Most of matchmaking websites don't have much to offer after you separate the grain from chaff. But don't lose your hope yet because there are still some good ones out there if you know how to get to them and what to expect afterwards.

In this article we will go over some of the things that you should always look for in a service provider before signing up with them. It will not only save you a lot of time in the long run but will also protect you from being listed with one size fits all services.

Let's get the most obvious question out of the way first. Do these websites really work? The answer is yes they do but just like anything else there is a catch, and it is that you have to be persistent in your search by logging in every few days to communicate with other members and get back to them in a timely fashion. After all it is an internet age and with emails, instant and text messages, we have come to rely on and expect quick response times.

Websites listing boldly on the main introductory page nothing but "I am a man, looking for a woman" or vice versa search forms, mostly tend to lure in the kinds of people who are in it to have a good time and have non-serious attitudes. After all there is much more involved in finding a suitable partner than to just have sex and age determine the outcome.

A more compelling sign of a "not so good" matchmaking website is the way it looks. If it looks like that a website was put together in a day or two with minimal effort or using a pre-built web template, believe me they do not have much to offer and will not be able to help you. With something this important, you don't want to trust someone who has only put this service up to get you registered and then sell your information to the next person willing to pay for it.

Another thing to take with a grain of salt is the number of members publicized on these websites. Most portals boast about having millions of members but the question you should be asking is how many of these members are real people and not just people with fake profiles. What procedure does the web portal has in place to root out fake profiles and verify the validity of people signing up for the service?

Most importantly when choosing a matchmaking web portal to help you in this endeavor, you should ALWAYS read about the idea behind the service and the people running the website. What makes them special and help them stand out among peers. And most probably the least read document, "privacy policy" has to be at least glanced at before signing up so you can make sure that your information will be kept and handled in a legal and acceptable manner.

Here are some of the good websites worth looking into:

- Eharmony.com [http://www.eharmony.com] was the first portal to come up with detail application process capturing the most information from a member.

- Match.com [http://www.match.com], started the trend to start finding partners based on different aspect of personality rather than physical traits.

- Chemistry.com [http://www.chemistry.com], stood out as the leading "dating" site for singles etc.

- Shaadi.com [http://www.shaadi.com], rose as the leading portal in sub-continent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh etc). It is potentially the most used website among people on internet from that region.

and last but not least,

- Wedfirm.com [http://www.wedfirm.com], first portal to combine the idea of a proper marriage bureau by assigning a relationship manager to each member, manual review and member verification of each member, extensive application process to record member and potential match information, match recommendations for members based on the detailed preferences captured and much more.