— Best Dating Sites to Find Long Term Relationships —

— More Dating Sites —

Back in the mid-1990s — when the internet was just about to explode onto the world scene and into our lives — the scale of reach and the level of importance that online dating sites have today would have had been unimaginable. Yet, from that same time period onward, dating sites have experienced exponential growth. In 2007, 20 million people in the U.S. had tried online dating sites. Today, in 2017, that number is 50 million. In 1996, the year the online dating industry considers its birth year — there were only 15 online dating sites. In 2017, that number is 2,500 in the U.S. — over 8,000 if you take into account dating sites from around the globe. The online dating industry estimates that there will be 1,000 new dating sites in the U.S. each year.

Such numbers should not be a surprise. After all, online dating sites are simply the continuation and evolution of innovative ways to meet potential partners. As far back as the mid 18th century, you can find historical evidence for the first “singles ads” in American Colonial newspapers. The 1940s and 50s brought statistics-based matchmaking to the world. This resulted in hundreds of matchmaking agencies opening across the U.S. The 1980s brought you video dating. Who knows how many of our readers might be the result of a video date match from their parents’ generation.

As such, younger singles today view dating sites as the norm — part of the singles paradigm. Older singles, or those returning to the dating scene after a divorce, should take heed and follow their lead. Dating sites are here to stay until they evolve into whatever the future of matchmaking holds in store.

— Are Dating Sites Replacing Traditional Matchmaking? —

The notion of what is termed as “traditional” matchmaking has always been dynamic. There are idealized stereotypes of what it was, but if you look in depth at each decade of the last 150 years, each one had its own dating norms. Instead of asking yourself if online dating sites are changing the way we meet people, you should just take it as a given and focus on how it can help you find your better half.

— Am I the Right Type for Online Dating Sites? —

The first thing that you must understand about dating sites is that it is incumbent for their success that they be inclusive. This inclusivity can come in the form of a “catch-all” approach used by larger sites — or it can come through the proliferation of niche dating sites targeting specific demographics. That is why you come across dating sites structured toward seniors, divorced individuals, specific ethnicities and for the LGBT community.

Young or old, shy or outgoing, dating sites are here to bring people together of all types — everybody is the right type for a dating site. It is just a matter of selecting one that you will be comfortable with and that yields the results that you want.

— With so Many Choices, How Do I Know Which Dating Site is Right for Me? —

As we mentioned above, there are as many as 8,000 dating sites online — with new ones appearing every day. Yes, it can be daunting to go through each one and effectively compare their features and performance. This is why we conduct in-depth reviews of the most compelling dating sites. If a site has gained recent popularity, we determine if it’s all based on empty hype or solid performance. If a legacy dating site makes a major change, we look into whether it improved or soured the user experience. We also cast a wide net to identify and review new sites that may still be in the start-up stage. This can help our readers spot the next great thing in online dating and avoid the losers.

By using our reviews as a reference source, you can start to get an idea of which dating sites would serve your personality type best. Then, it is a matter of actually getting your feet wet and registering for a few dating sites. Most offer free truncated versions or free trial memberships. The point is that you can look before you buy. Even when you decide to make the jump over to paid dating sites, nearly all offer one-month memberships — so you are never trapped to any commitment or cost obligations lasting longer than 30 days.

— What Results Can I Expect on Dating Sites? —

We conduct our reviews in order to help people like yourself find the dating sites that best suit them in terms of personality, lifestyle, budget and level of participatory zeal. You may ask yourself, “what the hell are they talking about, participatory zeal?” The answer is simple — it refers to your propensity to remain engaged with the site you join. Some people use dating sites methodically — they join and then everyday tweak their profile, respond to messages as well as sending some out on their own. These are the slow grinders. These types of people should easily expect to get results on dating sites. They are patient, so they won’t jump on the first person to suggest a meetup. Maybe they will go out with several prospects over the course of a year before they find the right person for a long-term relationship. They would never be frustrated through the process though, for they are naturally patient and methodical.

Others show great enthusiasm and then, after a few weeks, stop monitoring or updating their online profiles. These people often make the mistake of thinking that dating sites work the same way as hookup sites. While part of the same industry, they are two vastly different constructs. Dating sites require input, participation, and engagement. Remember, you are fostering what will be a long-term relationship, not a quick fling. People that have shorter attention spans should best stick to larger dating sites with larger membership bases in order to have a larger stream of potential matches in a shorter period of time.

Bottom line, any dating site will require some degree of input from you. The more time and care you put into it, the better the results that you are going to get. Keep in mind that online dating is nothing more than an extension of normal matchmaking. Just as you could meet the love of your life by crashing shopping carts in the produce section of your supermarket, so too can you meet your soulmate by checking your dating site messages on a Thursday night in your pajamas.

— Conclusion —

We could easily have had cited more figures than we did to demonstrate the important role that dating sites have in modern romance. As impressive as those figures are (downright arousing for statisticians, we suppose), they should not overshadow the very simple fact that dating sites can help you meet more people that are compatible to you than any other system yet devised. If you are tired of being alone, of being left out when your friends have couples parties, then you should try a dating site — just like 50 million other Americans already have.