Are you a cowboy or a cowgirl? Do you enjoy riding horses? Do you have a favorite country song for every mood you experience? If so, the dating site WesternMatch.com might be for you.

In continuous operation since 2002, WesternMatch offers a platform for people who identify with a country western lifestyle to meet. Whether you are born and bred on the range, or if you are just a city slicker who enjoys strapping on a pair of boots and a Stetson, WesternMatch promises that it is the “most fun you’ll have online.”

If this sort of dating site intrigues you, be sure to check out our full review of WesternMatch.

— Pros and Cons —

Pros

• Free version offers access to many of its features
• Straightforward registration process

Cons

• New users need to be manually authenticated and approved
• Antiquated design
• No native mobile apps
• Buggy online chatrooms
• Weak Members Database

— In-Depth WesternMatch Review —

WesternMatch was launched in 2002. When you first visit the site its age definitely shows. The design is very antiquated and would probably turn off potential new users if they are used to other more modern dating platforms. While basing one’s opinion solely on the appearance of WesternMatch’s welcome page might seem unfair, it is a legitimate point for criticism and concern.

If a site has been in continuous operation since 2002 and it has not found it prudent to update its style and design, would it not also be reasonable to assume that it has not updated its inner workings as well. How secure is its database? Is its members’ personal information as safe as it could be? These are the sort of questions that having such a poor visual design bring to mind.

Additionally, what sort of members does the site attract? All of our testers expressed the opinion that, personally, they would never join a site that looked like WesternMatch. Mind you, this is not because they are opposed to the country western lifestyle. As a matter of fact, all of our testers thought the concept behind WesternMatch would interest them in real life. However, when visiting the site, its overall appearance raises doubts about the sort of users who would willingly join a site that looks so old and shabby.

— Platform —

It should be no surprise that WesternMatch does not have a dedicated mobile app. The only way to access WesternMatch on a mobile device is through a browser. Unfortunately, even though the WesternMatch site is responsive, this provides a pathetic user experience via a smartphone. That means you are stuck using the desktop version if you want to obtain any semblance of usability.

What’s worse, the developers of the site hail the fact that their site is responsive. They are oblivious to the fact that having a responsive site is not enough to create a positive user experience when it comes to dating sites. This reinforces the huge disconnect that the developers have with modern dating site technology and user expectations.

— Registration —

Registering for an account on WesternMatch requires filling out an application form. Most of the information required is standard — name, email, location, gender, etc. A verification link will be sent to the email address you registered with that contains a confirmation link. You must click on that link to confirm your registration.

Immediately upon registering, you can access the platform and get a layout of the terrain. Unfortunately, until your account gets manually approved, that’s about all you can do. You can’t use any of the site’s features. During our test, our accounts were approved within three hours. The only exception was one that was registered in the wee hours of the evening. That account took over 12 hours to get approved.

— Features —

The features on WesternMatch are rudimentary by modern dating site standards. The search feature is divided into simple and advanced search. In reality, the search engine used by WesternMatch is a simple sorting and indexing engine that uses 35 parameters to render results. This means that there is no advanced algorithm to serve intuitive match suggestions.

The community chatrooms reminded us of chatrooms from the 1990s and early 2000s. Also, our testers reported that they experienced repeated outages of the chat platform. Most of the time, only three chatrooms were available and it was not uncommon to find only one person in each room at any given time.

The one-on-one chat feature was also buggy. Our testers reported instances when they attempted to initiate a private message only to be directed to an error page. Incoming private messages generated an annoying sound that is turned on by default. All in all, the user interface leaves plenty to be desired.

— The Members —

One thing that is painfully obvious on WesternMatch is that their userbase is shrinking. Many of the profiles are abandoned. Also, when you search for members living in a specific location, the search results include profiles from all over the country and the world. This is a telltale sign that there are few active members onboard.

— Cost —

WesternMatch has both a free and premium version. The latter is referred to as a “Gold Membership.” The free version allows you to conduct basic and advanced searches. It also allows you to access the community chat rooms. It limits you, however, to only two pictures on your profile page and you cannot access one-on-one chat. Also, you can receive winks, but not respond to them.

The Gold membership increases your picture limit to ten images and opens up the restricted features mentioned above. A one-month membership costs $4.95. You can purchase a lifetime membership for $24.95.