If you're communicating for a while online there should honestly not be that much tension. Nervousness and anxiety sure but physically intimacy is easy after a bit of introduction. If a girl is really into you a kiss should be pretty easy to acquire without problems. This is of course based on my experience, but my experience is the men I was really into, I even kissed myself without prompt.
Most first dates I've had off online dating sites have been super platonic, even if we got along fun online before the date. Usually shake hands at the start, hang out with no physical touching (no hand holding or hugging or anything) and then at the end a hug and sometimes the hug turns into a kiss and then sometimes the kiss into going back to someone's place, etc.., etc... but for the whole date it's super platonic whether it's a walk on a beach, a concert, dinner, coffee, bowling, ice skating, a museum, beers at a bar, whatever.
I probably should be more aggressive and go for more intimacy from the start of the date. I'm so used to always being "friends" first, even with people I meet online, that sometimes we just hang out for a few dates like platonic friends before we get physical. When talking online (through site messaging) I never mention any romance/dating/kissing/sex stuff; just talk about stuff like I would with my guy friends. Find similar interests, make jokes, get to know each other.
I remember this one girl I met online was so surprised when we made out, she said "I didn't think you were into me, we never talked about any of this stuff in our a month of talking back and forth everyday" At that point I realized I probably need to work in talking about "this stuff" while I chat with a potential date online before we actually meet up because otherwise girls just get this vibe from me that they think I just want to be friends and I'm not interested in them. I never compliment them on their bodies or anything, but rather their work if it's cool (their art, music, movies, poems, etc...), I want to get to know them as a person and not just on a physical/sexual level at the start, also because that just seems creepy.