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Lavalife.com

Strangers to Friends to Lovers; One Platform for All: Lavalife.com

Lavalife.com is a strange beast amongst the modern dating sites which opt for slick gimmicks and angles. When you think about the swipe for fun model of Tinder, the complex matching algorithms of Match.com, the lifestyle-based niche of some religious services, or even the social media-like platform that is Badoo.com, it makes sense that Lavalife.com is somewhat of an unknown quantity. In fact, I can understand exactly why some people have to ask “how does Lavalife.com work?” because the answer is that it’s designed to work almost any way that you want it to…

No really.

You can look for friends, meetups, relationships, and romantic dates all from the same profile with just the click of a button. No switching profiles, no rearranging your layout; you just flip a switch, so to speak, and go on your way. Which is great for the Instagram, Facebook, instant gratification generation. The question, as I’ve said, is whether it does all of this effectively and efficiently?

Pros of Lavalife.com

The thing about Lavalife.com is that it sounds excellent on paper; one site that does it all. You can network, find dates, make friends, arrange meetups – whatever you need. All without complications and switching profiles. The thing is, though, that the execution still needs some serious work.

The site is well laid out, it’s clean-cut, and the search options are clear; it’s easy to use and understand. The free trial, at least, lets you get to grips with the site before you shell out your hard-earned money, and the need to verify before you start chatting offers all members some protection.

Cons of Lavalife.com

With that said, it’s more expensive than its direct competitors, like Lovoo, and it doesn’t really offer any extras for premium membership. Whereas sites like Lovoo.com have made simplicity and basic features an appealing thing, minimal fluff and fuss, minimal cost, Lavalife.com is charging more for a basic service that you can really get free elsewhere. Plus, the membership rates seem a little sparse, at least in some areas of the country.

REGISTRATION PROCESS

The registration process is pretty straightforward, but touches all of the main bases, so to speak; when you register you are asked to confirm your age, gender, what you are looking for, your basic physical condition, height, etc. What is interesting, however, is that alongside the usual lifestyle questions about smoking, drinking, and exercise, there’s a field for you to fill out your average yearly income; if you’ve tried a few sites you’ll recognize that as unusual immediately.

Rather than being a big issue, however, your income, and the income of others, is simply notes alongside all the other basic facts. This is the first of many little quirks that add up to make Lavalife.com feel… unusual. Unlike certain sites, EliteSingles.com for example, Lavalife.com makes no point of matching you with your “economic equals”. Which begs the question – why is this information requested?

CREATION OF A PROFILE

Once you have registered you will be prompted to create your profile by uploading a picture, filling out the about me section and so on, but unlike many sites Lavalife.com doesn’t actually put too much time into encouraging you to complete your profile. It does prompt you to go through an email verification process before you can contact other users, but that’s about it. The member login area is pretty easy to navigate, but you would be best to save your details as the site refreshes and kicks you out fairly often. This can become quite frustrating after a while.

Payment and Cancellation

Lavalife.com offers a 7-day free trial, as noted, after which point the membership must be paid for. You can pay in 1, 3, or 6-month chunks at prices of $20, $50, and $90, respectively. The thing is, other than the continuation of your membership it’s not clear exactly what you’re paying up to $20 a month for. Thus far Lavalife.com seems to have fewer members than other comparable sites like Lovoo.com, and the basic layout and features aren’t overly special. In fact, the only thing that really sets Lavalife.com apart is its unparalleled flexibility…/p>

SEARCH OPTIONS

So far so basic, but the 7-day free trial gives you time to learn the fundamentals of the site. You can search by username, by location, age, gender, and by the kind of connection you want. This is where Lavalife.com shines; you can switch from viewing people who want meetups to those who want relationships, and all the way to those who want a friendship with just a click. You can also search people by education, by income, and various other “advanced” criteria.

HOW TO DELETE AN ACCOUNT

Deleting the account should it fail to suit you, however, is very easy; just a matter of ticking a box and clicking a button.

CONCLUSION

All in all, it’s an excellent idea that needs some work and development because right now it feels too eclectic… as if, in trying to make a hub, the creators just threw together everything they could think of. It lacks coherence, though the members seem friendly and tend to be attractive, so there’s a silver lining here.

In fact, Lavalife.com isn’t a bad dating site by any stretch of the imagination… it just isn’t operating on the right level to charge what it does for what it offers. This is the crux of the problem; if Lavalife were a free site, or at least had a free membership option, then it would be a good tool for singles looking to do everything in one place. That it doesn’t allow for connection to social media, as far as I could see anyway, is mind-boggling because if it was done well the social media generation would be the perfect demographic for this site. As it is, however, it feels like a joyless cash grab without any defining quirks to make it stand out.

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