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30% of U.S. adults have used dating apps or sites. Online dating is more popular than ever, and it’s no longer unusual to talk about meeting a partner online.
If you’re brand new to online dating, there’s a bit of a learning curve to get over. It all starts with figuring out how to create online dating profiles that can impress a potential date.
We’re here to help you get started. Read on for a few quick tips on creating dating profiles for men, women, or people of any gender.
Pick the Right App or Site
When you decide that it’s time to start working on an online dating strategy, you have to pick the right app or site. You can be on multiple apps at the same time, and for many people, this is the best option. Others prefer to stick to one or two apps or sites that suit their relationship “goals.”
There are free sites and apps and paid sites and apps. Even the free ones tend to have options to upgrade to paid profiles, but this isn’t necessary for most people. Paying for extra features can be helpful if you’re struggling to find matches, but we recommend sticking with free profiles at first.
Sites without free options tend to be for more serious daters, but that doesn’t mean that people on free sites aren’t also serious.
You can find sites for almost any “niche” of dating. If you’re looking for someone with the same religion as you, who speaks the same language as you, who has the same sexuality as you, or even who’s in the same tax bracket as you, there’s a site for that.
You can find apps and sites for nearby dates or long-distance relationships.
Most people opt for the standard and most well-known dating apps and sites:
- Tinder
- Bumble
- Hinge
- OkCupid
- Match
Some people think that popular dating apps are lower quality, but you’ll largely find the same people on all of the apps. There’s no right or wrong app to pick.
Know What You’re Looking For
So why are you on the apps? What type of person are you looking for, and what type of relationship do you want? You want to know this when you start setting up your profile.
Most dating apps will have a section where you can put what you’re looking for. If that’s not the case, you’ll write about it in your bio.
If you’re not sure what you’re looking for, that’s okay, but be sure to mention it still. You don’t want to give anyone the wrong impression if they’re looking for someone specific.
For example, if you know you aren’t ready to settle down, but you’re not sure if you want to casually date or find friends, you don’t want to attract someone who’s dating for marriage.
Similarly, if you know you want kids, you don’t want to attract people who don’t (or vice versa). You only have so much information that you’re able to share on a dating app, so give people as much to go off of as possible.
Keep Your Information Accurate
If there are prompts for you to fill in dating profile details, make sure you’re filling in accurate information to the best of your ability. Not all sites have prompts like this (Tinder notoriously only has space for a general bio), but many do.
So what might the app or site ask you to fill in? Most often, the sites ask for information like:
- Gender
- Sexuality
- Height
- General build
- Whether you drink or smoke
- What you’re looking for
- Your career
- Your education
- Whether or not you have children
- Your religion
You don’t have to fill in everything, especially if some information seems too private. Note that some people, however, will only match with profiles that have all of the information filled in.
Even if you think it will get you more matches, don’t lie on the profile. It’s better to omit information than to try to mislead potential matches.
Take and Upload Great Photos
The right dating profile picture can make or break your profile. While we like to think that looks don’t matter as much as personality, when you only have an online profile to look at, looks are going to play a part.
Some of your photos can be casual photos, like selfies and photos with friends. If you don’t have any nice photos of yourself, and you don’t have friends who can take nice photos for you, it might benefit you to hire an online dating photographer to help.
They’ll be able to capture your best angles for a dating profile picture without changing what you actually look like.
A note: resist the urge to use heavy filters and photo-editing apps when you upload photos. You want to show potential matches what you look like in real life, so let them see the real you!
Write an Engaging Bio
Your bio is the only thing aside from your photos that your potential matches will see, so make it count.
There are a few potential ways you can set up your bio. Some people prefer to keep it short, sweet, and factual. Write what you’re looking for and a thing or two about yourself that might be interesting.
If the site has question prompts that you can answer, you can offer lengthier responses. Try to avoid having a wall of text that may be difficult to parse. You should also avoid excess negativity (focus on what you do want rather than what you don’t).
Many people like adding humor to their bios.
Your goal is to let your personality shine through, even if you only have a small amount of space to work with. Consider having a friend look at your bio for you before your profile goes live.
It’s Time to Create Online Dating Profiles
Try not to stress too much over learning how to create online dating profiles. If your first profile isn’t working for you, it’s easy enough to start over and try something new.
Online dating should be fun, so try not to take yourself (or your profile) too seriously. Have fun on your future dates!
For more helpful articles about dating and more, visit the rest of the site.
