The following is a 100% authentic, 100% real review. I was not provided a complimentary product or compensated in any way for this review.
When it comes to being one of the premier dating websites for the average man or woman, Plenty of Fish (PoF) aims to please the single masses. Plenty of Fish is one of the longest running dating sites on the Internet and remains the most visited dating website on the web according to an independent analysis of dating websites by FindTheBest.com. What is it about Plenty of Fish that continues to attract such a loyal user-base for years? Let’s take a look in our latest Plenty of Fish (PoF) review.
The Money Aspect
Basic accounts are free to set up. With a basic account you are able to partake in the majority of activities on the website such as sending messages and reviewing other profiles. For $81.40 a year, you can upgrade your account. Upgraded accounts show up first on searches, have more messages, can see extended profile features and are able to surf Plenty of Fish without having to see any advertisements.
Profiles and Matches
Before you are able to interact with other users, the website required you to fill out a questionnaire to create your profile. The questions range from more basic ideas such as the kind of person you are seeking, body type and income to the kind of personality you think you possess. The customizability of profiles means that you have the opportunity to narrow down your search to matches that you are more likely to click with than a generic such allows.
Before completing the questionnaire, you are required to describe yourself in at least 100 characters. This is your moment to portray yourself to the rest of the user base that might come across your account. The character count helps ensure that the accounts being set up aren’t being created to spam the website. A second paragraph detailing your idea of a first idea is optional but recommended. After that, the website prompts you to upload a photo which I had no trouble with.
After uploading your photo, you are required to a complete the “POF Relationship Chemistry Predicator” which is Plenty of Fish’s survey used to set up proper matches based on personality traits. The questions appear to be similar to those seen on a Myers-Briggs Typology Indicator (MBTI) exam. MBTI is often used as a measure for understanding personalities so it’s reasonable to suspect that Plenty of Fish is using some of these ideas to set up their matching system. I also noted similar tests that further the potential for accurate matches.
Website Usability
The account creation process went very smoothly for me. I didn’t have a problem with completing the necessary steps to finish the profile (including uploading a photo). The tests that I tried out all worked properly as well. It seems that, at least at face-value, after years of operating online, Plenty of Fish is a stable website that doesn’t have many of the glitches that some dating websites are well known for.
The most striking thing that I noticed is that while Plenty of Fish appears to have done very well with creating an effective way to set up matches. I couldn’t help but notice that there isn’t a forum or chat feature on the website. Although they aren’t inherently necessary for a dating site to be successful, these types of features greatly enhance the experience. What the website does do (create a system for people to communicate with the type of matches they are actually looking for based on personality traits), Plenty of Fish does very effectively.
On another positive note, all of the profiles and pages loaded properly as I ventured around the website. Although many dating websites with free accounts are known for their usability issues, such experiences weren’t encountered while exploring the nocks and crannies of this website during my exploration of what the website had to offer. Plenty of Fish is a stable website that clearly has designers who take pride in their work to make sure the user experience is a positive one.
Although Plenty of Fish doesn’t have as many whistles as some dating websites, it definitely has a very nice charm to it in its simplicity. It is a very clean copy website that gets straight to the point of why people sign up for dating websites: to hopefully find someone that they can go on dates with that they can actually stand to be around. With a few more features, Plenty of Fish could become even better than it already is. The honest opinion of this website is that on a scale of 1 (dreadfully horrible) to 5 (amazingly wonderful), Plenty of Fish gets a 3 out of a possible 5 stars.
