How We Redesigned Our Website

Introduction to Design Review Episode00:00

Welcome to a special episode of Design Review with Evard, designer at YC, discussing the brand new YC website launch. This project was a labor of love. Plan: review old YC website, feedback and changes needed, new homepage thinking, and unique build process.

Old YC Homepage Design Review00:31

Old homepage designed 4-5 years ago during COVID, served well but needed update for modern times and different message.

Critiques of Old Design01:30

Very utilitarian, like a B2B SaaS template with CTAs, hero picture, text, stats, logos. YC is a special brand that could be more inspiring and storytelling-focused. Top companies section shows logos but underplays founders YC helped. Emphasize founders who built these companies; YC was pivotal in their trajectories.

Headline and Messaging Issues02:31

Headline 'top YC companies' doesn't convey impact. Better: 'dozens of billion-dollar companies that started at YC'. 'We help founders make something people want and the results speak for themselves' – vague; specify results. 'We improve the success rate of our startups' – quantify by how much. Doesn't quantify or illustrate outcomes. 'YC is run by startup founders who've built exactly what they wanted when starting and growing a startup' – key differentiator: YC partners were all YC founders. 'Founders interest first' section lists negatives: don't take board seat, don't take months to decide, don't require decks. Should be positive version.