Here
you
will find reviews by the Dating Site Direct team of some select general
interest dating sites. As with all reviews, they are opinions and we
encourage you to your own research as well, but this should help in the
process of finding that someone special.
We looked at the following sites and rated them by:
Layout - Is the
site easy to
navigate, or does it look cluttered.
Browsing - Do they
let you browse
the personal ads before you join.
Signing up-
Is the
process of signing up easy, or does it take some time.
Cost - Do they let you
know up front
what the cost is (if any)
A perfect score is 12 out of 12. Here are the results!
Rating 12
Layout
- The layout on
their Main page is fairly good. Right of the bat they show you profiles
from people in your area and there are links clearly placed at the top
of the page.
Browsing
- You can
browse ads without joining. The advanced search feature is also
available.
Signing up
- It is
easy to sign up clicking the register button at the top of the Main
page. You are then taken to a simple form to complete.
Cost
- Free!
Layout - Craigslist is an online classifieds service that
also
has personal ads. The main directory page is all text and basic.
Browsing
- Once you
enter the personals section, ads are arranged by date posted. You can
refine your search by age and keywords.
Signing up
- You can
easily post your ad and add pictures.
Cost
- Free!
Layout
- The layout is
as simple and sweet as you can get. A nice picture, search form, and
member log in. You won't get lost on this Main page.
Browsing
- You can use
the search form to look at pictures, but you can't view the profile
without signing up.
Signing up
- The Sign
up Free button is easy to locate and it takes you to a simple form to
complete.
Cost
- According to
their Terms of Service, they operate on a points system. On their
Frequently Asked Questons page, we learned that 1 month is $29.99 and 3
months is $56.99.
Rating 10
Layout -
Many photos on their Main page including some of their newest members.
They have placed a easy to fill out search form on the Main
page
as well.
Browsing
-
Unfortunately, we were only able to browse the newest member
profiles on their Main page. When we tried to use their search form, we
were taken to a page to sign up and join.
Signing up - Very simple and easy form.
Cost - The Main page says that it is 100% free.
Rating 7
Layout - The Main page looks fairly straight forward and
clean.
They have some third party advertising that is a bit distracting. Main
selection links at the top of the page are easy to find.
Browsing - They let you search profiles before you join,
but to
view a person's "private photos" you need to sign up as a member.
Signing up - By clicking the "sign up free" button on
their Main
page, we were taken to the free search page with no sign up
information. After doing a search, a pop up screen appeared
with
a sign up form. It should take less than 2 minutes to complete. They
also claim to do criminal background checks.
Cost - They do not advertise a cost on their Main page or
sign
up page, so if there is one, it is not clearly stated. They do have a
"contact members free" link on the Main page.
Layout
- The Main page
is clean and easy to navigate. There are selection links at the top of
the page for Member Login, Browse, Chat, etc...
Browsing
- There is a
form to search members form right on the Main page. The search results
consist of photos, age, gender, and location. They do not show you
member's profiles without signing up.
Signing up
- This
looks fairly easy since not much information is required. Name,
birthday, gender, password, what you're looking for and where you live
is about all they require.
Cost
- They indicate
that it is free to join, but there may be a cost for contacting other
members once you sign up.
Rating 8
Layout
- Their Main
page has a simple layout and is easy on the eyes. 3
Browsing
- It appears
that they do no offer any form of member browsing. 1
Signing up
- There is
a form right on the Main page for signing up that should take less than
a minute to complete. 3
Cost
- They
claim it's
free to receive and renew your matches, but you have to pay to
communicate with those matches. The cost was not located at the time of
review. 1
Rating 7
Layout
- The layout is
straight forward. If you scroll down, there is additional information
about their website.
Browsing
- You can do
a basic search without being a member, but that will only yeld
pictures. You can't access member's profiles without joining.
Signing up
- At the
time of review, there was not a link stating sign up. You have to click
the 6 month guarantee button or try and view a profile to get the sign
up form. The form is basic and should take little time to complete.
Cost - They claim that they have online dating at the cost of a single
date, so we are assuming that there is some cost involved with being a
member. On their F.A.Q. page they indicate that there are 1, 3, and 6
month plans, but you have to sign up to see how much they
cost.
