CONNECT is a checklist of features to look for when determining if an online dating site is right for you. CONNECT stands for Compatibility, Options, Numbers, Navigation, Expense, Community and Technology. Some sites rate higher in some categories than others, but knowing what features are important to you, and how sites rate go a long way to help you make an informed choice.
NUMBERS
Regardless of the number of wonderful features that a website boasts, the volume of members plays a key role in determining whether you will be successful in your networking efforts. The Catch 22 in the online dating game of new sites entering the marketplace is that they may have great features, but they need to have members, and you aren’t going to get new members unless you have a huge database of members. What is the point of frequenting a great bar where you feel comfortable only to find that there is no one to meet.
What to Look For
Be sure that the site you are interested in joining gives you an idea of how many members they have. Do remember that a local site doesn't need to have 100,000 members, but that a few thousand members for a national site is pretty low.
Also be sure that those numbers are in your age group. Lavalife tends to attract the well-healed 20-35 year old crowd, while more than 16 percent of those active on the top five dating sites, including Yahoo! Personals and Match.com, were 55 and over, and more than 5 percent were 65 and over, according to Nielsen/NetRatings Inc., an Internet research firm. That's up from 15 percent in the 55-plus category and 4.8 percent in the over-65 group a year earlier.
Overall, the number of people active on top dating sites grew to 22.53 million in August 2004 from 22.28 million a year ago.
When in doubt, or starting out, choose the name brand sites which you have probably already heard about from your friends. You are likely to meet more people and become more familar with what is important to you in a dating site based on the activity of the site.
American Singles
eharmony
Match.com
MatchMaker
Yahoo Personals
RELATED ARTICLES TO HELP SELECT A DATING SITE
CONNECT to your Dating Experience
Look for Compatibility in your Dating Site
Look for Options in an Online Site
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