The perfect website

Jem said:

Pfft. We all know that *I* have the perfect website.

Reply: *cough* sidebar droopage and bouncy links *cough*

Sarah said:

LOL @ Jem

Perfection or something close to it to me is ensuring my website works properly. I really don’t like having errors, I like my coding to be valid. I’m always tweaking my site, I never just put up a layout and say, “There you go, done!”. I am always trying to build on and perfect what I have created. Obviously nobody is perfect, so I suppose perfection cannot be achieved.

Reply: I agree. But like I said earlier, part of the fun is in knowing that you’ll never be perfect.

Lil said:

Because validity and accessibility is not exactly relevant to my browsing needs (unless it causes structural damage) I tend to think Hi-Res’s websites are a perfect use of the internet. I wouldn’t call them websites though - they are more like spacial journey’s through a narrative.

Reply: Spacial whatwhat through a what?

Jem said:

I left the bouncy links because you said you liked them!

Can’t have it both ways

Reply: I *do* like them! But other people might not. Although, it is very kind of you to leave flaws in your website there just for me.

Jordie said:

I think the “perfect Web site” is a myth. Nothing is truly perfect as the universe, the world and the people who live in it are all fundamentally imperfect; therefore, perfection is a human construct and entirely subjective. You can strive for what you think makes a perfect Web site and that’s good enough to me, but your idea of perfection is bound to be different to someone else’s, which will make it imperfect to them.

Not that I’ve never used the word “perfect” to describe something — I just recognise that the concept itself is basically opinion.

Vera said:

A perfect website for me… impossible! I have really bad mood swings, so one day I’d want a simplistic layout, the other a really artistic and and elaborate one… another day I’m bored and don’t want to have a website at all.

I don’t think there is any website which is perfect. No matter how well a site is liked I can always find at least one flaw in it. Besides, that ensures that there’s always something I need to fiddle with on the website

I think I’d go mad if there were a day, I’d open my website and say: “there’s nothing else I can do to make it better”

Aisling said:

Okay everyone! It’s a game! Take a drink every time Rachael writes “perfect,” or “perfection,” in this post!! If it is still before 6.30am, like it is for me, you may want to opt for orange juice…

I don’t know what the perfect website is. I probably don’t think that it exists. I suppose it’s easier to find a perfect site if it’s something like… a site displaying a product. Because then, obviously design, accessibility, finding an audience, and making sure all information is available is important, and can easily be measured. Ex: You can tell if your content is appropriate, by seeing how your audience reacts to it.

With a personal website, the boundaries are so much broader, and often blurred. How do you find the perfect amount of YOURSELF to put into a website?! How much is TMI? How little turns you into an impersonal drone?

Ashley said:

The problem is, my definition of perfection and yours would probably be different. Everyone’s definition is different. Not everyone can qualify as “perfect” if no one can agree on what “perfect” means. I have came across many a website that boasts to be “perfect” or “the best” or whatever through design galleries and basic searches and whatnot, and it surprises me how un-perfect most of them are. That’s my opinion though. Someone else might think they are just grand.

Cherry said:

Theres no such thing as one perfect website..lots of people will see sites as the perfect one.

Amber said:

They say perfection can never be obtained in any walk of life, but I simply don’t believe it. Not necessarily with regards to my website (I enjoy having a blog but I’d say it was… insignificant) but I will spend my whole life trying to attain what is said to be unachievable (100% in an exam isn’t enough — the answers must excel too!). Yet these ideas don’t extend to my blog: I like the design to be clean and presentable. That is all. If it works, looks nice enough, I really don’t mind. For me it’s all about what goes on the website rather than anything else — if that reaches anything close to perfection then I will be happy.

Of course then you hit that tricky little snag: if you ever reach the heights where you think your website is as close to perfection is possible, you always get that tricky little bugger who disagrees.

Chantelle said:

Even if it were possible to create the perfect website, the website wouldn’t stay perfect for long because the Internet changes so quickly. The perfect website from ‘92 would probably be deemed hideous and poorly coded for today’s Internet.

What’s important is staying on top of things and always working to make a site the best it can be.

Louise said:

I don’t like to think that there’s just one absolute definition of “perfect” or “a perfect website”. There are websites I’d think of as “well made”; Ones that don’t have links hiding under images, good text-background contrast or ads and things thrown at your face.

If you’ve reached perfection, what else is there to achieve? What else is there to learn? How else can you improve?

So very true.

Crystal said:

Instead of perfection, I like to think of at as “aesthetically appealing” and “user-friendly”. If it serves those two purposes, I’m a happy camper, so to speak.

Lucy said:

I don’t know what a perfect website would be, but I’m not sure one even exists. It’s kind of like finding the “perfect” man. No man is perfect, but there is one that is perfect for you. He’s flawed for someone else, but not for you. I think that’s the best definition of perfection. It’s like beauty. It’s in the eye of the beholder.

Baohan said:

I actually think the other way round. Like, every site is perfect in it’s own way. Every site is beautiful, excluding mine. Yeah, everything from Jem to Bubs to Kaylee and to many more.

Sean said:

The perfect website is different to everyone, everyone has different opinions what they like and what they don’t like. You can’t define perfection.

Matt Wilcox said:

Going to get all philosophical on your ass (turn of phrase, worry not):

I think that perfection is a goal, and exists only as an idea. Perfection is subjective, so it can never be achieved.

It’s the only thing worth aiming for though.

Well, that and chocolate.

“For me, it’s all about the trying to get to perfection that I enjoy.” - spot on!

Reply: Well, I suppose if I’ll never reach perfection, settling for a slab of dairy milk won’t be the worst thing that could happen.

Nanda said:

I think a perfect website is all those things together. But everyone has a different definition of the word “perfect” so what’s perfect to you may not be perfect to someone else. I do think a good website should be organized, it must have a good design, original content and it should indeed serve its purpose well. I know my site isn’t perfect, but I’m trying.

Christine said:

“What else is there to learn? How else can you improve?”

That’s the amazing thing about web development and design. The industry is always changing and always growing that you don’t ever stop learning. It’s an on going process that we just have to try our best to keep up with. I know I’ll never achieve “perfection” unless I somehow learn to makes 72 hours in a day :(! but for me, perfection is me smiling every time i load my website cause it makes me happy ^^

Niki said:

Off topic: Roar.

Ah the perfect website fits the owners tastes in my opinion. I don’t really care, I just throw random stuff because I like cheese… err I mean I like random.

Cecelia said:

I agree with Matt - perfection is something you reach for, not something you can achieve.
To me creating my website is something I am constantly working on and I think that if I ever were to reach a point where I thought ‘now, THIS is perfection’ I probably wouldn’t want to keep working on it - the reason why it’s fun is that you are always able to improve.. There is always room to grow and ONLY THE SKY IS THE LIMIT!
(I got carried away. Sorry.)

Clem said:

There’s not really any such thing as perfection to me. I’m always trying to improve, but I never aim for perfection, exactly, because I know that’s a bit too high. I think you always need to improve, because the internet changes and so must your website.

Hev said:

No one is perfect, and no one has the perfect website. Even though there are several that whom think that they have the prefect site, there is usually an error somewhere. Though some are very very close none are prefect. But this is my opinion. Though, of course, Jem is the closest *wink*.

Renate said:

I remember only one thing from the one class I took on philosophy, and that is that the perfect horse does not exist - only the idea of the perfect horse. I’m sure this can be applied to websites as well.

Aaron said:

I agree with you when you said that there is such thing as a perfect website, but not the perfect website. I’ve noticed a lot of people put design over functionality when it comes to website creation to achieve that perfect look, but to me, a great website has both. If the look appeals to me, then I’m bound to explore deeper. If the website is easy to use, and also looks good, than that’s a great website in my mind.

But, if you lack creativity/tools to create a beautiful design, at least create a website that works and serves its purpose.

Kristine said:

A truly perfect website is inexistent. If you aim for perfection, you’ll only be disappointed with the effort you put into it. Your site is very appealing, and any site that is appealing is “perfect” to me.

Josh said:

Perfection isn’t possible. You can only be perfect in some senses, but not all. ‘Cause perfection in one sense, might be imperfection in another. E.G. perfect symmetry is imperfect asymmetry. Yeah, I’m deep.

Matt Wilcox said:

…settling for a slab of dairy milk won’t be the worst thing that could happen

Oh my, you should try Green & Blacks Butterscotch Chocolate. It is fantastic, and a fine accompaniment to perfection.