Are you considering doing some online dating for the first time, but are worried that it may make you look like you are desperate? Or are you worried what your friends or family may think?

Turn the clock back 10 years or so and you’ll have found that many people held this attitude about online dating or dating agencies.

However, in this day and age you will find that the majority of people just see internet dating as a normal activity, and  one that is very popular and common among single people.

So if you are wondering if online dating means you are desparate, the answer is a resounding “NO!”. You just need to take a look at the USA’s biggest dating site Match.com as an example. They have 20 million members and I’m pretty sure that most of these people are not desperate

Online dating is also the third biggest business on the internet – see this article on computer world for more details.

If this isn’t enough to convince you, you may want to consider the fact that by not trying  dating websites you are missing out on a huge opportunity to meet someone special. If you’ve already met all your friends’ friends, your family’s friends and the people at your work without meeting someone suitable, then that only leaves meeting people at bars and clubs, by chance, or through some hobby or club that you are involved in.

Trying online dating opens up a whole lot of new possibilities. As most dating sites have extensive search features you can also filter out the types of people that you know you’ll definitely not be interested in e.g. people of a certain age, or people that don’t (or do) want children, people that don’t share your interests, people that smoke (or don’t smoke), or people who are not of a certain religion.

In real life it’s not really possible to do that amount of filtering as you can’t find these things out about people until you meet them and spend some time with them.

With online dating it is actually possible to be VERY picky (the opposite of desperate don’t you think?). You can pretty much whittle down your potential dates to people who fit your requirements exactly and then have some fun browsing through the photos and profiles to find someone that you want to chat to online or meet in real life.

If reading this has changed your mind, have a look here to find out what the best and most popular dating sites are.

Online dating services are becoming more and more popular as single men and women gravitate towards them as a means to meet new people.

If you are unfamiliar with the different dating websites, it can be a minefield to know which ones are the best to sign up with. If you are feeling bewildered, this post will show you how you can differentiate between the plethora of different online dating sites!

#1 – What does it Cost?
Some online dating services are free to use, others are partially free where you can access certain functions before you have to pay and others are ones you have to pay to access the services offered. If you decide to join a dating service where you have to pay, ensure you know what you are paying for and whether it will be a one-off fee or reoccurring for a certain time period.

Have a look at the terms and conditions as well. I know this can be boring, but you need to know if you are tying yourself into a specific period of time, or if you can get a refund within a certain number of days if you are unhappy with the site.

Also, do bear in mind that free is not always better. Free dating sites tend to have so many more “dead” profiles ie. profiles of people who left the dating site long ago.

#2 – Does it Meet your Needs?

Certain online dating services are specialised in the type of people that they are targeting eg seniors, single parents, same sex. If you have specific requirements, sign up to an online dating service that caters for your needs and requirements.

If you are looking for a long term relationship you will find that certain sites are catering specifically to this. On the other hand if you are looking for lots of casual dates, you need to pick a site that caters to yhis.

#3 – What Features are there?

Various online dating services offer a range of features to entice single people to sign up with them. Such features can include winks, real time chats, photo and video uploading and instant messaging. Select an online dating service that has features that make it engaging and enjoyable for you.

#4 – What do Your Friends Think?

A number of your single friends may have tried various online dating sites and had some success stories come out of them. Listen to what they have to say and sign up to online dating services that have received good feedback and avoid those that have had unfavourable feedback.

#5 – Ease of use

Online dating services should be user friendly and make it relatively straight forward for you to sign up and register and begin searching for potential new partners. If there are too many steps involved in the process, it can turn off potential users.

#6 – Easy to search
The key to a good online dating service is the ability to search for potential new partners. Select an online dating service that will help you search the way you want. For example, you may wish to search for partners based on age, height, body type, occupation, location and relationship status.

#7 – Number of Members
Another final thing that you may want to consider is the number of members that the dating site has. This is particularly important if you live in a rural area. There is not much point paying to join a dating site only to find that there are 3 or 4 people in your local area!

So take a little bit of time to think about what yo want and compare online dating services before you dive in and sign up.

Have a look at the top dating sites in the USA and Canada to help you decide what the right ones for you are. You can sign up to all of these dating sites for free initially and decide whther or not it is suitable for you before you join.