It was pointed out to me this morning that the GOP launched their new website this morning. GOP.com or RNC.org

They say it's in BETA, but WOW is it really bad in my opinion. This not as a critic of the GOP, this is criticism from a guy who manages 2 websites every day and has 2 personal side project websites.

They are clearly trying to put a younger face on the GOP, note the annoyingly large faces they are using in the top of the page. But the overall layout and UI is large and bombastic... not to mention oddly laid out. Instead of putting a lot of data in a small space, like say ESPN.com, they are putting very little data in a whole lot of space.

Perhaps the most ironic part is that their Future Leaders page... has no one on it! Kind of ironic really.

And they did one of the things I have MOST about some websites. After going to the home page, Michael Steels walks out onto the webpage and starts talking. I HATE those stupid flash video things. They annoy me to no end.

My opinion is that this should have been kept under wraps until it was done... and for the love of God... hire a real web designer. I'm a hack and I could have done better with a off the counter Drupal template.

I hate to sound like I am ripping on the GOP, but this is a really bad website for a major political party.