BookofMatches is a dating site that has been around since 2002 and they proudly state that offer their services completely for free, but they also proudly state that they ‘one of the (if not the only) truly free & clean dating sites on the internet.’
At first glance, the site itself looks pretty dated. There isn’t any sleek navigation menus or seductive temptresses on the front page. Instead, you’ll find a bunch of profile photos of singles who look like regular people. They’re not ultra-gorgeous or nubile. They look like men and women you’d meet at a community event.
Promising!
To sign up to the site, you’ll want to look at the top right side of the page and choose a username and then you’ll click on the “Let Me In” button. Next, you’ll be taken to a screen where you’ll be asked to provide a password and email address.
After hitting the “Submit” button, you’ll be asked to verify that you’re not a bot by entering a given number.
The last part of the registration process is all about you. You’ll be asked a variety of questions that you’ll be able to answer via drop down menus.
Once you’ve completed filling in your details and hit the button to create a new account, you’ll be sent a confirmation email - so make sure you input your correct address. Also, check your spam folder because that’s where our email was found.
Like other dating websites, your dating profile is going to be an important feature that you won’t want to overlook. In fact, you’re encouraged to fill in as much information as you can. You will be asked to describe your appearance (although people can just look at your profile photos, but more on that later…) from a variety of body types.
Other information that you’ll be asked to fill out include:
Weight
Height
Relationship status
Profession and salary (optional)
...etc.
If you’re unable to find your city on the pull down menu, we recommend choosing the largest city that you’re closest too.
During the profile creation stage, you’ll be asked to create a headline that sums up who you are and what makes you, you in a nice little nutshell.
After the basics of your profile is completed, you’ll be asked to answer 12 essay-esque questions. Keep in mind that the more detail you give in these answers, the better. Some of the questions include:
Your hobbies
Describe your personality
What are you interests
What are you looking for in a partner
...etc.
There are also 20 different yes or no questions, to which you can rate how important it is to you. In regards to the recommended profile photos, you can upload three, but you also have the chance to create something called a “Profile Scrapbook.” You can upload 14 photos to your gallery and use it to highlight your interests, hobbies, and so forth. You can also write a description for each photo so people who view the photos knows what’s going on.
Absolutely nothing. It really is free. Unlike other dating sites, you have access to a selection of communication tools that’ll make your experience on BookofMatches.com a little more enjoyable.
You have the ability to reach out to others on the site via instant messenger or even use the private messaging system. However, what really makes this site stand out is the ability to use live video and audio chats. These tools are great because they can reaffirm that the person is who they say they are - no catfishing here!
If there’s one thing we absolutely love about this site is that there are so many different communication options. Of course, you have the search feature to which you can specify various things such as:
Search radius
Lifestyle preferences
Age range
Relationship status
Members who have public profiles
There are also other ways you can search profiles on the site. There is a matching system in place that uses an advanced algorithm that’ll match you with people who have similar interests and preferences.
If you’re not trying to sit and read profile after profile, you can browse the various topics on the forums. These topics include things like:
Dating advice
Sports topics
Politics
Music
...etc.
Let’s say you find some people that you’ve been communicating with in the forums and you want to keep up the back and forth. You can add those people to your “Favorites List” and “Friends List.” By doing this, you’ll be able to find the person quickly and easily instead of creating a search query each time.
If you’ve been using the site and you find that you’re not interested in being a member anymore, or if you’re one of the lucky ones and have found your soulmate on the site, you can cancel your membership. You’ll want to do this by logging into your account and then click on the direct link to delete your account.
Our time on BookofMatches has been an enlightening, and at times a frustrating experience. There are times when the search feature seems to be incredibly slow, which is a problem if you’re eager to start dating people and you’re used to a decent internet connection.
Of course, this is a free dating website and minor technical issues like this gets a pass in our book. There aren’t many other dating sites that’ll grant you unlimited access to its members and all of the communication features.
In terms of the search quality, your results and communicating with other members, it feels like you’re missing out on something, although you can’t place your finger on it. Perhaps it’s the fact that much of the user base appears to be inactive. You can avoid some of those inactive profiles by only searching for singles who have a profile photo.
We do want to point out that because there aren’t a whole lot of people on the site, finding a local to date can be a bit of a challenge. On our test account, we tried to find local singles who’d be up for some friendly banter, only to have the closest matches being 50+ miles away. Yikes!
When all is said and done, we feel like BookofMatches is a worthwhile dating site that you should give a try. If you live in a large city like San Francisco or New York City for example, your chances of meeting someone is a lot better than if you live in rural Mississippi or in the Nevada desert.