Family Search Review - Ease of Use 17 March 2019 Reviewer: Cnb from Atlanta, GA
84 of 171 people found this review helpful
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I uploaded my gedcom file in Family Search and noted that unlike other genealogy websites, don't expect this website to display the gedcom file you upload. This was really frustrating to say the least as I have over 5k names listed in my tree from the past 21 years. I have effectively verified most of the information I have, but it's hard to tell if the source documentation itself even uploads.
I spoke with one person and she was somewhat helpful, but her advice didn't make the process any easier, you will still have to enter your family tree information manually which can take hours if not months of work.
The other problem is that instructions read like bad stereo instructions, the average user will find them hard to follow. The website isn't user friendly.
I tried comparing my gedcom to Family Search info and found that what you get is close matches, but not source documentation or anything else to compare to, again it becomes a "user friendly" issue. Most people research family information need accuracy and that's not here. I found many folks listing children born to mothers in their 50's which begs accuracy.
I can't recommend this website simply because it doesn't display the gedcom you will upload and will have to manually enter everything in the gedcom. If you were to compare it to Ancestry, then Ancestry sets a high bar. Ancestry too has it's own fair share of issues, especially value for the money, but at least with Ancestry you can compare source documentation to determine if the person you're researching is a match.
In summary, I would not recommend Family Search to a friend.