Lonely Parents Date

Overview of Lonely Parents Date

LonelyParentsDate.com is a Single Parent Dating Site. This site focuses on Chat and Video Chat to date online or long-distance, but also has local search features to find Local Dates with Single Parents.

One of my favorite features on LonelyParentsDate is the Smart Match Tool. You can look for something as specific as “Single Moms Over Thirty” or use the Advanced Filters to include a profession, body type, race, and more. Smart Match uses your search history on the site, your site activity, and the personal info you provide in your profile to show Matches that are compatible. This means that if you only want to date Christian Single Dads, and you search versions of that the site recognizes the pattern and continues to show you more of the same. You can still search for matches outside your normal preferences by using the Search Bar. If your desires change, so do your Matches. That’s why I think it’s the best feature – it makes it easy to find what you want without digging through a ton of profiles you’re not interested in.

The biggest critique I have for this site is that it is not really a free dating website – even if you buy a membership, you still need to upgrade to a VIP membership to get full benefits. I’d also like to see them put up a Status Update area or some kind of Public Chat on the site to make it more social. Some of my favorite dating sites have these kinds of social media tools and I like to see people interacting on them before messaging someone.

Features and Activities

There are a lot of great features on this site, but most of them are benefits for Paid Members. If you want to browse the site before making a commitment, there are lots of ways to do that, too.

• Home – This is your default landing page. You’ll see it each time you use the site. This is where you’ll see Notifications, Messages, Chat, Requests, New Members, Flirts, and Your Matches.
  • Inbox – The Mail Widget alerts you when you have a new message from the site or another member. It will also store the messages you’ve sent to other users.
  • New Members – See who’s new on the site.
  • Your New Matches – These are matches LonelyParentsDate.com suggests for you based on your preferences, profile info, and search history. This is where the Smart Match Tool I talked about in the Review Intro comes in.
• Browse – Browse members by category or view people you’ve connected with. Choose from the buttons to see people who are:
  • New – Shows new site members.
  • Online – Shows members who are Online Now and have not hidden themselves. You can choose to remain Offline if you prefer to browse the site privately.
  • Matches – Shows people the site suggests as Matches.
  • VIP – Shows VIP Members. You can view these members, but can only interact with them if you have Upgraded to a VIP Membership, in addition to Paid Membership. If you aren’t a VIP Member, consider this section a teaser to try to get you to Upgrade.
  • Admirers – People who have sent you a Wink.
  • Favorites – People you have Winked at and who’ve Winked back.
  • Visitors – Members who have visited your Profile Page.
  • Blocked – Use the Block feature for any member who is making you uncomfortable (or for any other reason – you may want to block people you know if you are a private person).
• Profile – View and edit your profile. The details you give here show the site how to find you compatible Matches.
• Chat – Chat or Video Chat with other members. You can Chat with other Paid Members if you’ve paid for a membership. You can Chat with VIP Members if you’re a VIP, too. This is where they nail you down for the Gold Membership and VIP – because not being able to chat makes the site a waste of time.
• Inbox – This is where your messages are stored (see above for more detail).
• Flirt – This feature suggests potential Flirts based on your likes.

Memberships

The “Free Single Parents Dating Site with No Hidden Fees” is, unfortunately, a pipe dream. Most dating sites offer free membership to get you on the site but then ask you to upgrade to Chat or Date. LonelyParents is no different. The Free Join lets you try out the most basic features of the website, like Basic Search and Browsing a limited number of profiles. If you want to use the good features on the site, you have to pay. The structure for upgrading on this website is a bit of a headache, but if you just remember that you can’t do much without paying, and you still can’t do everything without the VIP, you’ll be fine.

Upgrade Options:

1-month membership at $39.99/month

• Add VIP $14.90/month = $54.89
• Total due at signup = $54.89

3-month membership at $29.99/month

• Add VIP $14.90/month = $44.89
• Total due at signup = $134.67
• Saves $10/month or $30 total

6-month membership at $24.99/month

• Add VIP $14.90/month = $39.89
• Total due at sign-up = $239.34
• Saves $15/month or $90 total

If you plan to get a paid membership to the site, it’s best to just suck it up and buy the VIP add-on, too. There are so many features on this site that you can’t use if you don’t upgrade that you’re wasting money by NOT buying it.

The six-month plan is the best deal and adding the VIP plan still makes it cheaper per month than the monthly membership. The flip side is that while it saves a substantial amount to pick the longer plans, they are also billed on sign-up for the whole package, so it’s a higher price to start.

Summary

LonelyParentsDate.com is a good Single Parents Dating Site. It has a lot of members, it’s busy and it has some fun features. They have a system in place to validate profiles, good site security, and a responsive help desk. This is all important because you can never be too careful as a single parent.

The winning features of this dating site are the Search Function and the Smart Match, hands down. The way they work together makes it easy to find compatible matches without wasting time.

My least favorite thing about the site is the Membership Package + VIP Add-On headache. I don’t think the price is awful – it’s what other sites are charging, too. It’s also not unique in offering the Add-On. I just like things to be streamlined so I don’t have to pore over a chart to see what I get for my money. Just take my cash and let me chat with who I want!

I think that adding more social media tools and activities would be good, too. They give dating sites a community feel. You can get to know other members before checking out the profiles and interact through conversations and replies. I’d love to see them add that at some point. I think it’s important on niche dating sites because you can see how people communicate and behave before talking one on one.

This is a site I would pay for again. It is nice to be on a site that is well-designed and doesn’t have a scammy feel to it.