A new article on CMS Wire discusses the declining use and dominance of the homepage for websites (Source: https://www.cmswire.com/cms/web-engagement/web-design-the-decline-of-the-homepage-007269.php). In 2003, 39 percent of the page views for an example research website was traffic to it's homepage, and by 2009 for that same website, the homepage page view decreased by 19 percent. More examples presented in the article showed the same results.
Although, the article was not a broad and concentrated study in website usability, the point being made was fairly clear enough. Web users have clear ideas of what they are looking for online, and likewise web searches are increasingly niche or specific topic oriented. Also, many sites are becoming more comfortable with deep linking to relevant pages within a website. The article referred to the ultimate directive of a web designer / web marketer should be to make content quickly available to users rather than "present" a controlled message that follows a pre-set plan. The user wants to find what they are looking for quickly without hassles and the homepage is decreasing in importance as a result.