The messages many sites send when they use gray text on a white background is, “We don’t want you to read our content,” “Our content isn’t worth your time,” and “We want you to struggle reading our content because we think black is boring.”
#333333, #666666, #999999, and #cccccc (various shades of gray) are almost black, but not as good as black. Those sites don’t make this list.
It’s an epidemic that I alone can’t stop.
To reward those sites doing it right, they get a mention and a link here. Add your site to the comments section. However, we will check every link. If a site’s text hides in a fog, it will disappear.
Note — this only looks as the contrast between text and background — not the font choice, font size, text formatting style, or design.
You wouldn’t believe how many sites I looked at before my eyes begged me to stop. List is disappointingly short.
Moral: Black on white is NOT boring. It’s readable.
P.S. I skipped those with different colors because they may not be readable to those with various forms of color blindness.