What are the worst online dating mistakes you can make?

In order to be successful at online dating, you should follow the hints and tips offered by experienced users of such sites, while following the protocol adhered to by your fellow daters.

Mashable has published its top mistakes that you must not make if you are to attract a nice man or woman and embark on a relationship with them.

For starters, you should never make snap decisions based on photographs alone, as you should be looking for a lot more than simply a nice appearance.

While everyone wants their next partner to be attractive, you should not get hung up on the importance of physical attributes. Instead, look to see if you have a true connection with someone and whether you think you will get on.

It is also advisable not to spend too long obsessing with the details of people you come across online. For instance, whether someone likes a film you hate, or chooses to eat a type of food you can't stand, is unlikely to have a bearing on your compatibility.

Next you should analyse the tone of every profile you read in order to try and work out what the person is really like.

There are likely to be subtle clues in the text if you look hard enough, and they will help you to determine whether you think this is someone you will want to spend time with.

It is often a good idea to completely ignore what people say about their own personality, as individuals tend to be bad judges of themselves. So if someone claims to be an optimist or have a wonderful sense of humour, do not believe this until you see it for yourself.

Finally, you should never get your hopes up before you meet someone. Falling in love based on an online dating profile is a plan that is sure to fail and could leave you feeling broken-hearted.