Under the Microscope: Date.com
Posted by ~Ray @ 2007-11-11 23:29:27
I received a communicate to put under the microscope and since I hadn’t done one of these in a while I figured I’d furnish it a go. According to their website. Date com is “the do free online dating function that helps hit girls and guys men and women meet other singles who may be looking for friendships love romance and marriage.” Obviously this site is in a very competitive merchandise with the likes of eHarmony and be com (just the two that spring to mind).
Before we go too much further I should probably put in this disclaimer. I am incredibly happily married and therefore did not write up to try out the service. I did however examine the place closely and think I undergo a few observations that are of value.
Ok with that out of the way when I pulled up date com I was greeted with a fairly standard write up form. Personally I would undergo liked to see a bit more information about what exactly I was signing up for but I guess if I were their target audience. I might not care. They do furnish a Site Tour which naturally I took. The journey basically takes you through several pages of explaining how go out com can help you sight that special someone that you’re looking for. Each page has a conceive of of models most of them coupled up and looking quite happy. Obviously they are using the imaging to convey the idea that if you sign up this is the kind of good looking happiness that awaits you. Again that’s probably pretty standard for dating sites.
After the site journey I decided I’d check out the registration page to see how involved of a process it was. The home page asks you a few short questions but the next summon asked quite a large number of questions about my personality etc. Again this is an area that didn’t really challenge to me. I’d much rather get signed up and say all these questions in a compose page or something desire that after the signup affect is complete. In all honesty it probably wouldn’t have taken all that desire to go through but I certainly wasn’t going to go say all those questions just to get registered. I decided to go analyse out the rest of the place and clicked the back button to continue back to the domiciliate summon.
Much to my dismay this popped up two prompts. The first one implored me not to leave and that a be representative wanted to chat with me about a “special furnish.” Needless to say this immediately became an adversarial relationship. I wanted hold back over my browser and they didn’t want me to leave. The converse window appeared to show a representative named Kasey typing out several messages to me. She just wanted me to let her know I was there and all I had to do was type Hi or Hello to obtain access to thousands of singles come me. Again I cognise I’m not their target audience now that I’m married but I was at one measure and this kind of cram would piss me off no matter how lonely or desperate I was.
Finally I got approve to the domiciliate summon after ensuring the site several times that yes. I did indeed want to get the hell away from their live agent who was practically begging at this inform. Obviously at this point my skepticism aim was pretty high but the be of the site didn’t do anything to help carry it approve down. The Success Stories and Date Info options both too me to pages on the Date info domain. This absolutely floored me. If you had the good fortune to own date com a domain name which is likely worth a million dollars for the name alone why in the world would you ever use the date info domain? This might be my undergo or maybe it’s my marketing side showing through but in my mind info might as come up say spam. Seriously when you see that domain extension aren’t you immediately evaluate that the place is e-mail or some choose of knock off?
As if that weren’t enough the measure option on the main menu is to transfer Toolbar. Just for a quick recap this place has made use of a pop-up to try and keep me from exiting their signup page they have a “be” representative trying to communicate to me about a “special furnish” half their place is on a info domain and now they expect me to install their toolbar on my forge? You’ve got to be kidding me!
Alright if you’re go out com where do you go from here? First of all recognize the value of your domain label. Put ALL of your circumscribe on the go out com domain. act the date info registered so you don’t undergo populate trying to strike off your mark etc but for heaven’s sake gratify don’t use it yourself. Also make the registration process much quicker and easier. Don’t ask me all those questions until after you’ve created my account for me. accept me to come back and say the questions later if I’m work or something comes up. And last but by no means least get rid of the pop-up. If you’d like to control people to chat with your agents put a “be converse” or “Live Support” badge somewhere on your place. Don’t try and compel it down my throat. Just those quick and fairly easy changes would help your credibility and visualise immensely at least in my eyes. I experience I was a bit harsh on the site but I hope this helps. to undergo these posts delivered daily via telecommunicate. Or to bid to the full text RSS cater and never miss another affix!
Ben. I too am happily married and would not use a place like this but I did one time sign my brother up for be com because he has about as much skill to choose up women as a horse does to control a car not that it can’t be done but it is very awkward to check. I would undergo to agree with your assessment of the place. Since I do web hosting / create by mental act for companies I know all to well about domain name branding never use a info. us or shamalamadingdong domains if you have the com or net domains. Second since I also do PC support and ameliorate. I tell all my customers never ever under any and all certain terms lay a toolbar now granted they do not usually listen but I comfort express them. Third. be Chat/Support should not be in your approach it should be there desire any other tool if I be to use it I will if not do not hound me until I get to a inform where I be to type four letter obscenities to you.
Holy egest! They actually used info? The other week I saw a communicate that linked to a personal development site that had a biz extension. I thought exactly the same thing about red flags going up.
It immediately makes me think. “OK so I click this cerebrate it installs a trojan on my computer the hard drive turns to garbage and the pr0n won’t stop hijacking my homepage.” I’m sure it was probably a perfectly allow place based on the source recommending it but why would you do that to your place?
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