It is amazing how often Web usability becomes a secondary concern to the individual thoughts of Web developers and other key people involved in the assembly of a Website. A Website can get a thousand visitors day, however the concerns of one or two people dominate the Website. For example, do Website visitors come to your site to hear the latest news? Unless you are a news Website the answer is no. So why waste valuable space on news items when you should give the user the links he or she wants to visit, or make it easy on the eye and leave the space blank.
A fundamental rule of Web usability is aligning the needs of the user with what you are offering as a company. Anything else could well be a distraction and hurt your Web marketing efforts.
Tom Young