WordPress Dating Plugin vs Dating Software
Tags: wordpress, webdev
Published: 2022-10-11 06:36:09

Should I get a WordPress Dating Plugin or another dating software solution if I want to build my own dating website? The answer is inside.

##Should I Start Dating Site with WordPress Dating Plugin?
In recent times we’ve been hit by a wave of new customers requesting migration to SkaDate Dating Software from their unsuccessful ventures with WordPress dating sites. While we do regularly deal with people switching from other solutions to ours, the sheer number of seceding wp dating plugin owners forced us to publish this post. This information will save you a lot of time and effort, as well as help you make the right decision for starting your dating business.

##How to create a dating website on WordPress?
The deal-breaking fact is that WordPress is not a CMS primarily designed as a dating or even social platform. So if you want to create a dating website based on WordPress, you have to 
1) think about the features you want to implement on your website and 
2) research WordPress [dating website plugins](https://codecanyon.net/tags/dating) that can provide you with these features.

However, if you ever worked with WP, you must know that plugins are conflicting creatures by their nature. So you may end up in a situation where one of them couldn’t work with another, or might not be supported by your WordPress dating theme.

The saddest part is that you couldn’t even get proper support to fix your issue as … WP doesn’t have support. So yes, in theory, you can build a dating website on WP, but no one will guarantee that 
1) you’ll have the same amount of nerves as before you’ve started working on it
2) that the website will work (at least). 

We are not being negative here, we just really want to help you avoid frustrating situations.

The other option is to buy one dating website plugin for WordPress. However, right now, there are no feature-rich dating plugins that have a decent matchmaking algorithm, video chat, membership level management (which is the most valuable feature for monetizing your site), and other options. Even if you are chasing a simple solution from the start, it’s still important to have the potential to upgrade it to a more professional and advanced level.

##How to Create a Dating Website Without WordPress Dating Plugin?
The easiest way to create a dating site on Skadate Software is by getting a Skadate Basic package. You’ll get a feature-rich, ready-to-use dating site optimized for online dating. All you need to do is just to adjust it to your idea, brand, and business vision. In case you have any questions, direct them to the support team for free for the first month. You can also request a trial version to try out Skadate features or briefly check them in the demo. No need to install any dating website plugins! The most important settings are already there.

##Blogging vs Dating
Undeniably, the popularity of wp software as a blogging platform in the past decade created one of the strongest online brands. Everyone knows it, and developers try to use this widespread recognition to their advantage by creating numerous WordPress plugins and extensions. While it sounds great in theory, the hard fact is that WordPress was and still is a platform streamlined for blogging.

No matter what you try, what WordPress dating site plugins you add, or the themes you use, the engine and chassis beneath you are still not built for your main purpose. It’s like using a shopping cart for drag racing. Perhaps you still can do it but with a lot of modification. However, quite obviously, this won’t be the best choice.

##Features and User Experience
It’s the same with dating software. Top names on the market, and most notably SkaDate, have been around for years, honing their platforms specifically developed for online dating. This focus allows to create the best possible experience for both, site members on the front-end, and admins on the back-end, without jumping through additional and unnecessary hoops.

The simple truth is that all dating WordPress themes are pretty poor feature-wise, despite all the flashy presentations. On top of that, once you do get inside, the setup to make your site unique and conforming to a specific vision is a nightmare – it’s virtually impossible to work everything out without a ton of support. What you get is a pretty facade and a gift-basket of basic tools. It will keep you busy for a while, but it’s not nearly enough for a professional dating site.

##Site Performance and Administration
It’s important to understand that all WordPress dating themes do is trying to combine various elements, which often were not even meant to work together. Needless to say, all this recalibration of a blogging site to suit dating needs creates enormous performance problems, and who wants that on a dating site? Your members are there not to read posts, remember? They want a quick interaction with their match. Poor performance – no returning visitors – no revenue.
Forget about the proper administration of such a site as well.

With the structure and environment built for the specific purpose of managing pages and posts, it’s simply exhausting to even think about solving this puzzle daily once you get real traffic. All the sign-ups, interactions, moderation of actions, granting permissions, member tiers, monetization, user matchmaking, communication levels, etc… One serious look at WordPress dating site plugin dashboard will tell you all you need to know about the hassle of dealing with day-to-day user management.

##Security and Final Thoughts
In short, a WordPress dating plugin might look pretty and sound easy for an unsuspecting buyer. But it’s not and never will be a turn-key solution such as a purpose-built online dating software like SkaDate. No flexibility, no proper support, no documentation for specific tools, poor quality plugins, and don’t forget about security either. Since WordPress is so popular, everyone and their mother is looking to exploit new vulnerabilities almost every day. And once it’s out there, your site is under threat. Do you really want to risk your members’ security this way, and also invest a lot of additional time and money into your site’s protection?

Just give it another thought before making the final decision. Starting a dating site with a WordPress dating theme might be enticing at first, but you have to realize that you are launching a business venture. As such, it’s vitally important to make the right decision from the get-go, and avoid laying an unstable foundation for your future success.

Published on [skadate/blog](https://www.skadate.com/wordpress-v-dating-software/?utm_source=devto).