Chemistry Review

Full review

Chemistry.com is a premium offering from Match.com. It is a traditional dating website that selects matches for you rather than allowing you to browse through hundreds of potential matches. The main focus is on the chemistry of two people (naturally) and is based on the work of Anthropologist Dr Helen Fisher. Below we look at how the site differs from the many dating sites available.

Sign up

After a short sign-up script asking for basic details and password, you are presented with a series of questionnaires that are split up into different sections: My Personality, About Me, About my Match, In my Own Words, and finally a photo section.. The My Personality questionnaire contains 24 statements that all have multiple choice answers of ‘Strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree’. Whilst some of these statements are fairly standard, Eg. “I like to figure out how things work” and “I feel emotions more deeply than most people”, there are some that are far more intriguing, for example a picture of a person looking over a wall, and the statement “There is definitely something exciting over this wall”, which makes for a more interesting and thought provoking signup.

There are also some serious questions throughout the different sections that show that is a website for serious dating, as questions about having children and even adopting children are asked.

One element of the signup process that some users may find frustrating is that there is a minimum character count for your profile summary (who you are and who you are looking for etc.). Whilst this is good in some ways as it makes you really think about these things and makes the match process more accurate given the information provided, it could quite easily deter more casual users or people that aren’t quite so articulate or confident at expressing themselves.

Search

Chemistry.com doesn't have a search function like other websites, instead your potential matches are decided for you based on all the information you provided at signup. This will not suit everyone, although the matches provided were fairly accurate, and it fits into the ethos of the site which is based on them matching the chemistry of two people.

Communication

On Chemistry.com you can communicate with potential matches by emailing (for subscribers only), ‘or free users can ‘wink’ to people they like. There is also a nice touch available for subscribers where you can use specially designed online games and activities to flirt with other users you think could be ‘the one’!

Safety

The information you enter into your questionnaire is kept confidential and is not shared with other members. Also, only members of Chemistry,com can view your profile and contact you, so you shouldn’t be bothered by trolls.

Ease of use

Chemistry.com is very simple to use, and easy to navigate, although the whole presentation of the site is a little dull compared to other sites. Most of the navigation is carried out by clicking a series of tabs and boxes (Eg.View Profile, I’m Interested etc.) which makes browsing your different matches simple. There is also the option to click and browse matches that are similar, which makes for more interesting browsing.

Help & support

The help section on Chemistry.com is fairly comprehensive, with a series of headings that cover just about everything you could want to know. As the site is so simple to use, the majority of users shouldn’t come across too many issues but if they do the answers should be available here.

Overall

Chemistry.com is a fairly traditional dating site, as your matches are chosen for you and there is less interaction than on other sites we have used. However, the matches do seem to be accurate (providing your profile information is!), and the simple design and navigation will definitely appeal to the less tech-savvy user.