The Top 10 Usability Mistakes Made By Dating Sites

Written by Merav Knafo | 02 November 2008

Dating sites are among the most common types of commercial websites, and also one of the easiest to get wrong. When the competition is so tight, it's vital that the site is easy to use and that members are able to find and use the functions they want.

There are a few aspects that are particularly important. First, the most important thing for the dating site is to have active members: in general, active members pay; dormant members do not. It's also important that the members can take the actions they want to take, and not what you think they should want to take.

Here then are the top 10 mistakes made by dating sites. There are plenty more, but these are the biggest and the most common.

  1. Registration is too long.
    Yes, you want your members to have a complete profile, but you're asking them to invest their time before they know your site is worth the effort. Let them fill out the basic details, and once they like your site, they will complete the rest later.
  2. Photo upload is not part of the registration flow.
    You want your members to upload photos, right? So why make it hard for them? The last step of the registration should allow members to upload their photos easily. Sure, they should also be able to "skip this step" if they don't have a photo but not having this step as a part of the registration flow will force them to find how to add photos later. That may be easy to do on your site but it's always easiest when it's part of the registration process.
  3. No easy way to find who's online.
    You want to give your user an easy way to find who is online in their area. People like to know who they can play with now. That will also give your members a huge incentive to login to your site and receive more exposure to other members. Adding a "Who's Online" link in a very clear place on your navigation bar rewards your active members and encourages them to login more often. Just letting members do a search and check the "Show only online members" box doesn't cut it — not even close. You're asking them to take a number of steps to find what they should get with one click.
  4. Not letting members know the status of their emails (or asking them to pay for it).
    This is fundamental. You want your members to be engaged and somewhat addicted to your site, to use it frequently and be active. So let them see what happened to the email they sent two days ago to that hot girl or dishy guy -- was it read, ignored, deleted? They will come back to your site to check the status and while there, they'll probably write to a few other people, click some ads. In short, they'll be more active.
  5. Making updating a profile tougher than necessary.
    The more tabs and buttons you have, the more I'll need a special tutorial to figure out what I should click. Keep it simple! On each "edit profile" section have a "Submit" button at the bottom. That's it! Avoid having two buttons that confuse your members.
  6. No search by partial username.
    Users will often remember only part of the name of someone who once wrote to them. They should be able to find that person by entering some of the username during a username search. The site should not only show all the members whose usernames contain that phrase, it should also sort the results by "close to me."
  7. Not notifying users when someone "hot listed" or "favorited" them.
    A great way to engage your members is to let them know when someone has added them to their favorite list or to their "hot list." Your members will login to find out who they are, and possibly connect with them or other members they stumble upon while they're there.
  8. Sending the content of the email to their personal email.
    This is convenient for the user, not so good for you. When someone receives an email to notify them they have a new message on your site, and you allow them to read the email, you're missing out. The user now has no reason to login! Best to let them know they have an email, and give them a link to login and read it. While they're there, they'll browse around, send some emails/winks and get more involved.
  9. Not sending real-time notifications.
    If a member has a new email on your site, let them know they do right away! Don't notify them once a day or once a week. It's an important part of getting people excited about being on your site. Knowing someone has written to them is exciting news — don't make them wait!
  10. Connecting IM and Online status.
    Sometimes a member will want to appear online, but without receiving IM messages constantly. Allowing them to turn off the IM feature lets them choose how people make contact, and that's super-important from a usability stand point.
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Great Tips
written by Dating Online, January 22, 2009
Great tips you have here. I can use this in my future project! Thanks.
0
Top ten mistakes......
written by TRAVIS, March 04, 2009
The Top most Important mistakes made during online dating

1. Sending her 'just' a wink

2.Not having a recent quality photo in your profile

3. Sending a message with a boring subject

4. Sending her a vague, generic or otherwise lame message

5. Taking too long to respond to her message

6. Asking for her personal information too soon

7. Making sexual innuendos in your first message

8. Sending her money or a credit card number

9.Checking out her “really hot” nude photos on her personal website

10. Not knowing what you really want
The Top most Important mistakes made during online dating

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travis

perth dating
0
Yes.
written by Online Dating, June 30, 2009
Perhaps the most important one that you've listed - for my money - is the ease of setting up a profile. Site after site makes it much more difficult than necessary, especially in the trial version. Trial versions NEED to be practical and accessible, or you lose a large percentage of potential customers.

Good read, thanks!

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