Style has meaning.
1. Navigation has meaning.
2. People need to know:
   1. at a glance what sort of site this is
   2. at a glance where they are on the site
   3. which site this is
3. Think about logos
4. Think about tag lines
5. Think about look-and-feel
6. People don't like to scroll
7. People don't like to read
8. Consider readers v consulters v users
9. Test usability by:
   1. having a friend try out the site
   2. watching people try out the site
   3. quizzing people before and/or after trying out the site

Sources:

Net seach under "website usability," especially Jakob Nielsen's useit.com.
For sample usability testing script, see Steve Krug's example at http://www.sensible.com/.