Are adoption platforms actually reliable, or should I just go straight to a local shelter?

I’ve been looking into adopting and noticed there are now a bunch of platforms that list dogs from different rescues all in one place.

Part of me likes the convenience, but part of me wonders if it’s better to just contact a local shelter directly. I might be overthinking it, but I just want the process to feel straightforward and legit.

If you’ve adopted recently, did you use one of these platforms or go straight to a shelter? How did it go?