Online dating has grown in popularity to the point where there is almost no social stigma attached to it. With an estimated 1,000 online dating sites in existence, however, it can be hard to sift through all the options and decide which is the best site. Creating online dating profiles helps consumers carefully consider potential matches. Likewise, evaluating a dating site before using it is essential, and it will bring you that much closer to finding a good match. How much does it cost? It is important to decide how much you can afford to pay before committing to a site. If there are different levels of membership and payment, check to see which features are included in each level and which features you find essential. Recently, there has been many mobile dating apps that will let you pay by the action instead of by a set amount of time. What is the matching process? Online dating websites offer a variety of methods on how to search for a mate. Some mobile apps will match you with people based on criteria, including age, gender, and geographic proximity. More traditional sites may offer anything from a simple search to a highly specific advanced search. Some more seriously minded sites request that members fill out elaborate compatibility questionnaires. However, if you are currently looking to meet someone in close proximity, many of the mobile dating apps will provide you with your best results with little to no cost. Dating sites do this based on preferences such as income, smoking and drinking, if the match has kids and whether he or she has ever been married. Is the dating site niche? If you have a very specific set of interests, there are many sites that may cater to your niche. Some of these niche sites are Farmersonly. Currently Baby boomers, those over 50, are overwhelmingly turning to the web to find a mate. What are the privacy safeguards? Depending on the dating site, all other members might be able to see your profile and message you. Check to see what safeguards are put in place by the site, and which ones you can enable to limit those who sees your profile. Some sites wait until you favorite, wink, or in some way OK a member before they can see your whole profile. That said, it is important that you only share information in your profile that you are okay with a stranger being able to see. These apps allow you to quickly find similarly minded people. On most dating sites, you can use a sort feature to see which members are currently online right now and available to talk. Is the dating process safe? Most dating sites have become extremely good about policing their members for negative or unsafe behavior. There are several sites that offer additional levels of security including background checks and photo verification. This goes above and beyond just asking for your email. Many sites now ask you to verify your identity through your FaceBook or Google+ login. This, combined with highly trained scammer prevention teams, have made online dating safer than it has ever been. This includes emailing a photo of the member, holding a piece of paper, with a set of numbers that has been randomly generated by the site. Other members do not see this, but it allows the site's staff to confirm their identity. If it is a paid site, make sure it is a secure site before entering your credit card information. What are the main features? The features of the dating site should be the features you want and will use, especially if it is a paid site. These features could include private emails, proximity search, chat rooms and more. These are keyword searches, mutual matching, reverse matching, the ability to save and favorite certain profiles and more. When considering a site, it is best to also test their mobile app to see if it can help streamline your dating experience. Additionally, there are several dating apps that only exist in the mobile format. Before downloading, it is best to check for recent reviews on their download pages. Research which methods are available on a site and make sure they fit with your needs. There might be an extra charge to attend these events, or it might be included within the price of the membership. Niche Focusing on a narrow pool of candidates, these online dating sites help match people up with someone of a similar religion, profession, or sexual orientation. Examples within this category include Jdate for Jewish singles, Geek2Geek and Farmersonly for farmers and the people who want to meet them. Anyone struggling to find a partner in their day to day life A 2013 study shows that nearly 60% of all new marriages in the USA started with the couple meeting online. The explosion of Niche and mobile dating solutions has made online dating more convenient and efficient than any other time in the history of the industry. Recently relocated Meeting people in a new town can be challenging. This is also a good way to get to know people in your new town and meet friends, not just potential romantic partners. Founded in February 2015, The Heart Market is an online matchmaking service that helps users find prospective partners. Their primary platform is hosted on the web, but access to the site is also available on mobile and tablet devices. They strive to make their online dating site as safe as possible by carrying out background checks on all applicants. Disclaimer Information in this guide is general in nature and is intended for informational purposes only; it is not legal, health, investment or tax advice. Harvard Business School graduate, Mark Brooks, has been an expert in the Internet dating business since 1998. He is currently the CEO of Courtland Brooks, a consultancy agency for the Internet dating industry, and runs OnlinePersonalsWatch. He prides himself on being a New Media Futurist and can be reached at LinkedIn. At ConsumerAffairs we love to hear from both consumers and brands; please never hesitate to. We take privacy seriously, please refer to our to learn more about how we keep you protected. Advertisements on this site are placed and controlled by outside advertising networks. See the for more information. The information on our website is general in nature and is not intended as a substitute for competent legal advice.
