Dating sites: digital crowd

Here we are. Lovers hesitate between a reservation on The Fork, a Deliveroo cozy at home or a game at the top. Valentine's Day is, for us, an opportunity to to interest users dating apps and sites.
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We therefore embarked on the recruitment of a panel of users in order to understand their use and their needs. Surprisingly, we had few volunteers. Many have told us about this or that app, without telling us about their experience. Thus, in 2018, it seems that dating sites are still a taboo subject despite their strong popularity.

28% of 18-25 year olds are on a dating site - 20 minutes -

Fortunately, Natalia shared with us her experience and her view of these new meeting places. Throwback to our first Slack interview…

User experience of dating sites

Sébastien
Hello Natalia! MWednesday is Valentine's Day. In my time (generation 80), we would flirt in discotheques and without 06. Since then, dating sites like Meetic, Adopteunmec, Tinder, etc. transformed the codes. Are you telling me?
Natalia
Hello Sebastian! I would be happy to help you! I confess that I have been quite interested in dating sites. 
To take your first steps, you will have to define which category of users and which universe you want to be interested in: young teenagers who want to go out and meet people; older people who have often already been married, who have had a full life and who want to find a partner to start a new life; seniors who want a last thrill…
Sebastien
Let's say I'm interested in young Parisian executives who don't have the time...
Natalia
You are going too fast ! Looks like we're on Tinder! Let's take the time to reflect... You need to take things more seriously.
A dating site is no joke. Imagine: you can literally change people's lives! Certainly, before we met in real life. But society is changing. For example, we no longer consume in the same way. Everything goes faster. Everything is available. love too...
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Sebastien
I do not think so. I'm interested in this subject, because it seems to me that dating sites offer a deeply user-centric service. My difficulty is collect user needs.

As a UX-Designer, I would like to be able to reproduce the emotion of the encounter.

Today, I have the impression that the applications are between Deliveroo, Airbnb and Netflix
Natalia
Ha ha ha! Before there was Meetic. It was the largest market in France, and moreover it is still the case in the figures. It was mainly used by a target group of men and women who, after getting divorced, wanted to meet someone again. Only all of their friends were equally married or belonged to the same circle of friends. Hence the interest of a dating site to know someone outside the circle. 
Adopteunmec has arrived. This actor literally disrupted the dating site market by being fun, funny and quirky. It was a big hit with young people. I would say for the 18-30 age group.
Sebastien
Adoptaguy. The name is great. They reversed the customary pattern of the meeting… 

UX Content: a user-centric strategy

Natalia
… And especially on a female as well as male target! It's super important. Imagine, women in power and men perceived as objects! They worked a lot on the editorial line of the service with very strong biases.

“You can meet the love of your life, for the price of a coffee a day”

Sebastien
You mean, that they differentiated themselves by working on the content?
Natalia
To have tried it, for free since I am a woman, the interface was fun. You wait for a man to send you a “charm”: the equivalent of “I'm interested in you”. If there is a match, you send him a charm in return and you can finally chat.
Now, on dating sites, there is a real storyline around the dating experience.
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Sebastien
Are you talking about scripting like in a video game?
Natalia
I wouldn't say that. They have reconstructed a real situation to reassure the user. Before you went out, you met someone, you tried to charm her and then you could start a discussion. Adopt is the same, but digitized.

User journey: between search for experience and diversion of use

Sebastien
And you, who is a UX-Designer, how do you view these types of services? Are we in an e-commerce experience? Or could we speak of an experience specific to the encounter?
Natalia
Again, it all depends on the bias! For example, Adopteunmec, Meetic are sites that will promote the search for love, stability (regardless of what one thinks of it personally) is their target in any case.
Other apps like Tinder, Happn, in my opinion, are closer to an e-commerce type consumer experience. Already these are only apps. Then in a single gesture, the swipe, you decide whether or not you are going to talk to the person

The gesture is very simple, very fast. It leads to more consumption. The gesture has changed the use...

You look at hundreds of photos scrolling before your eyes and you basically say “Yes” (Swipe right) or “Next” (Swipe left) in a single gesture!
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Sebastien
So, if I'm a calm person and not in a hurry, I'll go to Meetic & Adopteunmec. On the other hand, if I am “now or never”, is it rather Tinder?
Natalia
That's what I think. At least that's the image that these products send back to me. But in any case, it is a very personal use. It's a matter of mood and luck maybe?
Personally, I met my husband on Tinder, we met for the first time in a museum! This is not a priori the value proposition of the service. Besides, it often makes our friends laugh who tell us that our meeting is the needle in the haystack. Buthe use of a dating app also depends on the culture and country you are in, for example Berliners use Tinder for friendly encounters.

Sebastien
Doesn't matter the app, provided the meeting?
Natalia
Yes, kind of. Moreover, on Tinder, there is a feature that allows you to connect to your Facebook account to see if you have any friends in common with the person you are talking to.

Meeting in Agile mode

Sebastien
I have the impression that these dating sites are the image of a path of development in Agile mode : we start with a segmentation in mind to deconstruct our received ideas and move forward. In the end, it is a design journey: user research, design, test, iteration
Natalia
Absolutely. A design journey Lean-UX, in a way: user research, design, testing, iteration… Ahah! I see it exactly like that! Maybe that's how I became a UX-Designer...
Sebastien
Thank you Natalia for these exchanges. 
Natalia
PS: Do not forget the after-sales service! The experience continues after the act of purchase. When my husband doesn't do the dishes or cook something I hate, I threaten to give it back... with love 🙂
The end…
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Take Away

To design a dating site, you need:

  • A composition nice and consistent graphics
  • An immersion in a scenario
  • A structure interesting in terms of user experience (UX)

What we also retain from this dive into the land of strangers:

  • Userss divert the use to recreate one
  • The gesture leads to a change of use
  • The contents is strategic in the experience

For Natalia, it's the perfect playground for both UI-Designers and UX-Designers.

“[she] has the impression that this is one of the fields of application where you can be quite free in terms of creativity and innovation”

Finally, dating sites would make it possible to go beyond ergonomics by including the emotional dimension very strongly with storytelling, immersion and the creation of new social codes...

Sébastien, Learning & Development Manager – Head of Content & Natalia, UX-Designer @UX Republic / Photos @Natalia