Color combinations of text and background that make the text hard to read
Busy, distracting backgrounds that make the text hard to read
Text
Text crowding against the left edge
Text that stretches all the way across the page
Centered type over flush left body copy
Paragraphs of type in all caps
Paragraphs of type in bold
Paragraphs of type in italic
Paragraphs of type in all caps, bold, and italic all at once
Text that is underlined that isn't a hyperlink

Links

Blue link borders around graphics
Links that are not clear about where they will take you to
Links in body copy that distract readers and lead them off to remote, useless pages
Dead or broken links

Graphics

Large graphic files that take forever to download
Meaningless or useless graphic files
Thumbnail images that are nearly as large as the full-sized images they link to
Graphics with "halos" (called anti-aliasing "artifacts") around the edges
Graphics with no alt labels
Missing graphics, especially missing graphics with no alt labels
Graphics that don't fit on the screen

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Tables

Borders turned on in tables (except for tables or information)
Tables used as design elements, especially with extra large borders
Blinking and animations
Anything that blinks, especially text
Multiple things that blink
"Under construction" signs
Animated pictures for e-mail
Animations that never stop
Multiple animations that never stop
Junk

Counter on pages (except if you have no other way of gathering statistics. FrontPage provides a way of inserting an invisible counter. Contact me for more info.)
Junky advertising
Having to scroll sideways

Navigation

Unclear navigation; overly complex navigation
Complicated frames, too many frames, unnecessary scroll bars in frames
Orphan pages (no links back to where they came from, no identification)
Useless page titles that don't explain what the page is about

General Design

bullet Entry page or homepage that does not fit within the standard browser window (640 x 480 pixels)
No focal point on the page; too many focal points on a page
Navigation buttons as the only visual interest
Cluttered, not enough alignment
Lack of contrast
Pages that look okay in one browser but not in another

So-much-better checklist
Text

Background does not interrupt the text
Text is big enough to read, but not too big
The hierarchy of information is perfectly clear
Columns of text are narrower than in a book to make reading easier on the screen
Navigation

Navigation buttons and bars are easy to understand and use
Frames, if used, are not obtrusive
A large site has an index or site map

Links

Link colors coordinate with page colors
Links are underlined so they are instantly clear to the visitor
The links give the visitor a clue as to where they are, what page they are currently on

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Graphics

Buttons are not big and "dorky"
Every important graphic has an alt label
Every graphic link has a matching text link
Graphics and background use browser-safe colors
Animated graphics turn off by themselves

General Design

Pages download quickly: total page size (HTML + graphics) should equal 30 - 60 K
bullet First page and/or home page fit into 600 x 295 pixel space
All other pages have the important stuff in 600 x 295
Good use of graphic elements to break up large areas of text
Every web page in the site looks like it belongs to the same site; there are repetitive elements that carry throughout the pages