Copyediting text to improve tightness and clarity, while avoiding choppiness, is also a usability consideration. Well-edited text carries the reader along, and makes absorbing information an effortless affair. Poorly edited text is literally difficult to read. There has been much talk, but only moderate action taken by Web designers, on the issue of usability by the handicapped. There are many things that can be done to make all sorts of content accessible to handicapped users.
Most people still use dial-up modem connections, and downloading large files can be painfully slow.
Consequently, many modem users surf the Web with image autoloading, turned off. This consideration is especially important for sites that hope to attract visitors from outside North America. An international site that contains lots of huge images will face a huge problem. I really haven't studied the portal issue much, so I can't offer significant comments here. Site owners and developers, and online marketers, are only just now starting to catch up and figure out that users want content .