The people who do well on dating sites aren't the most attractive members. They're the ones who know what they're looking for.
It sounds obvious. Almost nobody does it. Most people join, browse everything, message whoever seems nice, and six weeks later wonder why nothing's come of it.
Ten minutes of thinking about it first will save you months.
Three broad answers, and they lead to genuinely different conversations.
Something serious. You're looking for a relationship and you'd rather not spend a year finding out somebody isn't. Say so plainly. It costs you some messages and saves you far more time than it costs.
Company. Somebody to do things with, go places with, talk to regularly. Not everybody wants a grand romance and there is nothing lesser about this. Plenty of members here want exactly that, and they find each other faster when they say it.
Friendship. Also entirely valid, also common here, and much easier to find when it's stated rather than discovered awkwardly on a second date.
Write yours in your profile in one plain sentence. It is the single highest-return thing you can do on a dating site.
Once you know what you want, most profiles stop being relevant, and that's a good thing.
Five thoughtful messages to people who actually fit will beat forty generic ones every time. You'll get better replies, better conversations, and you won't burn out three weeks in, which is what happens to almost everyone who tries the scattergun approach.
Look for the people who've said what they want too. Two people who've both been clear about it can find out in one conversation whether there's anything there.
The same applies to everything else on your profile.
If you have a lot going on and can manage one date a fortnight, say so rather than apologising for it later. If you're not looking to move quickly, say that. If distance limits where you can get to, mention it while you're arranging rather than after.
None of this puts off the right person. It only puts off the wrong ones, faster, which is the entire point.
Members in every province, with a range of conditions far wider than most people picture, and plenty who'd say they don't have a disability so much as a thing they deal with.
Alongside them, a good number with no disability at all, here for no more complicated reason than wanting to meet somebody.
The useful part is that nothing needs explaining first. Whatever you'd normally spend the first date getting out of the way is simply understood.
Search close to home first, keep the first one short and public, somewhere you already know, and in daylight. Tell a friend where you're going, which is sensible for anyone meeting anyone from the internet.
If getting there or getting in affects the venue, say so while you're arranging it. How somebody responds to a straightforward request tells you a great deal for free.
See who's nearby in your province before you decide anything.
The other reason people conclude a dating site isn't working is that they judged it in a fortnight.
Two weeks is nothing. New members join every week, people who ignored you in March are single again in July, and the person you'd get on with best may not have signed up yet. Almost everyone who meets somebody online was, at some point a few weeks earlier, fairly convinced it was a waste of time.
Ten minutes a couple of times a week beats an intense fortnight followed by giving up. Look often, message the ones who genuinely fit, and let it run.
Free to join and free to browse. There are pages for Deaf and hard of hearing members and for amputees and people with limb difference, plus the common questions.
Know what you want, then go and find it. Join free.