Seeing the error of our ways
Published By Ryan on May.11.2009 at 3:37PM
I recently put a page on our site for our clients to report errors after their site goes live. It might seem unprofessional to release a product that has errors, but the reality is that it is nearly impossible to produce a web site that doesn't have a minor imperfection or two.
Building a website is like building a car; both need to work, both take time and planning to get them off the assembly line, and both are required to meet certain requirements and standards.
The difference is that if a website was a car, it might never make it out of the plant. The list of requirements would be so challenging that it might never succeed.
| Website | Car equivalent |
|---|---|
| Compatibility with Windows, Mac, or Linux | A steering wheel on the left or right side for North America and Europe |
| Needs to work properly in Internet Explorer 6 through 8, Firefox 2 and 3, Safari, Opera, Camino, and countless other browsers. | Able to fuel up using petrol, diesel, electricity, hydrogen, biodiesel, ethanlol, propane, solar power, or waste. |
| Every computer has its own settings and defaults. Users have different security features and personal settings for their browsers. | Need to automatically adjust the mirrors, seat, steering wheel, radio station, and climate control for each driver as they sat down in the car |
| Needs to comply with HTML, CSS, and accessibility standards and pass their validation tests | Needs to pass international safety laws and be deemed roadworthy |
This may seem like a near impossible feat, and on top of it all the product needs to look good and work well. Can you imagine building a car with that kind of functionality that looks good and drives smoothly?
