SheMeetsHer Review — A Black Lesbian Dating Site

We recently reviewed SheMeetsHer. In our review, we covered the user experience and what users should really expect from the site. We suggest that you give it a read so you can determine for yourself if the site is worth your attention.

— Pros and Cons —

Pros

• Free

Cons

• Chronic technical issues during registration process
• A large number of profiles are incomplete or inactive
• Search filters fail to work properly
• Messaging system is too simplistic

— In-Depth SheMeetsHer Review —

Lesbian dating sites — along with LGBTQ dating sites in general — have been among the fastest growing segments in the online dating industry. In spite of this pace of growth, ethnically-focused lesbian sites are not that numerous.

This is why a site called SheMeetsHer.com caught our eye. It is marketed as a dating site for black lesbians. We were curious, does SheMeetsHer really focus on the community that it claims to serve or is it simply a marketing ploy?

If you are an African-American woman who seeks to meet other African-American women for long-term or casual relationships, the potential of SheMeetsHer — at least based on how it markets itself — is enormous.

— What SheMeetsHer Is Supposed to Be —

SheMeetsHer is presented to the public as a dating site exclusively for black women from all over the world who want to meet other black women. The site is described by its developers as one which not only offers its audience a matchmaking and people discovery platform but also as one which fosters a strong community feel.

The scope of the type of relationships that SheMeetsHer covers include: friendship, marriage, intimacy, dating, and online chat.

— The SheMeetsHer Platform —

SheMeetsHer is available only in a browser-based version. This means that there are no native mobile apps. The site isn’t even mobile-friendly. It is not responsive, so accessing it on a mobile browser from a tablet or phone requires endless scrolling to fully absorb the content of each page. It makes for a very impractical way to access the site for those who rely on their phones for such engagement.

— Registration Process —

The biggest complaint that we received from our testers had to do with the registration process for SheMeetsHer. The underlying problems with registering a new account were so intense, that two of the six testers who were originally assigned to the project were never able to complete their registration process.

SheMeetsHer offers new registrants two methods to create an account. The first method is presented as the fastest and easiest way to register. This involves linking your Facebook account and using your Facebook login credentials. Sadly, only one of our testers was able to successfully register this way and that was after trying four times. Our remaining testers were unsuccessful when trying to use their Facebook credentials.

The second method involves registering manually. This requires new users to register a username, access password, date of birth, the type of relationship they are seeking, valid email, and the age range of their desired partner. Location information down to the city level is also required.

This second method was equally as problematic as the first. In addition to the personal information mentioned above, registrants must also enter a CAPTCHA style verification code. Our testers experienced tremendous difficulty in getting this CAPTCHA accepted. Two testers were never able to get it accepted. The tester who struggled the least with this CAPTCHA requirement had to enter the code 12 times before it was accepted. The other users averaged 20 attempts before being accepted.

Our testers attempted to register for an account on different browsers and computers to rule out the possibility that the problem was originating from our side. We are very confident that the issues originated from SheMeetsHer’s side. The problem was present over a four-day period during our testing and, prior to publishing this review, we tested the registration system again only to find that the problem was still present. We can only conclude that this must be adversely impacting new users from entering the SheMeetsHer ecosystem.

— Features —

The features on SheMeetsHer are very rustic. The search engine is a simple attribute-driven model that does little more than allow users to search for other users near a specific location. While the search page allows users to enter multiple fields for filtering results, our testers found that the results presented only took into account location. In other words, even if you wanted to filter your search results by age range or desired relationship type, the system would ignore those attributes and just show you everybody in a region. This leaves the user with two options. One, manually filter your suggested matches or two, avoid the headache altogether and skip the site.

Messaging between members is limited to an internal email-style feature. While “old school,” it does perform its job well. Uploading images to your profile is simple. The site allows users to upload multiple images into the section of their profile known as the carousel. When searching for potential matches you are given the option to filter your results only for members with pictures. Unfortunately, similar to the other filtering problems, even when selecting “only members with images” you will receive profiles from members without images.

— User Experience —

Even though SheMeetsHer is free to use, the user experience is rather poor. Starting with the persistent problems regarding registering for a new account, carrying over to the unresponsive search filters, and the overall rustic functionality of the site, it’s difficult to feel good about it. The user experience can only be described as poor.

The poor user experience is compounded by the fact that many of the profiles on the site are incomplete or inactive.