How to Choose the Right Lesbian Dating Website

Introduction

With ten Lesbian dating sites reviewed on No.1 Reviews, we recognise that users may need a helping hand in deciding which service is best for them. With our experience in reviewing all kinds of different services, we hope that this buying guide, combined with our trademark extensive reviews on each product, will help you make an informed decision as to which site is perfect for your needs. Remember that it can be useful to sign up for a free trial with a few lesbian dating websites, to get a feel for them, before deciding which one you would like to stick with.

What is Lesbian Dating?

Online Lesbian Dating services offer the opportunity for gay women to meet each other for sex, romance, love, friendship, companionship or anything in between. Once a particularly niche area of online dating, these sites have grown in popularity alongside their mainstream counterparts and are now readily used by female members of the gay community right across the world.

A specific branch of online dating, lesbian dating shares many of the same features that are present on mainstream dating sites. It is therefore useful to examine the differences between what users can expect from a lesbian-specific or mainstream website.

Lesbian Dating Vs Gay Dating Vs Adult Dating – choosing the right site for you

A point of particular interest to many users will be the possible advantage of joining a mainstream dating site, or a gay dating site, over a site that specializes particularly in lesbian dating. It is worth noting that even the largest lesbian dating site is unlikely to have anywhere near the number of members that can be expected from one of the larger mainstream dating websites on the market, though naturally the user base is more likely to fit your tastes when working with a more specific site.

Another possible advantage arises out of using gay dating sites for both gay and bisexual men and women, thus offering additional chances for meeting the perfect individual. That said, a lesbian-specific site is undoubtedly the place where you're most likely to meet like-minded people, even if there are fewer of them to choose from than on a regular dating site.

Common Features

There are a number of features that are common to many of the lesbian dating sites that we have reviewed at No1Reviews.com. Our experience helps us to pick out those features that are most useful to our readers, so to help you know what to look out for when choosing a lesbian dating site, we have highlighted the most important features below so that you can look out for them as you are reading through our reviews and checking out what each site has to offer:

1. Photo & Video Profiles - Photo profiles are a common feature on most dating sites, as they allow users to check out what another person looks like, what they are interested in and what sort of individual they are looking to find. Photo profiles allow users to get a real 'feel' for other users by reading the information they choose to share and letting users make the decision as to whether to take the first step and get in touch. Video profiles are slightly more advanced, and not as common, in that they allow users to 'advertise' themselves by leaving a pre-recorded video message for other users, giving them the perfect introduction to their looks and personality. Whilst of course, video profiles offer the ultimate in 'getting-to-know' technology, this is still relatively uncommon on the sites we review (especially those sites which are fairly small), so we're always impressed to see video profiles featured.
   
   
2. Instant Messaging - Instant messaging services are provided on a great number of dating sites on the market at the moment, offering users the opportunity to engage in real-time conversations with other site members along the lines of the services offered by MSN, AIM and GoogleChat for example. We love instant messaging facilities on dating sites, as we think they offer the perfect opportunity to get to know another user a little better in the early stages of a potential relationship.
   
   
3. Forums & Chatrooms - Many sites host online forums and chatrooms that give users the opportunity to chat to other users about a range of topics, both related to online dating and not, allowing users to get to know others in a friendly and informal setting. We also found that the sites that offer such services tend to have more of a community-based feel, where users feel more comfortable. Chatting in forums and chatrooms is thus a great way to get to know other users, make new friends and develop existing relationships further. 
   
   
4. Matching Services & Additional Features - Many dating sites that make it onto our review pages offer additional services and features in order to enhance the experience for its members. One such feature is a 'matching service' which automatically matches users of a site on the basis of a questionnaire or using their profile attributes. Whilst such an automatic matching process is not guaranteed to be successful, it can throw up some interesting matches and might just well be the start of a great new relationship. Other additional features may include an e-zine, Dating Q&A, Dating Advice, Dating Stories, Profile Rating etc. Surf around the sites we review to check out what additional features are provided to enrich your online dating experience.
   
   
5. FAQs/Technical Support - As boring as it sounds, the availability of technical support is an important part of the decision-making process when deciding which site to join. Look out for sites that offer 24 hour technical support, by email, web form or phone, and also offer an expansive range of FAQ documents, which will not only help you when things go wrong, but also help you to find your feet in the early stages of using a site.
   

"Powered By"

As users examine the sites we review in this category, they may notice that some sites are "powered" by another, larger site. This simply means that the site shares the same features, structure and occasionally, membership directory of the larger site. This practice often occurs when one site acquires ownership of another site or develops a spin off site from its mainstream parent site. Many of our users find the presence of a larger 'parent site', powering the site they use comforting, finding that it often opens up more features (and other members) than would otherwise be available.

Privacy and Safety Online

Even with the vast growth of online dating, it remains important to be aware of the safety and privacy issues that arise out of using such sites. We recommend that our readers use sites that offer features intended to mitigate against these risks and help keep you safe online. Many users of online dating services may be concerned about the security of the data that they share online, that it may be shared with other organisations, or viewable publicly by all users of the site. In particular, we advise our readers to look out for sites that allow users to block specific members and tailor access to images, videos or sections of their profile using a customizable security scale. Whilst most of the sites we review offer excellent security and privacy settings as standard, check our reviews for information on more specific or innovative methods of keeping your details safe!

Pricing & Free Trials

The pricing structure operating on dating sites within this category varies considerably, so we always suggest users check our reviews for details of the most up-to-date pricing information. All the sites reviewed in this category allow users partial access to the site and its features for free, using a trial membership option. We suggest all users take advantage of this opportunity as it allows them to really get a feel for the site, how it works, and whether it suits an individual user's needs.

The Bottom Line

Whilst online dating often comes down to picking a site where there is a heavy footfall and a large number of active members, there is a lot to be said for picking a site that is exciting to use and has an appropriate complement of interesting features (especially where sites are based around a niche form of online dating, as with sites in this category).

Check out our reviews for an indication, where possible, of the size of the site and the number of active users, but also join the site for yourself (through the free membership options available) to get a feel for whether a site would work for you. Finding a site that feels right for the right price is half the battle - happy dating!