Are International Dating Sites Legitimate?

Dating has changed a lot in the last decade or so. Instead of hooking up in bars and clubs, more and more people go online to find their perfect wife. They use sites that specialize in local or global dating, depending on their goals.

Dating across the borders, in particular, has become extremely popular as of late. As many people get disappointed in the local girls, they look toward countries such as Thailand, the Philippines, and Ukraine for a bride. Top-tier websites specialize in this type of international dating, making it a perfect place to encounter your foreign wife. 

Although this concept has worked for many, you can still get scammed along the way. There are numerous dating sites that take advantage of their clients, through use of bots, convoluted pricing systems, and loose privacy policies. So, if you wish to learn more about the potential dangers of international dating, make sure to read this guide!

What Are International Dating Sites?

When we talk about international dating sites, we don’t necessarily refer to Tinder or Bumble. Instead, we use this phrase for platforms that connect people from different countries. For example, you have mail order brides sites like BridesUniverse that connect Western men with ladies from Southeast and East Asia or vixens from Eastern Europe.

Generally speaking, these sites are more expensive than your local platforms. Besides standard subscription, they also have credit systems for sending messages, gifts, winks, and other extras. They also tend to include much more information about users, as most people are serious when dating for marriage.

5 Ways to Assess a Dating Site

The first rule of international dating is making sure that the site you’re using is legitimate. Given that this will be your go-to platform for hooking up and a valuable tool that you’ll use every day, you need to be certain that it’s up to snuff. In the end, even if a site is completely legitimate, you need to feel comfortable using it so you don’t ruin your dating experience.

The good news is that there are many methods to check the legitimacy of a platform without too much effort. Here are the five main areas you should focus on when choosing a site:

1.     Reviews

Customer and online reviews can tell you a lot about a platform. We always suggest you go through this process as soon as possible, even before within the site in question. That way, you can determine whether or not you’re wasting your time.

First, start by reading Google reviews. Go through negative comments one by one and pay attention to issues mentioned several times, as these are usually legitimate complaints. You should also go through popular review sites to see how a particular platform compares to other websites.

Keep in mind you shouldn’t use these reviews in isolation; compare the scores with other sites to have a better understanding where a certain platform ranks among users. Even if a dating site has a bit lower score, that doesn’t have to be detrimental but is a strong indication nonetheless.

2.     Website interface

You’re probably used to Hinge’s or OkCupid’s polished interface. Unfortunately, an average international dating site doesn’t have a good interface. Many of them have layouts that are all over the place, making it hard to navigate the platform.

Other major issues include missing sections, links and other errors, or slow loading speed. While some of these might only indicate poor SEO practices, the problem more commonly lies in poor website design. Many scammers whip up a site almost overnight, focusing on profits instead of usability.

Then again, this might be a tricky category as there are perfectly working sites that don’t have such an intuitive design. Still, we always recommend our users to go with reputable, respectable platforms where you can be certain that your money isn’t jeopardized. That being said, if a platform looks amateurish, you should search for some other solution.

3.     Website content

You also need to take a peek at their content. Similar to the interface, their pages need to fulfill the highest web standards so you can deem the platform legitimate. In the end, it’s only normal for a professional company to employ top-tier marketing writers to handle their content.

Read every page to find potential grammatical errors and typos. You should especially be worried about sites that have these kinds of mistakes on their homepages, as this indicates complete negligence and unprofessionalism.

4.     Registration

The registration procedure can tell you a lot about a company’s perception of its users. The best sites will only ask for basic information, as they understand that the site is good enough. As soon as you register, you’ll be satisfied with the experience and will become a long-term member. These sites commonly ask for a few basic details and instantly disclose privacy policies and other site rules.

A good way to differentiate a scam site from a legitimate one is based on the questions asked during registration. The process for dating sites is usually straightforward, so if a site asks you too many personal questions, this is usually a major red flag. You should especially be worried about platforms that ask you for credit card info and a social security number before allowing you to use the site.

5.     Basic plan

It isn’t uncommon for clients to use a dating platform for several years. In the end, meeting the right person and communicating with her takes lots of time and patience. Because of that, it often pays off to start slowly and get a basic plan for the first month. That way, you can perform a test run and notice a few issues that were previously concealed.

Out of all the potential problems, you should focus on robots and pricing policies. Robots are especially tricky as you might not notice them from the get-go. These chatbots operate like real women, engaging you in conversation. You might start talking to it, thinking that it’s one of the ladies, thus spending credits for nothing.

When you have firsthand experience, you can also better assess pricing policies. For example, you’ll notice how fast the credits run out when talking to a girl. You’ll also notice if there are some hidden prices that weren’t initially mentioned in the company’s agreement.

Conclusion

By following the tips and tricks disclosed in this article, you’ll have a much easier time finding the right dating site for marriage. We always suggest our readers start by reading the online reviews and checking the site’s features before subscribing. That way, you can prevent most nasty surprises.