll use the additional features of Yahoo’s online dating service. Frankly, there’s so much to use with the standard membership, I’d try it first and see who you meet online. If you like personality tests and the chance to be matched more precisely, however, choose the Premier Membership - it’s geared toward members looking for a serious relationship and helps you find really great matches.
Match.com
is one of the largest and most popular dating sites on the internet.
It offers online dating tips, relationship advice, and of course, the chance to browse through the profiles of other members. You can search by keyword, by personal characteristics, by special interests, by location, and more.
It’s free to sign up and create a profile and it’s free to send winks to others whose profiles are interesting to you. To send email and communicate with potential matches you must subscribe to the full service. The monthly cost for joining this Internet dating service starts at $29.99, and can be much less per month if you commit to a multi-month subscription.
DATE.COM
has over three million members and offers a streamline dating service that’s easy to join and use. The membership is diverse and evenly represented. The profiles reflect the diversity of the membership, with some interested in casual relationships while others want something more serious, including marriage.
The site has as many extras but you don’t have quite as many options for a free membership (you can post a profile, browse and add a picture for free, but actual email or chat contact with others requires membership. At only $24.95 or $99.95 for a whole year, though, this site is worth the investment.
FriendFinder.com gives you have the option to sign up looking for dating, marriage, friends and activity partners or simply pen pals. I’ve found that if you start looking for someone who will be a good friend, you’ll often end up discovering that the person could turn into that “special someone.” FriendFinder doesn’t push any particular type of dating or relationship - it’s general in its outlook and has a wider range of members than almost any other online dating site for relationships on the web. One way they help you find romance is the chance to search by zip code. Friendfinder.com has tons of sub-categories for ethnic choices, religious, choices, sexual and even international dating. An all in one, multi-options dating site and a lot of fun to explore.
FriendSearch.com
is an exciting opportunity that millions of people use every day as a means of building friendships and making love connections. To become a valued member of FriendSearch.com, you pay nothing. Once you have signed up to become a member, you will have the ability to search and browse other members who just like you, are looking to meet someone special. When you create your free profile, FriendSearch will Instantly email you 10 singles in your local area seeking dates! The nice thing about using the FriendSearch online dating service is that there is no pressure to respond to any of your e-mails or requests. You control the people you respond to and send messages to. Instead of feeling pressured or hassled, all you need to do is have fun and enjoy the process of making new friends and possibly, a love or sex connection! Check out for yourself. Members of FriendSearch.com are looking for relationships for a number of reasons. Some people are divorced, widowed, hobbyists, and so on. Regardless of your reason for wanting to meet someone, the services provided on FriendSearch.com will help make your experience a positive one. Local, adult, alternative lifestyles and a separate search for almost every country can be found at FriendSearch.
Lavalife divides itself into three sub-sites, depending on your main interest: dating, relationships or intimate encounters. You can browse and search through all three areas, but you have to create a separate profile for each of these three divisions. With Lavalife, you can connect with singles through instant messaging, online chat, e-mails and “smiles” (which indicate interest). It costs nothing to respond to e-mails, smiles and instant messages from other dating service members, but to initiate contact, you have to be a paid member. Photos and video clips can be made public for everyone to see, or private and only available for viewing by permission.

Romantic Matchmaking Sites

If you are burned out on mismatches, and you’re serious about finding a long-term relationship, it may be worth the extra effort and money to try one of the dating sites that specializes in matchmaking. These sites use an interview process that helps weed out more casual users and helps match compatible people.

Chemistry.com is an offshoot of the giant Match.com service, with a detailed personality test and no searching allowed — you wait for the computer to send you possible matches. Chemistry.com has a biological anthropologist, Dr. Helen Fisher, behind the scenes. She is the online dating site’s “scientific advisor” and she created the lengthy personality test based on her decades of experience in studying the “science of human attraction.” Chemistry.com starts with a comprehensive questionnaire designed to find out who you are and what you are looking for in a partner. Your first five matches are free, but you must subscribe to the service before you have full access to all the features of the site. Chemistry.com also guides users through a multi-step communication process.

Mingle.com
gives you the ability to create your own personal hotlist of the members that interest you. A hotlist is like a notebook. When you find a member that you’re interested in, you can click the Add To Hotlist button below that member’s profile. This will put that profile in your hotlist. You can then review the profiles in your hotlist at any time by going to the Hotlist page. Your hotlist will be saved from session to session, so the next time you log back on, your hotlist will still be there.

Religious Based Dating Sites

If dating, or being in a serious, long-term relationship, with someone who believes or practices the same religious beliefs that you do is not only important to you, but a ‘deal breaker’, then there are some excellent dating sites on the internet that cater to specific religious beliefs. In most cases, there are more than one, so if you’re unhappy with the responses you get at one site, do not hesitate to to join a different one. Here are the most popular religious dating sites, by religion-

Yahoo! Personals - Find Christian Singles Now! -like the mainstream Yahoo! Personals! site, has an extremely large database. It worth, at least testing with their free 7 day trial.

Meet Christian Singles @ Metrodate.com - The Ultimate Singles Resource featuring online personals with photos, voice, chat and more!


ChristianCafe.com
 is one of the most popular Christian dating sites, worldwide. It is owned and operated by Christians, unlike some of the other sites on the web. You can register and post your profile free of charge and then search for likeminded Christian singles. There are relationship articles, advice, chat rooms, and a special section for posting prayers.
It has a 10 day FREE trial offer, where you have access to all the areas.

>Big Church has over half a million members worldwide. The web site offers Christian singles the opportunity to create a profile and find other Christians for dating, fellowship, Bible study, prayer partners, and more. It features a searchable online Bible and in depth Bible commentary and discussion.
A free membership at Big Church allows you to post your profile, use the chat rooms and instant messenger, form a prayer or Bible study group, and make postings to their online Christian singles relationship magazine. Paid memberships vary in price depending on the level of service you choose, but subscription rates can be as low as $10 per month depending on the length of subscription you choose.

ChristianMingle
is part of the larger Mingle.com site with all the same features.

JDate–For Jewish Singles is probably the # 1, most popular dating site for Jewish singles. You may join for free to test it out, but I guarantee you won’t be sorry…I’m attending a wedding this summer for a friends who met at JDate!

Meet Jewish Singles @ Metrodate.com
The ultimate singles resource featuring online personal with photos, voice, chat and more!