Dating and community software market has expanded greatly influenced by overwhealming success of such website industry giants as Facebook, MySpace, Match.com and eHarmony. An idea of starting a dating site or a social network that would grow into a multimillion-turnover business sounds incredibly tempting. Live examples of such dream-come-true models add more fuel to the web site-building fever.
The variety of community and dating site solutions offered in the market today is amazing: freeware, CMS, paid software solutions and hosted web platforms. Each has its own advantages and shortcomings. And before you start building a site of your dream you have to think carefully which way to go as to choosing the platform for your project. Let me walk you through pros and cons of major site-building solutions to help you make the right choice matching your expectations and opportunities.
Let’s start with freeware, which is a free community/dating script. Before you dig for details it looks like a perfect chance to build a website without spending a penny. But in reality it doesn’t work exactly that way. Freeware solutions are normally developed with potential for further improvement by webmasters. Which means that most likely you will not get some of the desired site features in the default package. It is usually a platform with basic functionality accompanied by development manuals and requiring a professional programmer touch to turn into a competitive dating or community network. Pros: Since the script itself is free – you actually lose nothing by giving it a try. Pretty often the essential plugins for a free platform are offered by a vendor for extra fee. However, if the software is popular – you will face no lack of support communities and freelancers knowing the given code’s inside outs. Cons: If you don’t have skills in coding, or at least a dedicated developer who you can trust – think twice before starting with freeware (especially if it is not so well-known). Chances are, you will not be able to get it work the way you need without proper customization. Another unpleasant ‘might-be’ is that after weeks (or months) of studying the code architecture and developing plugins for it you come to a conclusion that this particular script is still not doing it for you. This can be a huge disappointment, especially if you are limited in time. Also, quite possibly you will find yourself unable to remove the vendor’s copyright or advertisement, as the code (even stated to be an open source) may contain licensed or encrypted files. Advice: Better forget about an idea of creating a really professional and competitive community site for free. This will never happen, even if you go with freeware. If you want your project to work for you – be prepared to invest. And a free opensource script may become just the right platform for building your dream, but only in case the software is of a good quality, and there is someone who knows what he’s doing when it comes to web programming.
Now, let’s move to paid software. Usually these are turn-key solutions that just need installing to a server for you to get an up and running site. Sounds like magic, and this is why they cost money. Paid dating scripts are supposed to have all essential features to make your site complete and ready for the first visitor. On top of that, you should get a variety of professional site templates, which will ease the designing issue. Pros: are obvious. You have all chances to build a ’serious’ website even if you don’t have extensive skills in coding. Paid dating software vendors normally offer installation services, so you won’t need to bother about getting the site up. Plus, you get support service and regular updates and version upgrades, which means that your site features will always be up-to-date. Cons: Having a ready-made website you might still want its conception to be unique, which means that you will go for custom design and probably want to add new features and integrate third-party applications. And here we are stuck at code modifications again. Most paid dating script vendors offer customization services though, so you shouldn’t have problems with finding a skilled developer. Advice: Choosing a suitable paid script you should pay attention at two main aspects – source code encryption and features included in the default community software package. Quite often software vendors that state providing an open source code still leave some files licensed or encrypted, which makes it difficult or even impossible to perform certain code modifications. So be sure to confirm this before purchase. Also, don’t get immediately attracted by a low price. In most cases it stands for a basic-complectation package that might not include such essentials as chat, forum, blogs, video sharing, events etc. As a rule, these ‘additional’ features are sold as plugins for extra fee. So the full-featured package cost with the necessary plugins included might get twice as high.
Hosted web platforms are quite popular, as they can be a great solution for those willing to start a communtiy site in a fast and easy way. This is usually a service allowing you to build your own site hosted on a vendor’s server. Pros: Site-building process is simple, and requires almost no efforts from your side. No coding knowledge involved. If you are seeking to start your own social network that would be easy and fun to manage at minimum expenses – a hosted web platform might be the perfect solution. Cons: Your site will be hosted on a vendor’s server, so forget about access to the software source code. This means that you will not be able to customize your web site (change design or add new features), and the only option is to go for additional plugins that might cost extra. Developer’s branding and advertisement removal is either impossible or requires monthly payments. Often you are not allowed to use your own domain name, so your site URL will be a vendor’s subdomain. Besides, as the number of site members reaches a certain limit – you will most likely be asked to pay for hosting your network. Advice: If the reason you are starting a web site is not just a spontaneous wish to check what it’s like, but a mature decision to build your own business – better find out all details before stepping into this. Confirm how vendor’s conditions will change once your network grows really big. Make sure that you will be able to transfer your members database to another software should the need occur. If you are building a web site with specific conception – check if this kind of content is accepted by the service provider, otherwise your network might be deleted.
To sum it up, a hosted web platform can be a great solution for the newbies in online dating business provided they can handle all the cons.
CMS stands for Content Management System, which sounds quite self-explanatory. This is a basic platform with a standard set of features that can be modified into a web site accomodating your needs. Pros: You can turn it into almost anything, starting with a dating site, and ending with an e-commerce shopping cart. Cons: It’s not the right choice for those with no coding skills. Just like any universal system, it might be fairly good for a great lot of projects, but never too good for a particular one. In other words, it will not have that specific set of opportunities a specialized script provides. Advice: If you are seeking to build a specialized niche web site with a CMS – call for a good developer. If you do not have enough coding skills – it will be hard to impossible for you to get the site work and look the way you need.
Of course, this is not the ultimate software solutions guide. There is much more to find, test and learn. But at least it is something to start an online venture path with. Be sure to choose the right solution and the right script as it forms the basis of your future success.
If you have questions, or a piece of experience to share – feel free to post your comments.
Today we are happy to inform all SkaDate community members that SkaDate dating and community software has taken its place among iDate 2010 Awards Finalists in the ‘Best Dating Software Provider’ nomination.
We wouldn’t be able to make it without your help and support. And we would like to thank each and every one of your for contributing into our success!
The nomination winners will be announced at the iDate Awards ceremony on January 28, 2010 in Miami Beach during the Internet Dating Conference, where SkaDate Dating Software Company will be represented by the CEO Emil Sarnogoev.
Keep your fingers crossed for us, and thank you for being a great support!
Greetings to all the blog readers and Skalfa news followers!
We have something new for you today. From now on you will be able to read about SkaDate Dating Software news and updates at the new SkaDate blog.
We will continue informing you about all important events, provide useful information on site promotion and maintenance, and keep you updated on SkaDate dating and community software news.
Feel free to check out the new blog, read about the latest SkaDate software release, post comments and share your opinion, which has always been important to us.
Finally, we have crossed the finish line of the WIN SkaDate Contest.
First of all, we would like to thank you all for taking part in the competition. Your comments and positive feedback have been a great encourage for us to provide even better service, and keep improving SkaDate software to meet all your needs.
Now it’s time to announce the contest results, and the fact that this event has coincided with Skalfa eCommerce Birthday (we are 5 today!) makes the moment even more festive.
Here come the winners.
3d place and SkaDate Mobile Edition goes to Lawrence and his comment: Skadate helped me very quickly build a great website and it saved me the huge effort of building a site on my own from scratch. Now my site has over 13,000 members in just over one year – http://BrainiacDating.com.
When I started I had no idea how to build a dating site, but the skadate support was very helpful to get my site up and running.
Sure there are several other dating site software packages out there, but skadate’s php code and database are efficiently designed, so that with only some basic knowledge of php – you can easily modify it yourself, or if necessary it relatively inexpensive to outsource small enhancements.
2nd place is taken by John, who gets SkaDate Software License: Yuch! vs Yum! Let me explain….
After wasting time installing & running on Ning (yuch!) and Boonex (yuch!) as well as testing the online demos of many other software vendors and service providers, I settled on JomSocial for my Joomla-powered site.
But there’s a problem now: it has limited features, which now means I am integrating several other extensions with their own set of hacks & additions that I’ll probably have to repeat when JomSocial release a newer version. (yuch!)
So I would *only* migrate to SkaDate (yum!) because it *flexibly* (creative!) and *logically* (time-saving!) integrates video, photos, templates, search, admin panel and user news/updates (to name just a few).
So after all, it seems like site publishers invest well in SkaDate – I really look forward to using it to bring health-minded people together!
And the 1st place winner is Sibel, who gets SkaDate Software License along with SkaDate Mobile Edition: Hi,
Me and my partner we discovered Skadate 1 year ago and we are very happy with it…since then!!! We wanted to find the right software, the right server, the best provider and wanted to create a dating site that works 24/7!!! There are many dating site providers out there… After researching for 3 month and trying out many site-demos, we felt like Skadate covered what we were looking for!!!
This is our dating-site and we wanted to have control!
We wanted the site “to look” professional and inviting to our customer…and at the same time we wanted to have easy access to the control panel. We have a bi-lingual customer and it was very easy to translate text to the second language. And we like the easy payment option with PayPal or any creditcard company, when customers wanna sign up as Gold Members…
Our site is fast, secure and we have a good overview on everything. Anyone at any age can use the site. Buttons & pages are easy to access and clear to understand. If my customers are happy, I am happy!!!
With the help and support from Skadate we were able to change many things on our site. We worked very close with their tech-support and designers to re-design the look, the colors, the text and the layout at very affordable price rates. We also made changes to the admin panel. Sometimes I spend 10hours a day in the admin panel! It’s easy to work with and I get the job done.
The Skadate team is very nice and always there when you need them. They are a great help, explain or fix things very fast.
I am overall a very happy customer and I would highly recommend Skadate for all your datingsite-needs…
Our Congratulations to the contest winners!
Although winners are only three, we appreciate the contribution of all participants. This is why each of you will get a personal coupon code with a discount for purchasing SkaDate community and dating script.
Your feedback is a great motivation for us to keep working on the software quality. Thank you guys for building the great community of SkaDate users!
Looks like there is a chance to start your own Facebook while sitting on a favorite chair
SkaDate Dating and Community Software Company is glad to invite those of you who believe our product is a key to success to take part in a competition – WIN SkaDate.
We give everyone a chance to get a SkaDate license along with Mobile Edition for free. All you need to do is tell us why you think SkaDate is the perfect solution for your online community business. Tell us what features, characteristics and special qualities make SkaDate the best dating script and community software for you.
If SkaDate software has already helped you build a community site of your dream – you are also welcome to share your success story, as you have an opportunity to win another license for implementing one more great web site idea.
Post your comments about SkaDate here and you may win SkaDate license with the Mobile Edition.
There are going to be three prize positions in the contest:
1st place winner will get a free SkaDate Community Software package and SkaDate Mobile Edition ($500 value) 2nd place winner will get a free SkaDate Software package ($350 value) 3d place winner’s prize is SkaDate Mobile Edition ($150 value)
This is how we are going to process your feedback and choose the winners:
The contest will last from November 4, 2009 to December 1, 2009. This is when you are welcome to post your comments about SkaDate community and dating script, and vote for the ones you find worth winning. We will take into account all your support votes and choose the comments we like the most to announce the contest results on December 1, 2009.
Get a chance to build your own community site for free – WIN (Why INeed) SkaDate!
Good Luck!
SkaDate Team
Update: SkaDate Team would like to thank you for your activity in posting all that positive feedback. We have decided to make a small surprise for all of you taking part in this contest even if you do not win a prize position. What kind of surprise it’ going to be will be revealed on December 1, 2009 – the day we announce the contest results. Carry on!
The good news to share today is that the next great event in Online Dating Industry is coming up. The iDate 2010 Awards will take place on January 28, 2010 in Miami during the Internet Dating Conference, where the CEO of Skalfa eCommerce Emil Sarnogoev will participate to answer your questions and tell more about SkaDate Dating and Community Software. This is when the best dating sites and dating software companies will be chosen from candidates in 11 industry-related categories.
Most important is that your votes of support can help a company meriting nomination be included in the list of finalists, and get the position it deserves.
If you find SkaDate Dating Software Company worthy of election in the ‘Best Dating Software Provider’ category – nominate it now at http://www.InternetDatingConference.com/nominations-miami-2010.php and leave your votes for it from November 22, 2009 to January 7, 2010.
We appreciate your support and contribution in helping SkaDate Company get rewarded according to the merits in providing professional and reliable community software and dating script.
SkaDate released a new update of its professional dating and community software – 7.1365.
This update brings a number of improvements which make SkaDate dating and community software more user-friendly, flexible and easy-to-manage.
The new update of SkaDate community software is available at the customer area where you may download it and update your web site. If you prefer not to update your Skadate community software version at this time you may do it at a later date.
If you don’t have SkaDate dating and community software yet then Get it Now!
Knowing the typical scammers’ tricks allowing them to swindle credulous online community members prevents from a lot of trouble.
But still, the major question is how to make your website safe enough for the members to relax and concentrate on finding love and friendship they are seeking rather than on ‘unmasking’ scammers. SkaDate community software offers you several tools that will make it a lot easier for you to guard your site members’ peace and quiet.
The first feature to check is our Profile Messages Filter. It is a compound integrated tool unifying 2 methods to protect your members from scamming and spam mail – filter by words, and filter by identical content.
As you might have noticed from the fraud techniques descriptions given in the previous article, scammers tend to send ‘introductory’ letters with the very same content to several potential victims. Their psychology is as clear as day – such bulk mass-mailing will bring at least one-two positive results out of, say, ten trials. And they do not waste time bothering about the unique content of their inviting love messages. This is why SkaDate developers team integrated a Message Filter into our online dating software that stops messages in case two and more of them have identical content. Intended recipients will not get these messages until a site Administrator approves them. This feature also helps you to prevent spam mailing on your site, which is a significant advantage.
Here is one more of your opportunities – Message filter by words. It allows you to select and add words, whose presence in mailbox messages will make them stuck in the filter. For example, one of the commonly used scamming strategies is to redirect the mailbox conversation from the site to the scammer’s personal e-mail. Why? Not to leave any evidence of his fraud on the site, and not to make a site Administrator suspicious at some point. So, a good idea would be to add an ‘at symbol’ (@) to the list of restricted words. If a member gives his e-mail to another member – you will be the first one to know about that. Another item to be added is a number ‘190′. Including it to the list of ‘potentially dangerous’ words on the site will help you avoid Telephone scam. Here http://agencyscams.com/scammer-letter-templates.html you can find words and word combinations used by scammers most frequently. There are also a few e-mail templates with a typical scam-intended content. Studying this information will help you recognize tricksters and prevent them from interacting with members on your site.
The two methods described above are good when it comes to internal site mailbox conversations. But what to do if a scammer tries to reach his/her potential victim by, let’s say, leaving a comment to the Forum or Blog post, photo and video. Something like: ‘Hey, what a nice photo! If you want – I can send you mine. Just write to this e-mail…’ – and same story again. For such situations the ‘Badwords’ feature in the Admin Panel will be an indispensable help. Basically, it is similar to the Message Filter by words – you add the words you do not want your members to use on the site to the Badwords list, and each time someone uses them – they appear as ‘censored’ in the comment text. With this feature you can prevent users from exchanging e-mail addresses, not to mention an ability to free your site from abusive language.
Besides the already mentioned track-down methods, SkaDate community software Admin Panel interface allows you to inspect all the newly-registered profiles before they become available to the site audience. Until a Site Administrator approves (or unapproves) a new member’s profile – it is inactive, and thus, harmless for your site. Just be attentive during the profile review, remember all the scamming techniques, and writing templates scammers commonly use for self-descriptions. Also, pay strong attention at the profile photo. If it seems too good to be true – it most likely is. Real people’s pictures rarely look like have been taken in a professional studio and brought to perfection in Photoshop.
Take some time to check the above-mentioned features at SkaDate community software Admin Panel demo (login details: admin/skadate).
Now, what to do if you have found a suspicious profile, or a confirmed scammer on your site? Definitely, to block it from accessing your site, and report it to an anti-scam agency. There are lots of sites fighting against scam on the web. They create scammers databases for you to be able to check if the person you suspect belongs to Internet fraudsters, or to denounce a scammer laid bare by you. SkaDate dating software team does not stand aside from this hard and important work. On one of our websites you can find a database of profiles used in scam, and report your own unpleasant findings. Feel free to visit http://www.dotsilver.com/antiscam/ and share your experience with us.
The main thing to remember is that being a Site Administrator obliges you to take care of your site reputation by providing security and confidence for your site members, who will not need to worry about losing their funds and faith in love.
If you have already been into scam, and have some more advices on how to avoid it – you are welcome to share it in an article comment.
Skalfa eCommerce has been improving its flagship product – SkaDate community software – for years to bring you the cutting-edge dating and social networking technologies for building successful online business. Today we are glad to announce launching a new add-on making SkaDate software even more usable and entertaining – SkaDate ME (Mobile Edition).
SkaDate ME is a one-time-fee add-on giving your site users an opportunity to stay connected wherever they are. Now, using their favorite mobile device, they can access the most important online dating features: sending and receiving on-site messages, checking profile lists (new, online, featured, My Matches), viewing photos and profile info, bookmarking profiles, chatting via Ajax Instant Messenger, using Quick Search and pre-saved search criteria.
SkaDate Mobile Edition is a lightweight version of SkaDate dating and community software compatible with the following mobile telephone models and browsers: iPhone (Safari), HTC (Windows Mobile OS, Opera), Nokia (Opera Mini, Internet Explorer). Present-day technologies make it possible to enjoy high loading speed and all advantages of Internet-surfing with high-resolution screens and 3G-facility in mobile devices.
All that makes SkaDate ME an indispensable add-on for your traditional online community software giving users significantly more freedom and opportunities for finding what they need on your site.
Check the demo of SkaDate ME add-on for mobile dating at mobile.skadate.com and be the first to experience the advantages of new technologies in dating and social networking industry. SkaDate community software team is happy to introduce this opportunity to the customers!
Feel free to leave your notes and comments on SkaDate Mobile Edition release. Your opinion is important to us.
We are glad to announce that SkaDate dating and social networking software has made one more grade on its way of constant improvement. We have released a 7.1295 build that introduces a set of new features for making your online community even more entertaining for members. The new update also features a few significant improvements for site administrators.
Check the list of features now available in the new SkaDate software revision:
Groups
Photo albums
123FlashChat
Possibility to disable base profile fields
SMTP protocol support
New online Admin Panel Manual
Now let me provide a more detailed description of each feature.
Groups
This feature allows member to create and join sub-networks (Groups) on your site to share their interests and affiliations. Group members can hold discussions on a private Group Forum inaccessible for non-members, post comments, add or remove the ‘Groups’ component on their profile view page. The Group administration interface allows to set them private or public, and available for joining to anybody or by invitation only. A sub-network creator can also assign moderators and upload a Group image.
Photo Albums
This feature allows your site members to organize their photos in Albums according to their preferences. Photos can be easily moved from one album to another. The number of photos allowed per album is set up by the Site Administrator via Admin Panel. The members will be able to enable or disable the ‘Photo Albums’ component on their profile page.
123FlashChat
In order to entertain multiple requests of our customers we have integrated a new popular audio/video chat into SkaDate software – 123FlashChat, which is a high-quality one-time fee add-on featuring custom skins and logo.
Possibility to disable base profile fields
SkaDate software with its impressing number of features doesn’t lock you down with just creating a dating site. It provides you with all the opportunities for developing a social network featuring blogs, photo and video sharing, albums (new!), groups (new!) and latest activity. Today we are glad to introduce one more option for your members to feel even more comfortable in your online community. It’s a possibility for a Site Administrator to disable such base profile fields as ‘I am’ and ‘Looking for’ which served mainly for dating purposes. Now there is nothing in the way to making your social network even more professional.
SMTP protocol support
Now you can improve your site performance by discharging the server you host on. This feature allows you to choose any server supporting SMTP for the purpose of sending mail from your site. It has become possible to send site e-mails even from your Gmail account!
Online Admin Panel Manual
And here comes good news for Site Administrators – an online version of the Admin Panel Manual is available. Each Admin Panel page now has a ‘Help’ link in an upright corner to a corresponding Online Manual section, thus, making it a lot easier for you to find answers to major questions on adjusting the Admin Panel settings instantly. And no need to worry about the Manual format compatibility with your computer operating system. The latest version of the Manual can be easily accessed through any browser, so you just need an Internet connection.
New build also includes bug fixes, security and performance enhancements for you to get the best of your online venture and make your business more secure. This is why we strongly recommend you to go for this update.
That was a brief description of major innovations of the new SkaDate 7.1295 build. But as they say, ‘one look is worth a thousand words’, so take some time to check the Live Demo and experience all features of our online dating software.
We will be glad to read your comments, impressions and suggestions for the new SkaDate revision.
Best wishes,
Irene
Update: We have integrated a new site template into 7.1295 software build. Now you have even more choices for making your site look attractive and professional.
solutions and hosted web platforms. Each has its own advantages and shortcomings. And before you start building a site of your dream you have to think carefully which way to go as to choosing the platform for your project. Let me walk you through pros and cons of major site-building solutions to help you make the right choice matching your expectations and opportunities.
Pros: are obvious. You have all chances to build a ’serious’ website even if you don’t have extensive skills in coding. Paid dating software vendors normally offer installation services, so you won’t need to bother about getting the site up. Plus, you get support service and regular updates and version upgrades, which means that your site features will always be up-to-date.
the cons.
3d place and SkaDate Mobile Edition goes to Lawrence and his comment:
2nd place is taken by John, who gets SkaDate Software License:
And the 1st place winner is Sibel, who gets 
And they do not waste time bothering about the unique content of their inviting love messages. This is why SkaDate developers team integrated a Message Filter into our online dating software that stops messages in case two and more of them have identical content. Intended recipients will not get these messages until a site Administrator approves them. This feature also helps you to prevent spam mailing on your site, which is a significant advantage.
write to this e-mail…’ – and same story again. For such situations the ‘Badwords’ feature in the Admin Panel will be an indispensable help. Basically, it is similar to the Message Filter by words – you add the words you do not want your members to use on the site to the Badwords list, and each time someone uses them – they appear as ‘censored’ in the comment text. With this feature you can prevent users from exchanging e-mail addresses, not to mention an ability to free your site from abusive language.
belongs to Internet fraudsters, or to denounce a scammer laid bare by you. SkaDate dating software team does not stand aside from this hard and important work. On one of our websites you can find a database of profiles used in scam, and report your own unpleasant findings. Feel free to visit 
SkaDate ME
