A WordPress dating theme is more or less a community or social network theme that’s optimized for a dating site. It allows members to build user profiles to showcase their best traits, converse with one another via private messaging and live chat, look for matches with advanced search features, and more. We’re going to go over the features you’d typically see in a WordPress dating theme before we segway into a collection of professional dating themes you can use to build a dating website.

What features make up a WordPress dating theme?

WordPress dating theme
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WordPress dating themes need to have a specific set of features in order for them to be used to build proper dating sites. These include but are not limited to the following features:

All of these features and options are optional, of course, but you should at least consider them if you want to build a professional dating website. Let’s talk about them in depth.

User profiles

User profiles
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Users need to be able to connect with one another, which is why user profiles are a must for a WordPress dating theme. Some developers build a community system into their themes while others simply use and optimize BuddyPress, the most popular social network plugin for WordPress.

These user profiles may include features that allow users to view their best matches based on certain criteria. A few basic features your user profiles should include are the ability to edit and customize them in full, the ability to upload photos, the ability to add favorites, and more.

Messaging systems

Messaging systems
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This is another important feature the WordPress dating theme you choose must have, or it should allow you to add your own at the very least. Users will want to engage in conversations with one another in a couple different ways, as stated before.

This is why you should consider choosing a WordPress theme that has a powerful messaging system. This system will allow users to converse with another through private messaging in case their match is offline and live chat in cases where they’re both online.

Live statuses

Live statuses
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This is a great feature to include on a dating site, and it’s a great feature to look for in a WordPress dating theme. Live statuses allow users to connect with one another more efficiently, especially if they’re interested in chatting with matches instantaneously. Live statuses provide visual cues they can use to determine whether or not their matches are on or offline.

Powerful search features

Powerful searchSource: wiggijo / Pixabay.com
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This is another must-have feature to look for in a WordPress dating theme. It can have a dramatic effect on how user friendly your dating website is. This is because a powerful search function gives your users the ability to find matches most compatible with themselves. If they find it difficult to find matches that pique their interests, they may leave the site.

Mobile friendly

Mobile friendly
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This is another important feature, especially when you take into account how popular mobile devices and finding local dates through dating apps have become. You may not be willing to develop an app for your dating service quite yet, but you can at least make sure the WordPress dating theme you use is mobile friendly. A mobile friendly WordPress theme is a must nowadays.

Forum support

Forum / Community
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This is a bit of an optional feature, but it can keep users more engaged with one another, which means they’ll visit your site for much longer. A forum allows singles to connect with one another and share tips about dating, life and even how to use your site. Most developers offer support for bbPress, one of the most popular forum plugins for WordPress, to include this feature in their themes. There are other WordPress plugins for online forums available as well.

Quizzes

Quizzes
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This feature isn’t required, but it can increase engagement on your site and make it easier for users to get to know themselves and their matches a little better. Quizzes on dating sites are typically fun and simple personality tests users can take to reveal something about themselves. You can even go a few steps further and allow users to showcase their results on their profiles.

Easy logins

Online Security
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This is another optional feature, but it can make your site more user friendly. Easy logins include allowing users to create accounts and log in via social media. Creating new accounts can be a hassle, and some users may only be interested in giving your site a quick browse. Thankfully, there are plugins out there that integrate with BuddyPress, allowing users to connect social media accounts with their dating profiles. These plugins may even fill in personal data automatically.

Membership fees

Membership Websites
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This is another optional feature, but it can help you monetize your dating website. This feature allows you to charge for certain services by turning your dating website into a membership site where certain sections are blocked off and only accessible by paying members. For example, you may want to only allow paying members to have access to the live chat or forum features of your site.

If the WordPress dating theme you’re interested in doesn’t have this feature by default, look for one that states it’s compatible with membership plugins. If you can’t find that either, research membership plugins, pick out your favorite ones, and message the developers of the themes you’re interested in to see if the two are matches.

We’ve compiled a list of the best WordPress dating themes which are suitable to create dating websites with WordPress. Some of these themes are optimized for dating websites while others are simply community-based themes you can customize and turn into dating websites. Let’s take a look.

Best Dating Themes for WordPress

LoveStory

Dating WordPress Theme
LoveStory is a dedicated WordPress dating theme. It has built-in systems that allow you to use user profiles and messages on your site. These profiles come with a variety of different features, including Profile Status, Profile Editor, Privacy Settings, Image Uploader and more. This theme also comes with support for WooCommerce so you can build a membership site and process membership fees.

Sweet Date

WordPress Dating Theme
Sweet Date is an advanced WordPress dating theme that comes with a number of features mentioned above. This includes heavy use of the BuddyPress and bbPress social WordPress plugins. Features include the ability to use predefined fields for profiles, allowing users to experience seamless navigation, an advanced matching system, online statuses and instant search via Ajax.

Mingle

Unique Community Theme
Mingle is a community theme that comes with deep integration with BuddyPress. It's not marketed toward dating sites specifically, but it's versatile enough to be used to build this type of website. This theme allows you to build user profiles through its integration with BuddyPress. Having BuddyPress as a base also allows you to add other features, such as advanced private messaging or social login.

KLEO

Flexible Community Theme
KLEO is a responsive, retina ready, community / social network WordPress theme. It's a multipurpose community theme, and although it's not marketed as a dating theme, it can be used to build this type of website. It features integration with BuddyPress, allowing users to build their own profiles, engage with one another, make friends and more. It also comes with Facebook login, live notifications and integration with Paid Memberships Pro.

Salutation

Clean BuddyPress Theme
Salutation is another BuddyPress theme that can be turned into a dating site. It was developed by the same developers who made Mingle, so it uses much of the same features. This includes deep integration with BuddyPress, allowing users to build their own profiles and connect with matches. It's also compatible with bbPress, allowing you to keep users engaged by encouraging them to have group discussions. With Salutation you can build a great community or dating site as well.

BuddyApp

Modern WordPress Theme
BuddyApp is a community theme built with a mobile-first approach. This means it was designed to be mobile friendly from the ground up and more mobile friendly than desktop friendly. This makes this theme an ideal WordPress dating theme for those hoping to attract mobile users. It allows users to create profiles, view live notifications, use advanced search features via Ajax search, and more.

Cinematix

Flexible BuddyPress Theme
Cinematix is the ultimate BuddyPress theme for online community. It, as you've probably gathered, features deep integration with the BuddyPress plugin, allowing you to build a social network that mirrors a dating site. It allows users to create user profiles, use a live chat messaging system and connect with other singles through bbPress forums. It's also compatible with WooCommerce, allowing you to turn your site into a premium dating service.

OneCommunity

Social WordPress Theme
OneCommunity is community theme developed by the same team that developed Cinematix, so it has a lot of the same features. This includes deep integration with BuddyPress as well as support for bbPress and WooCommerce. It also includes the ability to use live chat, a messaging system, Ajax search, a lot of inner BuddyPress pages and more. These features make it possible to use as a WordPress dating theme. OneCommunity is another great theme to build community sites.

Pet Club

Powerful Community Theme
Pet Club is a multipurpose community theme, and a great WordPress dating theme to use if you want to build a niche dating site, such as a dating site for pet lovers. It's compatible with BuddyPress, allowing you to build a fully-fledged social network. It's also compatible with WooCommerce, allowing you to monetize your site by turning it into a membership dating site.

Love Romance

Modern Dating Theme
Love Romance is a different kind of WordPress dating theme. This one is suitable for a paid dating service that requires very little work from the user. This type of service gathers information about a client and finds matches for them. This is in contrast to the social network-like site you'd build with the previous themes where users are in charge of finding their own matches. With that said, this theme is a great business theme and features all of the features you need to convert.

Online Romance

Dating Agency Theme
Online Romance is another WordPress dating theme ideal for a dating website that offers matchmaking services. It offers similar features to Love Romance but uses a different style and layout. It uses a smooth parallax-scrolling effect, smooth animations, calls to action, a blogroll and more. Online Romance is especially suitable if you're looking for a dating agency business theme.

Socialize

Cool BuddyPress Theme
Socialize is another theme designed to be deeply integrated with the BuddyPress social network plugin. This allows you to use it as a WordPress dating theme. It also uses Visual Composer, and the developers have implemented all of the BuddyPress widgets into VC, giving you numerous ways to design your site. Other features include integration with bbPress, Ajax filtering, front-end and social login, and more. Socialize is another cool community template for WordPress.

Dating

Cool WordPress Theme
Dating is another WordPress dating theme ideal for a dating service that finds matches for its clients. It uses a business-oriented homepage layout and features a flat design enhanced by smooth animations. It also comes with a number of different features that allow you to customize the theme with ease. The Dating WordPress theme is ideal for dating agencies or related businesses.

Conclusion: WordPress is great for online communities and dating websites

There are a few things to consider if you want to build a professional dating website with WordPress. In this article you’ve learned about the most important features to look out for and you’ve been able to choose from a selection of the best WordPress dating themes. What’s your favorite WordPress dating theme? Do you have any questions? Please let us know in the comments below. If you haven’t found a suitable WordPress template yet, you could also have a look here:

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