DateHookup.com overview, online dating site review

DateHookup.com overview

DateHookup.com
100% Free Online Dating & Personals

DateHookup.com overview:

DateHookup.com is an absolutely free dating site.  The site has a reasonably sized membership but not huge.  It's a good place for newbies to get their feet wet  and a good place for the experienced to stay active circulating with other members.  

One of the unique aspects of this site is that  local singles' events and activities are coordinated through and promoted on-site.  What a great way to circulate online and in the real world for meeting available singles who want to get around town and do some fun and interesting activities.  This is a great idea which most dating sites have yet to catch on to.  

Performing a search using our benchmark inputs, we got about 50 listings with more than 75% having photos.  That's a good ratio especially on a site that's free.  All the listings were within 28 miles of our target location (Orlando, Florida). The listings themselves give the following information: age, username, location, how far from your registered location,  how many pics they have available, and when the member was last on-line.  That's a good start. Now on to picture handling and profiles.

DateHookup.com Features:

• Set up your profile and post your photos
• Perform searches of other members to locate your prospects.
• Automatic search results routed to your search box.  You state your parameters and the site automatically routes potential matches to your search area for you to check out and act on.
• See other profiles to get a good idea what they want and if you're compatible.
• Partner sites are readily available to expand your possibilities
• Email other members throughout the site.
• Save your searches results. Listings can be saved in your own folder to check back on and consult.
• Put together a favorites file
• Start and maintain your own blog
• Contribute your input in the forum sections.  Many topics, with lots of opinions being expressed. Make yours heard!
• Instant Messenger available for making live contact.

Performing a Search on DateHookup.com:

• Advanced search parameters include:
  • gender
  • age range
  • location to within 25 miles of where you live
  • whether the member has pictures posted
  • ethnicity
  • smoking
  • drinking
  • height
  • body type
  • hair and eye color
  • Astro Sign
  • marital status
  • have / want kids
  • education level
  • occupation
  • income level
  • political leanings
  • religion
  • personality type (shy, outgoing etc)
  • partying habits

The more we dig into this site the better we like it. They  have some advanced features like instant messenger and free e-mail access for all members.  The membership numbers are the most significant weakness, although we actually got more and better matched prospects with DateHookUp.com than with some lower rated, fee-paying dating sites. DateHookUp.com also has the added bonus of promoting local singles' events and activities. Therefore, despite being a free site, DateHookup.com would seem to rival some premium memberships offered by other dating sites.

DateHookup.com has lots of useful features which are freely accessible to all members.  The playing field is level and there's a communal atmosphere on the site.  

True.com overview, online dating site review

True.com overview

True.com
Meet the ONE who's Right for you - RIGHT NOW

True.com overview:

True.com markets itself as the safest, most trustworthy dating site around. No other dating site runs background checks on its members like True does. True.com screens all its members for any US felonies or sexual convictions against one of the largest criminal records databases on the internet. They also screen all of their members against various public records to ensure they are indeed single, as they claim to be. True.com claim they will bring civil action against any members who have felony convictions or who are married. While this may all seem a little over the top, it does provide a safer environment and greater peace of mind for all of True.com's legitimate members, especially female members. It is mainly because of this no-nonsense stance taken by True.com, that it has one of the most even male-to-female ratios of any dating site we've reviewed, which is great news for girls and guys alike.

Originally launched under the name TrueBeginnings.com, True has benefited from an extensive media campaign and has amassed an impressive 11 million members, making it one of the largest, not to mention oldest, online dating sites on our list.

Apart from its security screening of members, another major feature of True.com is its scientific approach to dating. When you join True.com you will be asked to complete the True Compatibility Test, which is an in-depth psychological questionnaire with mainly multiple-choice answers to help determine your personality type as well as the personality type of your ideal match. This test can be a great help in finding your online match and is the only psychological test provided by any dating site that's endorsed by Psychology Today. You will also have access to True.com's Sexploration Test, to help you determine your sexual profile and the sexual profile of your ideal match. True.com state that there are 8 different sex personalities from mild to wild. Hooking you up with someone of the same personality type can save time by not hooking you up with the wrong people and will also provide you with a lot more fun in the bedroom!

True.com Features:

• True.com is a large US dating site. Note that UK readers who click through from our links will be redirected to True.com's international sister-site Mate1.com. (UK readers may also wish to check out our reviews of UK dating sites).
• True.com screen all of their members against one of the largest criminal records databases on the net to ensure that none of them have a US felony or sexual conviction of any kind. Anyone with a criminal conviction is thus dissuaded from joining True.com, as are married people, under penalty of being sued! Whilst this may seem a little over the top, it does provide a safer environment for all legitimate True.com members.
• Members' marital status is checked against public records, ensuring that all True.com members are single and "true" to their word!
• Take the highly sophisticated True Compatibility Test upon joining, and get a surprisingly accurate psychological picture of yourself and your ideal mate.
• Take the True Sexploration Test, to find out which members match you sexually
• Many added facets to the site, including a coaching center, tips and advice, and a large section giving advice on safer dating.
• Email other members using the built-in email tool
• Instant message other members
• Add other members to your black book, i.e. bookmark them
• Access various private and public chatrooms
• True U Magazine - an online magazine full of success stories, tips and advice
• Access to online coaching, which provides

  • A personalized profile: get help from the experts in making your profile stand out
  • TRUE tips: daily tips from True.com on meeting people online
  • Ask Fite: read weekly tips from True profile coach Fite
  • Write Fite: get personalised advice from Fite, True's love expert

  The FAQ's of love: answers to love's big questions
• Video chat with other members using your webcam
• Virtual dating - use voice and video to virtually date another member before meeting in person.
• The only dating site endorsed by Psychology Today.
• Excellent technical support.

Joining True.com:

• You must hand over your email address before being allowed to browse True.com
• A 3-day free trial is available at True.com (as of the time of writing, this free trial has been extended to 7 days). The free trial gives you full access to the site, allowing you to browse member profiles in their entirety and even e-mail other members! Very few other dating sites will give you a no-holds barred free trial access where you can access all the features. The downside is this - you must hand over your credit card details to start with. If you don't cancel after 3 days your card will be automatically charged one month's subscription.

Performing a Search on True.com:

• A full search facility is available, allowing members to search by:
  • gender
  • age range
  • location
  • height
  • marital status
  • whether the member has pictures posted

In summary, if you're in any way concerned about safety online and the trustworthiness of other members, then True.com is definitely the one for you as it does more than any other dating site we've come across to ensure your online dating experience is a safe and happy one. This combined with lots of advanced features, an active and vibrant online community, a massive database of members and a pretty even male-to-female ratio.

Flirt.com overview, online dating site review

Flirt.com overview

Flirt.com
Chat and have fun with flirty UK singles here!

Flirt.com overview:
Flirt.com is a great online dating environment where users can hook up with some of the sexiest singles around. With a range of helpful features and a large, active membership base of several million, members have numerous opportunities each and every day to hook up with their perfect match. 

Flirt.com is a partner site of ‘Up For It’, meaning it shares the same membership and many of the same features with its partner site. With such a pedigree in the dating market we were excited to give this site the No. 1 Reviews treatment by checking out exactly what it has to offer our readers.

Members of Flirt.com can open their own extensive photo profile, complete with a vast amount of information and an unlimited collection of member photographs. These image galleries are linked to each member’s profile, with each individual being able to decide whether their images are privately viewable (only by those who are invited) or they are added to the site’s extensive image galleries.  These galleries are a great way to check out the hottest members on the site, as well as simply have some fun looking at images of the sexiest members.

Flirt.com Features:

• Join Flirt and have loads of fun online, hooking up with other singles from around the world!
• Search through millions of great member profiles and find others who are looking for exactly what you are.
• Create your own online photo profile complete with an unlimited number of photos.
• Join Flirt chatrooms to get to know other members of the site.
• Use the instant messenger feature to chat in real time with other users.
• Send an unlimited number of messages to other members using the in-site mail feature.
• Find other members to chat to using the quick search and advanced search functions.
• Add a 'Naughty CV' to your profile to let everyone know what you're interested in!
• Rate other profiles and receive ratings on your own profile to find out just how hot you are.
• Upload videos and photos to the site's extensive galleries and surf around them to find your perfect match.
• Read site success stories in the community section of the site.
• Extensive FAQs and technical support.

Flirt.com is a good choice for anyone looking for a hookup or a relationship. Although we did think the site took a little longer than we would have liked to actually join (a direct result of the membership questionnaires being some of the most lengthy we have come across), we would still recommend you give this site a try. What’s more, you can also trial the site using the free trial option, so there really is nothing to lose! Check it out today!

Meetic.com overview, online dating site review

Meetic.com overview

Meetic.com overview
Join thousands of singles on Meetic today!

Meetic.com overview:
Meetic.com is an international dating site with a primary focus in Europe.  It has relationships with Match.com, the worlds largest dating site, and  Mate1.com another prominent site.  It states that its membership exceeds 17 million, making it the largest site operating in Europe.  That figure may be open to question.  What matters most is how well the site serves its members' needs.

Meetic's customer service teams, numbering over 25, are one of the biggest for a dating site. They oversee the profiles and pictures posted to confirm that they are suitable for a  "G" Rated site. As a new member you have to wait for a profile 'approval' before gaining full access to the site, which is usually achieved within hours.  While your profile is pending approval, you are only allowed to access members' photos, ages and usernames.

Meetic.com Features:

• Create your own profile and upload your pictures.
• Perform searches for other members within your locale.
• Browse members' profiles and the photo galleries.
• Wink at other members for free
• Start a hotlist of members you like
• Blocklist members you wish to ignore. 
• Personality Profiles
• Video Introductions recorded via webcam
• Video calling on site (for premium members only)
• Email other members with Meetic's e-mail system (for premium members only)
• Instant message other members (for premium members only)
• Access chat rooms. Private message others in the chat rooms (premium members only)

Performing a Search on Meetic.com:

• A full search facility is available, allowing members to search by:
  • gender
  • age range
  • marital status
  • relationship type
  • proximity of online users to your location (to within 10 miles)
  • whether the member has pictures posted
  • ethnicity
  • smoking
  • drinking
  • height
  • body type
  • occupation
  • income level
  • religion

In the value department we have to stipulate the following: if you reside in a densely populated European location, the site is a value winner.  With such a concentration of members, and lots of excellent features, you should get some good results. Meetic seems to have everything you could ask for.

If you reside outside Europe then we can't make the same statement. You'd probably be better served by another major site whose focus of operation prominently impacts your locale.  (If unsure, you 'd need to verify by performing a local search).   In either case,  Europe is well served with this user-friendly , member aware site.

MatchMaker.com overview, online dating site review

MatchMaker.com overview

MatchMaker.com
When You're Serious About Meeting Someone.

MatchMaker.com overview:
Launched in 1985 as a simple bulletin-board dating system, MatchMaker.com is now a thriving community of more than 8 million registered members, with 50,000 new sign-ups each week. As one of the oldest dating sites around, MatchMaker is also one of the most trusted and respected dating sites. When you join MatchMaker, you will be asked to complete a fairly extensive questionnaire, which can take you from a few minutes to an hour, depending on how much work you put into it. The questionnaire comprises a number of multiple choice questions with an additional 20 longer essay-type questions. 

These essay questions are optional, but remember: the more work you put into your profile, the more interest you will get from other members, so it's advisable to spend some time on these questions - this is your opportunity to make a great first impression after all! You may update your profile at any time however, meaning that you needn't fill all the answers in upon joining.

MatchMaker.com Features:

• Over 8 million registered members
• 50,000 new sign-ups every week
• FREE 5-day full-access trial! To access this feature you must hand over your credit card details. After 5-days your card will be automatically billed unless you cancel before the 5 days are up.
• Create one of the most in-depth profiles of any dating site. This aids in the compatibility matching between your profile and other members' profiles, enabling you to make a more educated choice about whether another member suits you or not.
• Add your own voice greeting to your profile and listen to other members' voice greetings.
• Reply to member emails for free. Far too many dating sites don't have this feature!
• Matchmaker includes up to 80 diverse communities you can join, including BBW, Jewish, Alternative, Nudist, etc.
• Statistics to tell you how often your profile was viewed, how often your photos were viewed, etc.
• See when a member was last online - this is very important in determining whether or not it's worth contacting another member.
• MatchMarkers - these are icons that are placed next to member profiles in your search results to identify which members share your interests and passions
• Match feature which enables you to find other members based on your compatibility with them (by comparing the results of your questionnaire with theirs). Your Match score is given as a percentage.
• Advanced searches - search for members regionally and based on up to 35 different characteristics.
• Keyword searches available - search other members' profiles by keyword.
• Instant Messenger available
• Flirt by showing interest to another member
• Powered by Date.com.
• Access to the Date.info webzine and weekly newsletter, containing features, tips on dating, tips on creating an eye-catching profile, articles on the psychology of online dating, tips on how to chat up other members via email and tips on how to secure that all-important first date!
• Chat rooms, inc. private messaging
• Create a Friends list
• Access MatchMaker on your mobile - browse profiles and send and receive email on the go!
• Website is carefully monitored for your security and safety
• Excellent technical support.

Performing a Search on MatchMaker.com:

• A full search facility is available, allowing members to search by:
  • gender
  • sexual orientation
  • age range
  • race
  • body type
  • location
  • zip code
  • last visited
  • who's online now
  • who's instant messaging now
  • featured members
  • whose birthday it is this week
  • whether the member has pictures posted
  • keyword search - search for keywords appearing in other members' profiles
  • plus 35 other characteristics of a member's profile

How to use MatchMaker.com:

• You must sign-up as a free member in order to browse MatchMaker.com's members' database (though you may take a virtual tour before joining).
• You must complete an in-depth questionnaire upon joining. This comprises a series of multiple choice questions plus 20 longer essay-type questions. These longer questions are optional however. You may also return and update your profile at any time.
• You may reply to any emails you receive as a free member. However, in order to initiate contact with another member via email and in order to chat via instant messenger, you must become a premium member. Membership prices are quoted above.
• Premium memberships give you all the features of a free membership, except that you may also initiate contact with other members via email, and you may also chat with other members via instant messenger. As a premium member your profile will be listed above all free members' profiles in the search results, giving yours much more exposure. You will get a 5-day free trial when you upgrade to premium membership. If at any point in the first 5-days you wish to cancel, then your card will not be billed.

Spark.com overview, online dating site review

Spark.com overview

Spark.com
a fun site for serious daters

Spark.com overview:

Spark.com is another heavyweight of online dating, with over 7 million registered users. It recently took over AmericanSingles.com and still focuses very heavily on American Singles. However, although the majority of the users are from the US and Canada, the site does have plenty of members in over 200 other countries around the world, notably the UK, Australia and some parts of Europe.

To sign up as a free or paid member you need to choose a username and password, fill in your e-mail address and date-of-birth, answer some mutiple choice questions about yourself, write a one or two line introduction to yourself and upload a profile photo. After that, you will have full access to the site and you can begin searching for other members in your area immediately!

Spark.com is a very user-friendly site - there are no banners or advertisements, the layout is clean and tidy and the site is extremely easy to navigate, even for internet newbies!

Spark.com Features:

• Over 7 million registered members
• Members mainly from USA, but also from 200 other countries around the world
• Sign-up for free.
• Flirt feature allows you to send any one of a number of pre-written one-liners to another member to signify your interest in them. Choose from any of 50-60 one-liners, divided into the following categories: Sincere; Romantic; Humorous; Flirtatious; Poems; Movie Lines; Holiday/Seasonal; and Songs. Available to free members.
• Click feature allows you to quickly express an interest in someone else. At the top of every member profile you'll see the question "Think you'd Click?!" to which you may answer yes, maybe or no. If you answer yes, then the person is automatically informed of this by Spark. Then he/she can choose to answer the same question on your profile. If she clicks yes on your profile then you will be informed of this and you can both then choose to take things to the next level if you desire by upgrading to premium membership and making first contact. This is a great way to break the ice and a great way to know whether it's worth upgrading to paid membership or not.
• Five Month Promise - if, after you sign up for the five month membership plan, you don't find anyone in those five months then Spark.com will give you an additional five months absolutely free! Now there's no arguing with that!
• Free members can read all member profiles in full, perform advanced searches and view all member photographs.
• Free members cannot access the audio/video messaging tools, access the chat rooms, instant message other members or freely use the email tools. Only subscribed members have unlimited use of these features. However, if a subscribed member contacts a non-paid member, the non-paid member can reply to the email without having to pay for a subscription.
• Subscribed members may use internal email to contact whomever they like.
• Subscribed members can access the chat rooms where you can chat publicly or privately with other members. Divided into rooms based on location, age range, interests, etc. Don't find anything interesting? Start your own chat room!
• Subscribed members can instant message other members.
• Subscribed members can use video and audio messaging facilities.
• Add members to your hotlist, ignore list, and see who's online.
• See when members were last online. This can be a really useful way of knowing how active a member is on the site and whether or not it's worth e-mailing them. For instance, it may be pointless e-mailing a member who hasn't been online in 6 months.
• A record is kept of who you hotlisted and flirted with, as well as who hotlisted and flirted with you (you can view these lists at any time).
• Color Code personality test is a unique matching system that tries to match you with other members.
• Choose (as many as you like) from the following types of relationships you wish to search for:

  • a date
  • long-term relationship
  • activity partner
  • friendship
  • email/chat
  • intimacy/physical chemistry
  • marriage
  • marriage and children.
• Sort matches by newest, most active, closest to you, and most popular.
• Create and send customizable e-cards to other members.
• Complete privacy protection - no one will know your identity unless you explicitly tell them!
• Excellent technical support.

  the table below, you can see which features are available to free members compared to subscribed standard members or premium :

What you get	Free Membership	Standard Subscription	Premium Subscription
Read and reply to Email	Yes	Yes	Yes
Test the waters with Flirts	Yes	Yes	Yes
Find secret admirers with Click!	Yes	Yes	Yes
Review your Matches by Mail	Yes	Yes	Yes
Search by Keyword, Photo, or "Online"	Yes	Yes	Yes
Initiate Email Conversations	No	Yes	Yes
Connect with Instant Messaging	No	Yes	Yes
Enjoy full access to message boards	No	Yes	Yes
Create customizable E-cards	No	Yes	Yes
Member Spotlight	No	No	Yes
Highlighted Profile	No	No	Yes

Performing a Search on Spark.com:

• A full search facility is available, allowing members to search by:
• gender
• age range
• marital status
• location to within 1 mile of where you live
• whether the member has pictures posted
• ethnicity
• smoking
• height
• plus any other features of a member's profile

Although, Spark.com has all the features to be a great online dating site, it doesn't rank top of most online dating sites lists for a few reasons. Firstly, you must complete the sign-up process (which includes a profile photo) before you can see the pricing plans. Although, on their homepage, Spark.com make a point of being cheaper than some of their competitors, they fail to list their pricing plans there. Also, unlike some of its competitors, Spark.com does not offer an online webzine with articles, tips and stories available. Whether this is really a disadvantage will be totally up to your personal preferences - some people love the webzines, some people never read them.

Having said all that, Spark is easy to navigate, easy to use, has a massive database of over 7 million members, and is very competitively priced. If you sign-up for the 6-month standard membership plan, you will get membership for $54.94 per month, and will also get the option to renew at the very low rate of just $9.99 per month. That's one of the best value membership plans around!

friendfinder.com overview, Online Dating sites review

FriendFinder.com overview

FriendFinder.com
Meet Your Special Someone

FriendFinder.com overview:

FriendFinder.com is a feature-packed site that will keep you coming back for more and more. It's jam-packed with all the features you could hope for in a dating site as well as lots more you never dreamed of. With its blogs, chat rooms (organised by subject matter and location), message boards, forums, and online magazine, the makers of FriendFinder.com have succeeded in building much more than just a dating site here, for FriendFinder is a thriving online community of men and women all looking for love online.

Friend Finder is part of a much larger community of websites, the most famous of which is Adult Friend Finder, an adult dating site with a staggering 24 million members! Other websites that are part of the network include Passion.com, Asian FriendFinder, French FriendFinder, German FriendFinder, Senior FriendFinder and many more dating sites targeted towards various niche markets. However, FriendFinder.com is the original and still the best of these.

FriendFinder.com Features:

• Over 3.5 million registered members
• Browse member profiles (as a registered free member)
• Wink at other members for free
• E-mail other members using internal email (premium subscriptions only)
• Add members to your hotlist (viewable by anyone)
• Add members to your bookmarks (viewable by only you)
• See who's viewed your profile
• See who's added you to their hotlist
• Block members
• Listen to other members' voice greetings and record your own! Time to put on that sweet Frank Sinatra voice and try and sound sexy! Don't overdo it though!
• View other members' videos and upload your own. Get dressed first though - this is not an adult dating site remember!
• The Cupid feature allows you to specify what type of person you're looking for in terms of looks, personality, distance from you and so on. Cupid will then automatically notify you by email each week of any new and existing members that match your specifications. You can turn this feature on or off.
• Free relationship workshop to help you sharpen your dating skills and help you make that all important first impression!
• Public and private chatrooms available, split into various genres and divided into geographic locations - very useful!
• Write your own blog and read others' blogs too!
• Access to various message boards on many different topics
• Contact other members by instant messaging, allowing you to strike up a conversation before you meet in person. This is a great way to flirt with people! You can use this feature even as a free member, which is great!
• Complete the Personality Love Type Survey. This survey lets other potential matches know how well suited you are. You can also view other members' surveys to get an insight into their personalities before making first contact.
• See when a user was last online - this is essential in knowing how active a member is and how likely you are to get a response. It's pointless spending your time composing an email to someone who hasn't been online in 6 months, right? This feature helps you spend your time wisely. Too many dating sites don't offer this feature.
• Highlight your profile so that it stands out in the crowd - requires an additional small fee.
• Allow free members to respond to your emails - also requires an additional small fee. This is a really useful feature and is greatly under-rated. Normally free members can't email other members, but if you're willing to pay that little bit extra, you can allow free members to contact you! Most other dating sites don't have this feature.
• Receive the FriendFinder magazine by email - this is a regularly updated magazine with interesting articles, polls and Q&A's. Many members contribute to this magazine and you can too!
• Easily turn your profile on and off, so you can choose whether it's visible to other members.
• Complete privacy protection - no one will know your identity unless you explicitly tell them.
• Excellent technical support.

Performing a Search:

• A full search facility is available, allowing members to search by:
  • gender
  • sexual orientation
  • age range
  • body type
  • location
  • zip code
  • radius to within 1 mile of your location
  • whether the member has pictures posted
  • who's online now
• The premium membership facility has even more search parameters

what really matters is whether or not you manage to find someone online in your area whom you really fancy - and at the end of the day, that's just down to chance. All our top 10 internet dating sites come with free standard membership, so why leave it all to chance? Sign up with 3 or 4 or more of our top ranked dating sites for free and see who's online in your area.

christiancupid.com overview, Online Dating sites review

ChristianCupid.com overview

ChristianCupid.com
Serious Christian Dating and Relationships!

"Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, Love never ends." Corinthians 13:7-8

ChristianCupid.com Overview:

ChristianCupid.com is devoted to bringing happiness to Christians everywhere, and takes finding love as seriously as you take your faith.

The layout is simple, stylish and easily navigable. The photo viewing option on members' profiles is especially noteworthy - the photos are loaded quickly and in an elegant layout, with the option to flick through a member's different photos.

Christian Cupid has great FAQ and Help sections which include help on everything from navigating the site and using the features (such as chat and video messaging) to tips on editing your profile to get a better response rate. If you can't find the answer to your question in the FAQ or Help sections, you can contact customer services using an online form.

Christian Cupid puts safety first for its members. Along with the safety section listed above in 'Features of Christian Cupid', Christian Cupid also test new users' email addresses to ensure that they are valid before posting members' information, and they promise never to pass on personal details to any other companies.

ChristianCupid.com Features:

• No matter what type of Christian relationship you're after, Christian Cupid has something to offer you. Search the site's personals for pen pals, friendship, dating/romance, language practice, and even marriage!
• 58,000 members in USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and across the world!
• Box at the top tells you how many members are online at the time, clicking on this takes you to a list of these online members.
• Create a unique profile that others will see, with the option to add photos and even video recordings.
• NO MORE FRUSTRATING WAITING! Some of Christian Cupid's competitors will sell you mailing addresses, which makes you have to wait for the other person to receive the letter, read it, and respond to it. Christian Cupid has several INSTANT communication options, including an instant messaging system, email, and a chat room.
• The instant messaging system allows for video and voice as well as written text. Don't have a webcam or microphone? You can still hear and see people you're chatting to if they want you to!
• Too shy to send someone you like a message? Let them know you're interested in them by clicking on the love heart, which lets them know "I'm interested in you"! They can then respond with a message, or by letting you know that they are interested in you, too! This is a must for any facebook 'poking' fans, and it is even available with the free, standard membership.
• Detailed search facilities (see 'Performing a Search on Christian Cupid', below).
• 'Favorite List' - keep track of all your favorite members' information, photos, and contact details.
• 'Interest List' - keep track of all your matches - who is interested in you and who you're interested in.
• 'Block List' - in case you decide there's somebody you don't want contacting you again!
• A valuable 'Dating Safely' advice section that takes you through all the dos and don'ts of online dating, including a link to OnlineDatingSafetyTips.com for a safe online dating experience.
• An 'Information' section including advice on visas, traveling to meet your new potential partners,timezones, and women's safety.
• A link to Flora2000.com to send flowers to that special someone, anywhere in the world!
• Christian Cupid Advice Blog: 'Your Guide to Everything Related to Christian Dating' - this is a fantastic feature that enables indepth topical discussion in five main categories: Christian Living, Current Events, Dating, Love, and even Member Questions. Want to ask the Christian Cupid staff how you can be sure if you've found the one? Submit a question to Member Questions. Interested in topics surrounding Christian life? Read debates about whether the younger generation are more open to Christianity or not, what happens in the afterlife, and Christian viewpoints on divorce.
• Featured Success Stories section - read about couples who found love with each other on Christian Cupid, and hope that someday soon you'll be able to submit your own success story!

• Standard Membership offers the following features:
  • Create your own profile
  • Send an 'interest' to another member
  • Add up to 5 photos to your profile
  • Read messages from paying members

• Gold Membership offers the above features PLUS the following extra features:
  • Read messages from free members
  • Instant messaging
  • Allow free members to read your messages
  • Add a personality profile
  • Include personal contact information in your messages
  • Rank above standard members in search results, so that people see you before them!

• Platinum Membership offers all the same features as GOLD membership, PLUS the following:
  • Rank above gold members in search results, so that people see you FIRST!
  • Watch video profiles
  • Send video mail
  • Read video mail
  • Video chat
  • Translation tools

Performing a Search:

• Standard (free) members can search profiles within limited parameters, including:
  • Sex
  • Age range
  • Country of residence
  • Type of relationship you are looking for
    • Penpal
    • Friendship
    • Romance/dating
    • Marriage

• Gold & Platinum members have a more advanced range of search parameters to choose:
  • Age
  • Height
  • Weight
  • Religion
    • Catholic
    • Mormon
    • Orthadox
    • Protestant
    • Other
    • Non-Christian Other
  • Nationality
  • Country of residence
  • Level of education
  • Ethnicity
  • Star sign
  • Marital status
  • Smokers and drinkers
  • Type of relationship you are looking for
    • Penpal
    • Friendship
    • Romance/dating
    • Marriage

• You can then sort your search results by:
• newest members
• members with photos
• members who have most recently logged in.

On Christian Cupid, members can interact with others in several different ways online, including video, instant messaging and chat rooms. One thing missing from Christian Cupid is perhaps a message board forum to improve the community feel of the website, but overall this is by far and away one of the best online dating service for Christian singles looking to find that special someone - and their 58,000 members across the globe testify to this.

The success story section is a testimonial to the working of the site, and a pleasure to read through - members praise the integrity and sincerity of the website staff, and thank the website for enabling them to find their soulmates. Many of them write with amazement that after meeting online via Christian Cupid they have 'clicked' so instantly with somebody, and many more tell of how little time it took to find their perfect partner on Christian Cupid.

christianmingle.com overview, Online Dating sites review

ChristianMingle.com

ChristianMingle.com overview

Find God's Match for You

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. -Psalm 37:4

Christian Mingle Overview:

Finding someone who is right for you who also shares your faith can be difficult these days. In recent years, online dating services and sites have sprung up to offer faith-based dating services to discerning singles looking to find a match in love and faith. Christian Mingle is one of the largest and most popular of such services, with a range of great features for helping members find someone just right.

Christian Mingle is part of the Spark Network of sites, a group of dating and community interest sites, founded in 1997, that are collectively some of the most-used sites on the internet. Of particular interest to Christian Mingle users is Believe.com, a Christian-faith based community site that offers users everything from recipes to reviews. With literally millions of users each and every year, members of Believe.com are often encouraged to join Christian Mingle too – leading to considerable growth year-on-year.

ChristianMingle.com Features:

• Christian Mingle is the No. 1 site for Christian-faith dating worldwide.
• Enjoy being a member of an online community, created specifically for Christian singles looking to find friends, romance or marriage.
• Christian Mingle is part of the Spark Network - a great network of sites meaning you are likely to get a top quality experience.
• Hundreds of thousands of singles have already joined the site - what are you waiting for!
• Find God's match for you using the plethora of Christian dating focused features and tools.
• Create a great profile on the site, the perfect way to show off what you have to offer to potential matches.
• Christian Mingle can be a safe, secure online environment for dating.
• Faith is clearly an important part of the site in many ways - so you can join a site where your faith is the center of your dating experience.
• Christian Mingle has endorsements from Christian groups and churches, as well as satisfied customers worldwide.
• Thousands of members are online at any one time - it's never been easier to find your perfect Christian match.
• Christian-focused joining questionnaires help users get all of the information about a potential match and their faith.
• See who's right for you, using Compass Matching.
• Check out the member slideshow and using the "Secret Admirers" feature find users who'd like to get to know you better.
• Use four search tools to find someone right for you - advanced search, quick search, "who's online" and a username search.
• Use mobile features to stay in touch with Christian Mingle on the go.
• Join Christian Dating chatrooms to talk with others who are like-minded.
• Use the instant messaging function to chat to other users in real-time.
• Use the mail feature to send lengthier, more detailed messages to other users in a safe and secure environment.
• Use the message boards feature to chat about a range of topics, including faith and religion.
• Use the searchable bible to find helpful bible passages and improve your knowledge of the bible.
• Find new favorite passages with "Bible Verse of the Day".
• Use "Worship Center" to take advantage of a range of great faith related activities and tools including the prayer wall and bible study features.
• Use a "favorites list" to keep track of members with whom you would like to become acquainted.
• Manage a "blocked list" to ensure your privacy and safety on the site.
• Check out a list of Christian dating tips - tailored to you and your needs.
• Join the site for free and choose from a range of different subscription options.
• Extensive FAQs and customer support for all users.

Performing a Search:

Members of Christian Mingle can search using a number of different parameters and criteria in order to find the perfect match. Although this is not an exclusive list, the following criteria can be used as part of the site's basic and advanced search function:

• Gender
• Looking for
• Marital Status
• Children
• Age Range
• Location
• Christian Denomination
• Frequency of Church Attendance
• Languages Spoken
• Race
• Height
• Body Type
• Level of Education
• Smoking & Drinking Habits
• Photos Only

As well as all of the traditional features often included in dating sites (such as search features, messaging and mail features, picture galleries and more), Christian Mingle offers new and innovative ways to combine faith and dating. The site’s dedicated “Worship Center” brings together a range of great features including online bible study, a searchable bible and bible verse of the day, all of which help you to discover and learn more about your religion with each passing day. The various forums and message boards on the site offer a further opportunity for members to get in touch with each other and discuss religious and non-religious news, topics and current affairs (and this in itself is a great way to get to know new people on the site). All in all, it definitely feels like the various faith-related features on the site take pride of place and are an integral part of the user experience at Christian Mingle, as opposed to being “tagged on” like they are at other sites.

bigchurch.com overview, Online Dating sites review

BigChurch.com

bigchurch.com overview

Bringing people together in love and faith

BigChurch.com is a leading Christian Dating Website and only narrowly misses out on the number one position in our rankings. It's a very easy to use site with lots of excellent features. The search facility is especially good with a very comprehensive list of search parameters. The search results produce good-sized photos as well as the last time each member was online. This latter feature is a great way to see just how active the members in your area are. It's not the most stylish of websites in its layout but it certainly has a superb range of advanced features.

The standard membership is easily one of the best available, as it enables you to get a good sense of the website without having to pay anything. You can't complain about the paid membership prices either, as they are some of the lowest available for Christian dating websites. The only major drawback to the site is that standard members can only view the profiles of GOLD or SILVER members. However, standard members can freely reply to messages from paying members who initiate contact. So this seems reasonable to us.

BigChurch.com Features:

• 'Dove settings' tool - fill out your preferences as to the kind of person you're looking for, including parameters such as body type, age, type of relationship interested in, race, education level, and denomination (similar to the 'search' parameters listed below in 'Performing a Search on Big Church'). Once you have described your ideal match, Big Church will notify you as soon as someone matching your description becomes a member!
• You can even block members who don't fulfill all your 'Dove' expectations from sending you mail!
• ConfirmID option to verify member information - members with ConfirmID are more trusted and get better responses
• Customize website colors.
• Add photos to your profile.
• Add video introductions to your profile - so people can see who you really are!
• Mail system to send and receive messages without using your own email address - works like a simple online email account. Includes features such as create your own signature, block users, smilies, notifications, and quickreply.
• Instant messenger system.
• Chat rooms - including Spanish, Portuguese, and Tagalog-speaking rooms, as well as topic-based rooms such as "friendship room" and "congregation"
• Send 'winks', 'waves', 'smiles', 'kisses' and 'hugs' to other members to show your interest in them ;-)
• Create a hotlist of your favorite members, and also your favorite photos and videos.
• Unique 'magazine' section - read interesting articles and add your response, or even write your own article! Topics range across everything from how to throw a good Christian party, to thoughts on finding your soulmate. This is one of the best features of Big Church, creating a really good community feel with a friendly and supportive atmosphere, but best of all you get to see how your potential dates interact in a group setting!
• Create a Big Church blog.
• Find blogs, videos and articles written by members in your local area.
• Flexible membership options (prices listed above).
• SILVER membership gets you the following benefits:
  

  • Contact new and existing members
  • Show up before standard members in search results
  • Access members' video introductions
  • Partial access to blogs, articles and other magazine features
  • Friendly 24/7 phone support
• GOLD membership gets you all the above plus these extra benefits:
  

  • Your profile shown FIRST in search results
  • Be the FIRST to contact new members
  • Full access to blogs, articles and other magazine features
  • Extra large photo option
  • Access to ICQ, AIM, YIM, and MSN of members in your network

Performing a Search:

The search facility on Big Church is very extensive, and you can search by as few or as many parameters as you wish - so if you know exactly what you're looking for, you can fill it all in, or if you're just dreaming of meeting someone nice and you're open to different personality types, leave more of the fields blank. The available parameters are:

• Gender
• Type of relationship interested in
  • dating
  • marriage
  • friendship
  • pen pal
  • prayer partner
  • bible study partner
• Marital status
• Children
• Want children?
• Age
• Country, state/province and Zip code (US only)
• Type of membership (gold and silver)

If you are a GOLD or SILVER member, you can also search by these additional parameters:

• Languages spoken
• Race
• How far they can live from your location
• Only members with photos
• Only members with ConfirmID (an identification method that checks that members are genuine)

If you are a GOLD member, you get these extra parameters as well:

• Last date of activity on site (a vitally important feature)
• Members with video introductions
• Members who are willing to relocate to a new place if they find that special someone
• Height
• Body type
• Level of education
• Smoker/drinker
• Denomination
  • Adventist
  • Grace Gospel Fellowship
  • Armenian Evangelical Church
  • Brethren
  • Pillar of Fire
  • Pentecostal
  • Jehovah's Witnesses
  • Eastern Orthodox
  • Volunteers of America
  • And many more demoninations ( Big church has one of the most extensive denomination lists we've seen. You can search for several denominations at once as well.)

BigChurch.com offers excellent customer support with 24/7 friendly phone-lines to ensure that you can easily solve any problems you may experience whilst using the website.

Big Church is owned by the well-established FriendFinder network, who own several other dating sites, such as French FriendFinder, GradFinder.com, Amigos.com, and Senior FriendFinder. They have lots of experience, taking care of members in their different niche markets, and the same goes here. Why not visit BigChurch.com and use the FREE standard account to find out whether or not BigChurch is the best Christian Dating site for you.

CatholicMatch.com overview, Online Dating sites review

CatholicMatch.com

CatholicMatch.com overview

Meet Catholic singles today

Summary overview for CatholicMatch.com:

Catholic Match is a serious Catholic dating website, dedicated to Catholic singles who want to discuss areas of Catholic life while searching for their soulmate - their headline is: Grow in faith, fall in love. The fantastic community feel created by the magazine, chat and forums gives real depth to your experience on Catholic Match - there is a real opportunity to meet like-minded Catholics from around the world and share your views on religion and life and generally make friends, as well as the chance to meet the Catholic soulmate of your dreams. The patron saint of the site is St. Raphael the Archangel, patron saint to Catholic singles and happy meetings. The fact that the forum sections are named after saints also promotes the Catholic faith - so you can feel safe in the knowledge that Catholic Match is a genuine, devout website with your best interests at heart.

Catholic Match attempts to ensure that all its members are sincere and committed Catholics by giving specific questions in the profile, such as whether or not you agree with various important teachings of the church, such as abortion, contraception, and the Holy Eucharist. However, members can still join if they disagree with any of these teachings - so if you're looking for someone who agrees with you on these crucial issues, make sure to check their profile thoroughly.

CatholicMatch.com Features:

• Upload photos
• Extensive profile options makes it easy to get a good idea of someone's personality before you initiate any contact with them - although you do have to fill out all of it in the initial signing up form, rather than leaving it blank and coming back to it later. You can, however, edit your answers at any point in your membership.
• Extensive profile section about your faith, including your right, diocese, and a series of faith questions, such as how regularly you attend church, and which of some of the common teachings of the church you accept
  Automatic suggested matches based on your profile answers
• Favorites list
• Catholic Match mailbox system - similar to a simple online email account
• Instant messaging
• Chat room
• Send emotigrams to let others know what mood you're in
• Encounters section - keep track of people who've viewed your profile and profiles you've viewed, people you've chatted with, people who you've exchanged emotigrams with, and people who you've exchanged messages with.
• Events section - known casually as "CM Get Togethers" - increasingly popular chances to get to meet some of your fellow Christian singles from Catholic Match and bring your friends! Seems to be focussed mainly on events in the USA, however.
• Message boards with extensive range of sections, all affectionately named after saints! Topics range from Catholic culture and marriage issues to humor and pop culture.
• Hot topics list - see which discussions are most popular in the message boards
• Magazine with articles by staff and members, covering loads of issues from love and communication, Catholic Match success stories, and modesty in the 20th/21st century to the sacrament of marriage and saints' lives.
• Free temperament test based on Hippocrates' studies.
• View new members and birthdays
• FAQ and Help sections

Performing a Search:

You can do a quick search, which uses the following parameters:

• Member ID number (if you know exactly who you're looking for)
• Gender
• Age range
• Location
• How many of the church teachings they accept (this is an unusual feature, unique to Catholic Match - great if you're looking for someone on the same religious wavelength as you!)

You can also do a more advanced search with more extensive parameters, but this feature is not available to basic (non-paying) members - you have to buy a subscription.