Got the same problem as most of the People here. Im a noob considering what others build and do in df, and i tend to abadon perfectly fine Fortresses because i messed the Design up. Everytime i see one of those Screenshots of Forts from experienced Players im like "im never gonna be aible to build something like that" then look at my crap Fort and usually abadon it or let my Dwarves die with the next Siege. My other major problem is that i tend to hide behind Drawbridges and lots of Cagetraps, even if i told myself to not build those as a Rule. Its usually around the End of Year 2 that it hits me again "Invaders will come, and i cant set up a Military with my 30 Dwarves" (mostly because i dont even have a Metalindustry at that point) and 5 Minutes later the Cagetraps are ordered.
1. There's nothing wrong with hiding behind cage traps, especially if you just do it as a defence and then later get rid of them in favour of your military. A drawbridge is a good self-defence that I keep forever in my forts, because you don't have to use it if you think you'll survive (or if you just wanna lose a few dozen dwarves).
2. Don't get discouraged by other people's stuff, because other people are crazy, and maybe you're a) not crazy or b) not crazy enough, yet. I use other peoples' awesome ideas as inspiration for my own, but mostly I just build what I want without paying attention to what other people've built.
3. Your fort isn't crap, it's different. And different is good! As you keep playing, you'll get better and better and eventually develop your own style that's unique!
I advise you to stop trying to compare your fort to another and just enjoy playing. And SCREW PERFECTITIS!