 |
|
| |
Our Favorite Dating Sites |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Top Dating Categories |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
Dating Direct: Full Review |
 |
|
|
| |
|
|
Pro Rating :
|
 
|
|
User Ratings :
|
|
|
Avg. Rating :
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
About Dating Direct |
| |
|
URL
|
: |
|
|
Year Started
|
: |
1998
|
|
Location
|
: |
United Kingdom
|
|
Languages
|
: |
English
|
|
Short Description
|
: |
is a United Kingdom-based dating site with over 1.1 million members, primarily in the UK. The second highest member count is in North America. is streamlined and basic, with no frills. In fact, their corporate information comes right out and states that it isn't meant to be anything other than a basic, straightforward site that "does away with gimmicks such as free trials, nicknames and un-moderated chatrooms." Translated, offers only browsing and anonymous email boxes.
|
|
Number of Members
|
: |
1,100,000
|
|
Overall Rating
|
: |
Don't spend your money at . Join another UK dating site, or three other sites. Then go buy a few beers with some friends at a friendly neighborhood watering hole and be glad you passed this one up.
|
|
| |
Dating Direct Categories & Features |
| |
|
Relationships
|
: |
Friendship
Marriage
Pen Pals
Romance
|
|
Religions
|
: |
All
|
|
Ethnicities
|
: |
All
|
|
Finding Your Match
|
: |
Automated Matching
Photo Gallery
Search (Advanced)
Search by location
Search (Quick)
|
|
Contacting Members
|
: |
E-mail
|
|
| |
Dating Direct Dating Service Review |
| |
|
The Company
|
: |
There's no corporate information available on the site other than their address. An email was unanswered after one week. Ownership unknown.
|
|
Site Navigation
|
: |
's navigation operates fine, with no unpleasant surprises. It can be a bit slow at times, but all the links work and the site operates as expected.
|
|
Site Response Speed
|
: |
Average
|
|
Sign-Up Process
|
: |
's sign-up process is easy and quick for the free membership. With the premium membership, it would be nice if they let you know up front which credit cards they accept. This isn't posted anywhere. simply asks for a credit card number. My particular card type wasn't accepted, but I didn't find that out until after I'd typed it in, wasting time.
|
|
Breadth of Services
|
: |
Limited. is an email clearing-house and not much else.
|
|
User Base
|
: |
Not very impressive and a predominance of members who are 35 and older. Good only for UK dating.
|
|
User Experience
|
: |
left me feeling bored, disappointed, and almost... sad. It was the only time I was on a dating site and actually felt a bit like a lost soul rather than someone looking forward to adventures in the dating world. Whatever that intangible something that makes an online dating website a success is, is missing it.
|
|
Customer Service
|
: |
was slow to answer and confusing.
|
|
Customer Service Hours
|
: |
Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm
Email via Webpage
|
|
Registration Options
|
: |
Registration Procedure
FREE to register
Quick registration
Send photos by mail or email
|
|
Additional Services
|
: |
Automatic renewal
Hide profile option
|
|
Long Description
|
: |
The look of the site is pared-down to nearly sterile. No graphics beyond the double heart logo in the upper left-hand corner and a color scheme of shades of purple on gray are the extent of the site's "look." 's links and pages are the most basic style - underlined words in arial. When you do a search you can scroll down through about thirty-five matches with name, age and location to the left and photo to the right. Click on the name to open the complete profile. One of the few unique things about is that there are no usernames or nicknames allowed. You simply use your first name. Supposedly this is friendlier, simpler and more honest, but really...what's to stop you from using a fake first name and don't you learn a lot from someone's nickname? Aren't they kind of fun? Hey, I don't give my first name to people I don't know right off the bat and I won't do it at , either.
gets directly to the dating site basics
The profiles on are minimal in content. You get all the standard stats - height, approximate weight, whether you drink or smoke, your income, etc. The categories are limited in choice, though. Instead of several ranges for income, you have to choose either Low, Moderate or High; not much choice. There's one chance to order an essay and doesn't give you much guidance. For some indefinable reason, has an unusually lonely, "late-night and I'm all alone" feel to it; there's no real feeling of connection or community here, perhaps because there's no way of knowing when or if others are online when you are. You always feel like you're alone in cyberspace. With no chat rooms, the feeling is reinforced.
affords UK daters options
's membership is higher for the UK and they do sponsor some UK dating events, such as Singles Parties in Bristol and London, which seem to be well-attended. doesn't do these in the U.S. yet, though, so it's difficult to gauge how effective they are from this side of the ocean. If you are a "Premium Member" (read "paying member") at , you can email as many members as you like, read all emails that are sent to you and do advanced searches. You can receive Cupid Alerts that tell you when new members that match you have joined. You can also view additional photos beyond the primary ones posted with member profiles. 's free Basic Membership lets you browse all you want, but you can't email anyone and can't respond to emails sent to you. In fact, you can't even read an email sent to you without paying the membership fee. They should rethink this. Reading an interesting email would definitely prompt me to join so that I could write back to an interesting member. Being told I can't even read the darned thing just ticks me off and makes me feel like I'm being held hostage.
|
|
| |
Dating Direct Pros & Cons |
| |
|
Pros
|
: |
If you live in the UK, is not bad. The UK dating events seem to be popular.
functions reliably.
|
|
Cons
|
: |
has no extras, no style or personality, profiles are minimalist and the site seems empty. There just isn't much here, folks.
Although offers search options for many countries, a variety of searches turned up no matches at all in countries that were listed, even with very wide search parameters. For all intents and purposes, doesn't really operate there.
|
|
| |
Dating Direct Plans Offered |
| |
|
Pricing
|
: |
3 days for $4.95
10 days for $9.95
1 month for $19.95
3 months for $29.95
6 months for $49.94
1 year for $69.96
Read your emails
Write and respond to unlimited emails
Blocking features
View additional photos
Advanced search
|
|
Site Freebies
|
: |
Full browsing of profiles
Notification of emails you can't read
Browse photo gallery
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
