Lavalife Review
| Quick Lavalife™ Overview |
Last Reviewed: Nov 2002 |
|
| Basic Membership Cost: |
FREE |
| Countries Served: |
Major Countries. US, Canada, Australia, UK
and about 40 others. Membership level appears medium sized. |
| Types of Relationships: |
Includes 3 areas - dating, relationships
and intimate encounters. |
| Key Membership Features: |
Post your profiles, upload pictures(free)
Search, browse and send smilies (free)
Create a backstage 'photo gallery' (free)
Reply to mail and messages. (free)
To send messages costs credits.
|
| Premium Membership Benefits: |
Allows you to use all the contact features.
Costs are for buying credits, which are used for contacting others: 40 credits
= $9.99, 90 = $19.99 and 200 = $39.99.
|
| Pros: |
Unique look, emphasising the 3 different themes.
Good range of free options. Credit system isn't too expensive. The help system
was particularly useful, answering mostly everything you'd need to know. I liked
how you could do some basic browsing to begin with before joining up. The search
results were accurate. |
| Cons: |
Not too sure about the top frame of the site - I found it a bit too big.
No right clicking allowed - annoyance.
|
| Rob's Rating: |
8 / 10
|
Can't wait? Then Click
here to join Lavalife for today
or continue reading the rest of the review...
Joining Lavalife Singles Dating Service
A good feature of lavalife is that you can browse the profiles without
registering, thus making it easy to get an idea of the style, layout and range
of singles before registering for free.
You can perform a quick search based on age range and location. This
is fast and brings up a list of 10 people per page of results. They are very well
laid out, including picture, 'hook/title' line and short profile. Other sites
may well take a leaf out of lavalife's approach with the display of results like
this. Icons and emails beside the pictures make interactivity even better.
To refine the search and do other things you need to actually register.
I was very impressed by the searching, as you could speciy a range of interests
to help you narrow down potential singles matches. Remember to save your searches
so you can tweak them later on.
FREE Registration is a 2-step process:you firstly create a
name/password then secondly fill out a profile page. Afterwards you can fill in
a short description about yourself. Then, you can also upload your picture and
create a backstage area that allows you to show potential matches more of yourself.
The Lavalife Site
Lavalife is based around 3 distinct themes: dating, relationship
(those who are a bit more serious) and intimate encounters, for singles who want
to get a bit closer. Each zone has a different color scheme so you know where
you are, plus there are short tips and advice sections which offer enjoyable reading.
I wasn't sure sure abour the use of a frame at the top of the site
- personally, I found it a bit too big, but maybe it's a sign I should get myself
a bigger monitor!
It's good that they show an idea of the number of profiles in each
section - for instance, the last time I was logged on, there were 65,000 women
seeking a long-term relationship and 200,000 sharing heated moments in the intimate
zone. No guessing which section I spent more time browsing...
The profile for intimate encounters asks 3 questions with 3 'drop-down'
menu answers with lots of very interesting answers. 'What turns you on', 'What
encounters are you open to' and 'what you look for in a partner', plus there's
advice on sex and seduction should this be of interest to you. You fill in 1 or
all 3 profiles should you feel adventurous.
Whenever you log back into your lavalife account, the homepage is
elegantly designed with the 3 zones showing your status - if you have any new
smilies, mails etc, plus number of new members. Impressive.
So, you've browsed a while and want to contact people - this is where
you can buy credits. Unlike other singles dating sites, Lavalife operates not
on a monthly, but a credit-based system:
Credit System
They are one-time purchases (No auto renewals) and are used
to initiate the sending of messages:
Basic package, 40 credits - $9.99
Medium package 90 credits - $19.99
Best value package 200 credits $39.99
Mailing a member (all further contact between both of you is free)
= 5 credits.
Instant Messaging = 10 credits for 20 minute session. During a session
you can send as many messages to as many members as you like.
Remember - joining and browsing is free and there's never any obligation
to purchase at any time.
Verdict
Lavalife's singles dating service is impressive, giving you the impression
that they are a professional organisation that clearly cares about helping you
find the right person. The themed approach works well, with the searching, browsing
and profiles themselves all thoroughly thought out, organised and presented. The
help section was excellent.
There are only a few minor quibbles - particularly my pet peave
of not allowing right-clicking. I'd have rated it higher if this wasn't disabled!
You can do a lot with the free membership, but as with most services,
to be in control of contacting others requires some cost. In lavalife's case I
find the credit system a reasoned one - say you bought $40 worth of credits -
this would allow you to converse with 40 other people, or potentially more if
you used the credits with the instant messaging tool.
Rob's Rating - 8/10 - Recommended
Click
here to join Lavalife™ for Free
Review written by Rob Paul:
Back to the Dating
Services index.
|
