With the sheer volume of adult dating sites that are available
on the internet, it’s not surprising that many of our users find it
difficult to know what to look for in selecting a site that's perfect
for them. With our extensive experience of reviewing adult dating sites,
we hope that this “Buyer's Guide” will help you know what to look out
for as the hallmark of a good adult dating site.
Online adult dating (or ‘internet adult dating’ as it is sometimes
known) is a relatively recent phenomenon that has developed and grown in
size as the Internet has expanded worldwide. Online dating is not for
everyone, but with more than $500 million being spent each year in the
US on adult dating websites, there's no doubt that a growing number of
people are hitting the web to look for love. And it’s not just love that
those using online adult dating sites are looking for, as a number of
individuals join such sites for companionship, friendship, sexual
relationships and even swinging. The only way to know whether online
adult dating is for you is to give it a try, and with most sites we
review offering a free trial, you really do have nothing to lose.
Many of the sites we review offer a number of common features,
intended to improve your online dating experience. We have chosen our
five favorite (and most useful) features that you can find on a number
of online adult dating sites:
- Photo or Video Profiles – An extremely common feature of many
online dating sites is photo profiles, which allows users to store
photos alongside their profile in order to ‘advertise’ themselves to
other users. Less common, but still accessible, are video profiles where
users can leave webcam messages for users checking out their profiles.
Both are exciting, and both offer an opportunity to get a feel for the
person before you contact them.
- Instant Messaging (IM) – Instant Messaging (similar to that
provided by Yahoo, MSN and GoogleChat) is provided on a growing number
of sites to allow users to engage in a “real time” conversation, without
the stunted nature of a conversation by email. We recommend looking for
a site which offers this feature, as it really improves communication
opportunities with other users.
- Webcam Chat – Webcam Chat lets users communicate through their
webcams. We think this is a great opportunity to get to know users in a
way that’s totally personal. Depending on the user, and context, it's
also a great way to move an existing relationship on a little by
engaging in some webcam fun!
- Forums and Chatrooms – Forums and chatrooms hosted by online
adult dating sites allows users to communicate on a number of different
topics (both related and unrelated to online dating), giving users an
opportunity to get to know each other a little more, as well as creating
a community feel.
- FAQs and Tech Support – Sounds a little boring, but we think this
is really important. Look out for sites that offer technical support by
email and phone, especially those that offer support 24/7. FAQs are
also important to help you solve common issues.
As the popularity of internet adult dating grows, providers have
diversified into offering users not only the traditional “general” adult
dating sites, but also a number of specialist and niche adult dating
sites. Niche sites offer the opportunity for users to get in contact
with specific types of people – either a specific category or group, or
individuals with specific interests – which should give you a great
starting point when getting in contact with other users. Some users find
that niche sites start off a relationship with a common interest or
desire, or highlight from the start what the intentions of other
individuals are. Others feel that by limiting the users to a particular
niche from the start, it limits the opportunity for users to meet people
with new interests. We’ll leave this one up to you – if you find a site
that you really like, with the sort of individuals you would like to
meet, it’s the perfect opportunity to start up a great relationship,
regardless of the niche.
A common feature of a number of sites is that they are “powered” by
another, larger site. This simply means that the site shares the
features, structure and often, membership directory of the parent site.
Many users find this a comforting element in choosing a site to join,
having the security of a major site and being able to search through and
choose from the millions of users that can sometimes exist on larger
sites. Others will just want to cut out the middle-man and join the
parent site directly. This practice is relatively common, so don’t be
concerned when you look at a site which is “powered by” another.
One of the biggest concerns that came as part of the expansion of
the internet is the privacy and safety of individuals who use online
adult dating sites. It is certainly a notable concern with online
profiles on dating sites holding a large amount of personal information.
We have highlighted in our reviews which websites offer additional
privacy protection, but most websites offer the opportunity to block
users from viewing your profile or apply additional privacy settings to
your profile (to make your photographs or videos private or password
only, for example). Many sites offer an additional safety measure that
involves a process commonly referred to as “ConfirmID”. This process
allows users to submit a copy of some form of ID, have an ID check
through their credit card details, or have the accuracy of some
information (profession, income, geographical location, age etc.)
confirmed to other users by providing evidence to support such
assertions. Generally, only the larger sites such as Adult XXX Date and
Adult Friend Finder offer such advanced services, but we do think they
are worth paying a little extra for if you are particularly concerned
about safety and privacy.
The price structure for adult dating sites varies considerably
between sites. Check out our adult dating reviews for an up-to-date
listing of prices for each site and their relative subscription lengths.
Most sites offer free trials to allow you to get a feel for the site
and decide whether you wish to sign up for a full subscription.
Dating is a numbers game, and online adult dating is no exception.
The larger the number of members on a site, the greater your chances of
scoring a hot date in your local area. Also, with more members comes
more variety, and so your chances of scoring multiple dates or finding
your perfect sexual match are also greatly increased if you join one of
the more popular adult dating sites. It is for this reason that we put
great stock in the size of the members' database of each site when
compiling our reviews.
Online adult dating is, essentially, a numbers game. Most users
will find that the bigger the site is, the greater the opportunity to
meet the perfect partner. Check out our reviews for an indication, where
possible, of the size of the site and the number of users.