Which dating site is the best match for your age?

Online dating works best if you use the sites that are right for you.

Of course, almost all sites and dating apps have members from all age groups but if you want to be truly successful, you’ll be clever and head to the sites that work for your advantage.

So, if you’re in…

Your twenties

We don’t want to sound blinding obvious but you haven’t lived your online dating life until you’ve at least tried out Tinder.

Having a bit of a reputation as a hook-up app, Tinder is actually a brilliant and entertaining way of broadening your horizons and taking a less serious approach towards the whole business of dating.

You’re in your twenties, you’re supposed to have a bit of fun, go out, meet people, be disappointed, fall down and try again. There’s hardly a better app or site for that than Tinder.

What also works for you? The UK dating site DoingSomething is pretty great for young people who don’t want to take dating too seriously. It’s an online dating site which focuses mainly on how to take dating offline and how to be less serious about it.

There will be plenty of time to be serious about relationships in life. This is not it.

Your thirties

Again, it probably sounds like one big mother of a cliché, but when you’re in your thirties and you don’t yet have that significant other in your life, it’s time to sign up to Match.com.

Why? Because it just works. With its extensive membership numbers and great search features it is just such a universal site.

There are a lot of great niche sites too with Muddy Matches and Tastebuds but if finding a right girl or guy is your main aim, Match is the best place to start.

Lovestruck and Love & Friends are also great though if you’re a Londoner. The first one works well for busy professionals, the second one takes pride in providing a dating environment for “thinking people”.

Your forties

If you’ve reached your forties and find yourself single – single again or still single – trying out eHarmony might be the right thing to do.

eHarmony is a thorough dating site with a compatibility testing system that no one else can match. If you haven’t found your soul mate yet this might be the right place where to look from.

Like Match, eHarmony too is a great universal site with a huge membership base. Daters here have a more serious approach towards pairing up and you’re far less likely to stumble on any time-wasters.

What else might work well for you? A great UK dating site My Single Friend. Chances are you have some really good mates who know you through and through and wouldn’t want you to miss out on your happiness.

Let them help you out. It might seem weird in your twenties but in your forties it’s absolutely legit. After all, you didn’t grow up with your thumb glued to the Tinder screen!

Your fifties or older

Chances are you’ve dated before in your life – although maybe not for many years.

It’s hard to try again, although there are some online dating sites, which would make your life a lot easier. My Lovely Parent is one of them, where children can try and help to pair up their parents who have gone back to dating marketplace. It’s a good site, albeit a small one.

Guardian Soulmates works well too for mature daters as would Match and eHarmony. The main thing is to have an open mind and a positive approach.

In principle using an online dating site is easy.

What complicates things is when you’re not sure what it is and who it is that you’re looking from a dating site.

There’s no reason why almost every dating site user can’t find what they’re looking for. You just have to know where to look from and do it right.

With hundreds of thousands of lonely hearts out there, one is bound to find you sooner or later.

No matter what your age.

About the Author

Aet Suvari has been reviewing and writing about the world of online dating since 2008 and the launch of Online Dating Help. A stickler for promoting ethical practices within the UK dating industry she champions the sites that get it right while highlighting those holding it back. You can follow her on Google+