Dating Direct Review

Costs:

Free to register for DatingDirect.com's service, set up a profile, view 5 other member's profiles and use basic search facilities.

Premium memberships are priced as follows:
- 1 Month: £29.99 with renewals at £29.99 per month.
- 3 Months: £57.97 with renewals at £19.99 per month. Save 33%.
- 6 Months: £77.94 with renewals at £12.99 per month. Save 56%, Best Value!

Subscribers can pay by bank card, PayPay or Click&Buy.

Find Love Guarantee where ANY paid up members may apply for a refund if they don't find love.

Features:

4 million British singles online.
Comprehensive profile builder.
Photo Album which holds up to 20 photos letting other users gain a better insight into your life.
Personal Ad feature, where you can describe yourself and what you look for in the perfect match.
Video Intro, which allows you to introduce yourself to other members in a 1 minute video.
My Test, which allows you to compile a list of personal questions for other users to answer.
Pop-up alerts whenever a member winks at you, visits your page or adds you to their list of contacts (when you're on the site).
Email alerts when you get new messages, a member winks at you, visits your page or adds you to their list of contacts (when you're off line).
My Perfect Match feature, where you can describe exactly what you're looking for in a partner. This enables you to meet people who meet this criteria.
Comprehensive search feature, including the I am their perfect match feature, matching you to people looking for those like you, and the My soulmate search, finding those who comply with all your My Perfect Match criteria.
Send Winks.
Send Messages.
Live chat on the site using their MSN feature.
Live video streaming on the site using their MSN feature.
Saved Contacts, allowing you to form a circle of friends.
My Favorites, a list of those members you may be especially keen on, with a private online notebook to jot down your thoughts and feelings on these members.
Shows how many people have contacted you or are interested in you through the "My Lists" feature.
Confidence Charter, ensuring user's safety.
Blacklist members you wish to avoid. These members are blocked from contacting you.
Comprehensive Troubleshooting section.
Manned customer service team, monitors the site in real time.
Profiles are checked manually rather than by machines
DatingDirect.com events that members may attend.
Mobile Dating, allowing you to constantly access your account, even on the move.

Performing a Search:

The impressive search engine allows you to search the following criteria:
- Age range
- Postcode (location to within 5 miles of where you live)
- With Photo
- Marital Status
- Living Arrangements
- Have or Want Children
- Nationality
- Languages spoken
- Religion
- Ethnicity
- Profession
- Level Of Education
- Income
- Physical Appearance
- Body Type
- Hair color
- Eye color
- Height
- Weight
- Character
- Tastes
- Activities
- Habits
- Drinking
- Smoking
- Last online

You may also use 1-click searches for:
- Your Perfect Match
- Their Perfect Match
- Born on the Same Day as I
- Users Living Near You
- Soulmates
- Users Celebrating Their Birthday

Editor's Verdict:

DatingDirect.com is a very well-established dating website and its popularity reflects this. If you're based in the UK, DatingDirect.com is one of the better dating sites, as the membership is quite large relative to the popuation served.

It's good value for money, with discounts offered if you join for longer; a Find Love Guarantee is also available for any paying members who don't find their ideal partner. For those who don't wish to subscribe, their free services are impressive.

We particularly liked the excellent profile builder which allows you to express yourself through sharing your likes and dislikes, physical traits and circumstances, such as whether you have children or not. Many other sites don't offer this valuable feature.

As you are inputting what you are looking for in a partner right off, this establishes a higher quality of matches at the earliest stage of searching for members. The large membership being served in a relatively small geographical locale probably makes this approach effective.

Also, for those new to online dating, the profile builder provides inspiration when trying to compose a profile, making it a helpful tool in finding someone special. This is open to all users, whether paid-up members or not, which is useful for those who are new to online dating and need some guidance on exactly what it entails.

The My Personal Ad and My Perfect Match features both make it easy to find exactly what you are looking for. Firstly, the Personal Ad allows users to publish their own ads to go on their profile. Using your own words, you're free to write a paragraph about yourself which other users can browse. This makes it easier for others to search for those with certain attributes.

Secondly, outlining your Perfect Match makes it easier for DatingDirect.com to find you a partner. Here, you answer a few multiple choice questions to pinpoint exactly what you're looking for, then the website performs a search with these qualities, meaning that you're able to find someone who's perfect for you, quickly and easily. It even gives you a percentage-based score from your inputted preferences on the members' listings.

If you're shy or don't wish to be forward about yourself, DatingDirect.com advise you to use My Test. This is a great tool where you can make a list of questions that you would like to ask potential matches. We really liked this as it's something which is unique to DatingDirect.com and also makes it so much easier to find someone you're compatible with. It allows you to get to know people better than just by looking at their profile and it's also quite fun!

The quality of photos and profile sections are absolutely first rate at DatingDirect. The access permitted to all members is outstanding, and the companion photo options are great. Enlargements are also available with just a click.

The pop-up alerts proved to be really positive feature of DatingDirect.com. They're fun, and we liked the fact that they keep you completely up-to-date with those trying to contact you. They link you directly to the person's profile too.

You can also take part in live chat and video streaming with DatingDirect.com's MSN feature, which allows you to chat live via instant messenger to any other member on the site. As on all dating sites, to ensure your privacy, the live chat feature is not moderated when chatting to other members. This may dissuade the more safety conscious from using it.

One thing that really stands out with DatingDirect.com is the fact that they put on events up and down the country, something which really makes joining worthwhile. This can make the online dating experience more personal and more effective too, giving users a better chance of meeting someone special. Please note, however, that DatingDirect don't specify on the site where and when future events are going to be held so it's not guaranteed that they'll be accessible to all users.

Lastly, My Lists allows you to keep track of who you've contacted, or who's contacted you, and when. This means you never lose anyone's details which makes a match in the future more likely!

Within My Lists there is also a My Favorites list, to which you can add all your favorite contacts. This even comes with a handy online (private!) notebook, where you can write down your personal views on potential suitors. This should prove very useful for organizing all your contacts.

There are, however, a couple of shortcomings to DatingDirect. Firstly, unlike many dating sites in this price range there is no text-based chat room available at DatingDirect. We like chat rooms because they stimulate a community atmosphere on site and give the members a way to congregate. Secondly, the inability of free members to initiate direct contact (by e-mail) to other members is an obvious shortcoming of DatingDirect.

You may need to take on a premium membership with DirectDating to find out if the site's upgrades make it a worthwhile choice, compared to its rivals. We recommend that you sign up as a free member with the top ranking UK dating site Match.com UK as this should provide an excellent benchmark for comparison.

In summary, DatingDirect.com ranks in second place in our list of UK dating sites. The site doesn't have as many active members as other UK dating sites we reviewed, nor is it quite as straightforward to use because of its many powerful features. However, many features are very easy to use, such as the profile builder, which provides a very comprehensive method of quickly creating your profile. The pop-up alerts also help to keep you up to date with your contacts. We also liked the innovative concept of members events, which may not reach all users but will certainly be great fun for those who can attend. Also, the fact that ANY paid-up members can apply for a refund if they don't find anyone special is a great selling point. So, DatingDirect.com is an impressive site with lots of useful features and represents good value for money.

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Dating Direct Reviews