Submitter’s comments: It’s laid out using tables and spacer GIFs, has Flash navigation, ugly yellow gradient background, marquees…Also has a stupid name for the homepage “Launch Pad” and a really annoying pop-up when you right click, which you can EASILY DISABLE by just disabling JavaScript, but then again, that ruins the navigation anyway GRRR!
Vincent Flanders’ comments: I’ve used several astronomy sites in the past. This one isn’t quite as bad as the others because the backgr9und isn’t the black void of space with twinkling stars.
You folks have to quit using Flash for navigation. Not everybody is allowed to use it (businesses and the military come to mind). Also, there are a lot of folks who use Flash blockers to prevent those hideous Flash adverts.
Submitter’s comments: I found a web site you might like. They are a French company established in the South East UK, and are food supplements wholesalers.
The page starts with a 15 seconds Flash intro, with music, and no ’skip’ button. Then you have an English version that is not there yet, frames, annoying Javascript scrolling buttons, and poor contrast in the menu. Also there is a very unique feature on this web site: foreground text that is repeated in the background (see the page “La Gamme Santé Verte).
Vincent Flanders’ comments: Why have a link to something that isn’t there. Here’s how I handled the same situation:
Worst Nonprofit Web Sites of 2007 - #11-20 - Coming Soon!
Just put up the text.
The text over the background is a stunning mistake of mind-bending stupidity. It shows up in IE, Safari and Firefox. Didn’t anyone notice it didn’t work. (Here’s a screen capture). It’s on so many pages that it’s frightening. Of course, my least favorite mistake — lack of contrast between text and background — shows up in lots of places. Oh, and using Flash for navigation — another big no-no.
Submitter’s comments: I know taking a shot a government sites is like shooting fish in a barrel, but this deserves to be held up to public ridicule. The page is distracting and annoying to read. It seems the concept of “good enough for gov’ment work” is alive and well. And this is just one page in a dizzying array of pure badness on this site.
Vincent Flanders’ comments: Oh, God. This is the instruction page for a U.S. Trademark/Service Mark Application. One of the areas I didn’t cover in my article Does My Web Site Suck? Checklist 1 is the topic of forms. Well, you can see why I avoided the topic. Yuck, yuck, yuck.
Submitter’s comments: After seeing a TV commercial for this paper company, I decided to check out their web site. The web address did not make any sense since they did not mention coffee in the commercial, and after seeing the web site. I understand why. Check out the HTML tags at the top of the page.
Vincent Flanders’ comments: Boy, I’m also confused. “WeSellCoffee.com” only has a few references to coffee — compared to the other products they sell. It looks like the site is one of those “it’s a web PAGE so let’s cram as much as we can on the home page.”
Showing a huge picture of their grand opening back in June 2005 is not the greatest idea. It’s just a little dated. THE ALL CAP TEXT IS A LITTLE MUCH, TOO.
I don’t quite understand what the submitter means when s/he says, “Check out the HTML tags at the top of the page.” I noticed some very old image attributes being used, but that’s all. It’s a great URL being wasted.
Worst Web Sites of 2008: New Contenders 
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