By 2018-09-07 09:00:00 UTC Let's just cut the mushy bullshit and get straight to the point: Online dating can truly suck. Don't get me wrong — the help is seriously great when you start to feel like you're ForeverAlone, but the entire process of creating a dating profile and dealing with less than ideal matches can be cumbersome. Here's the thing though: is about to be your new best friend. SEE ALSO: Everyone knows the name, but what tons of people especially young people may not realize is that it's not just another or. It's ideal for people who don't want anything to do with hookup-crazed swiping apps, but who also don't want to feel like they're desperately looking for marriage. With , it's obvious that you're not the only one who was itching for some sort of middle ground. Plus, since it's one of the OG dating sites it debuted in 2004 , its trusted name brings along an impressively robust user base. OkCupid's matching strategies are based on non-traditional questions and push for lasting connections. They accomplish this by diving into both the shallow and deep aspects of a relationship without forcing people to self-evaluate. The entire site's , and it's nice to know they can actually back up their algorithms. OkCupid's advertising is outstanding. They deserve endless applause just for that, but I realize many people on dating apps care about more than the aesthetics or the branding. Good thing OkCupid is so much more than that, taking compatibility factors into account that other sites haven't even thought of. OkCupid genuinely wants dating to be a good experience for you, and their multi-faceted matchmaking and modern vibe help you steer clear of feeling like a loser talking to people online. Making a profile: It's actually not a pain in the ass Please appreciate the cuteness of this login page. Image: okcupid Before you even sign up, please appreciate. It is adorable and feels super low-pressure. OkCupid recently went through a pretty major rebranding, and their new advertising is incredible. I am obsessed, guys. The entire campaign is fresh and inviting and does a great job of making online dating feel cool and not lame. Another way OkCupid is a true game changer lies in their inclusive gender selection: The site offers 12 gender identities and 20 sexual orientations, so no one is forced to choose a pronoun they're not comfortable with. OkCupid is the only site out there that can truly say it's for everyone, and I applaud them endlessly for that. Okay, well maybe not everyone — ultra right-wing conservatives may not have the best time here. You'll find out why later. If you've tried online dating elsewhere in the past Tinder doesn't count , you've probably noticed that filling out the questionnaires is THE WORST. The questions get way too fake deep for my liking, and honestly, are just begging for people to lie. Do you think the world's most sensitive, quick-tempered crybaby raises hand wants to admit to constantly picking fights? There's no question that that stuff is important, but I just don't think this method will produce the most accurate information on how someone really acts in a relationship. Good news: Building a profile on OkCupid is genuinely fun. You'll also answer the basics about smoking, drinking, political preferences, religion, and all that good stuff. Image: okcupid And that's just to start. After answering those and getting your profile open for business, they also have tons of questions to answer directly on your profile if you want to get even more specific with preference. You're really able to showcase all aspects of your dynamic as a partner without feeling the need to lie. There are also spaces for you to answer prompts about the last shows you binged, your favorite music artists, your talents, etc. The required set of questions only takes about five minutes to complete, and then you're ready to start playing Bachelor or Bachelorette. You're not bombarded with notifications or emails, which I was extremely thankful for. The top nav is extremely clean and only gives notifications for likes and messages — unlike other sites where people can like you in general, like your photo, send a wink, send a smiley face, send a gift, and whatever TF else these sites think is necessary. I'm big on aesthetics and design when it comes to dating sites I completely , and OkCupid is exactly what I want: organized, minimalistic, with all features obvious and labeled so that you don't have to click around to see what the options are. OkCupid gets major points for how user-friendly it is. Woke level: 100 The same-sex ads were probably an obvious giveaway, but. Finding a hottie only to find out you disagree on everything is the most awkward bummer ever. Other sites only ask one question about that stuff, which just isn't enough. If you're woke, liberal, and horrified by the dumpster fire that is our current political climate, this is the site for you. Right wingers, you should just exit now and sign up for — it has history of being pretty conservative. With OkCupid's recent makeover came a ton of as a way to weed out the not-so-progressive users. They want to know your opinion on issues such as abortion, immigration, guns, and more to make sure you and your potential partners have political views that are aligned. Image: okcupid OkCupid will use these answers to tell potential matches how liberal you are and vice versa, and it's always great to avoid heated arguments down the road. Thank you for adding to the vibrancy of the OkCupid community. Unfortunately, a lot of OkCupid's competitors have some growing up to do. Finding a match If you're feeling hopeless about finding love at all, you won't be after being on OkCupid. I literally had 607 likes after having my profile up for two days. OkCupid has such a massive user base with such a wide variety of people, there's no way you're not gonna find a ton of people who find you exactly their type. You see one profile at a time and swipe right or left depending on whether or not you're interested, with random profile-building questions thrown in at times to narrow down your pickings even more. If you want more freedom to peruse the dating pool, the discover section is also available like it is on the desktop version. See what potential matches are talking about, search for names, or even type in a hobby, musical artist, or show to see which users near you mentioned the same thing. It's chill and simple enough to do while you're waiting in line at the store or sitting on the train, all while feeling more sincere than Tinder. Messaging: None from randoms, but it slows the process OkCupid recently removed open messaging, meaning randoms can no longer message you before you two have matched. This can be good or bad depending on how you prefer the conversation to start: I personally enjoy it, as one main problem with online dating in general is that ladies get harassed by men who flood their inboxes. It's genuinely overwhelming and I'd prefer to only be messaged by people I already gave the go-ahead to. Like me, some people were stoked on this. I send fewer messages and I receive higher quality responses. I believe this is all because of the requirement to match before messaging. Now women are required to seek out desirable profiles in order to interact with users on the site - just like the men. I also really like how doubletake has shown me interesting profiles that I wouldn't have found with browsing. The only downside is the low population compared to Tinder. I was doing just fine having the block feature, or simply not responding to people who weren't worth my time. Luckily, OkCupid's DoubleTake profile allows you to see a good amount of info on a person before you swipe, so you're not about to match with people blindly more on that later. If the closed messaging is the most annoying thing on the site, that's pretty good. If you're not getting the attention and messages you think you deserve, there's an option to boost your profile to get you a full day's worth of activity in just 15 minute
