Achieve Website Design Evolution
From founding to scaling, I led Achieve’s website evolution, building trusted partnerships across Lending and Debt Relief, and guiding design from strategy and ideation through launch
The website became a primary growth engine for Achieve, driving 32% of all enrollments and 54.4% of total margin, alongside rapid traffic expansion to 1.15M unique visitors (+106%), 2.02M sessions (+198%), and 9.87M page views (+259%).
01
Overview
This page documents the evolution of Achieve’s homepage, from early exploration and initial launch through multiple redesigns over several years, as the company, business strategy, and user needs evolved.
I led foundational design work at the earliest stages of Achieve and continued to own and reframe the web experience across multiple phases of growth. This work reflects how product design matures over time: adapting to new products, shifting user intent, evolving brand expression, and increasing business complexity, while maintaining clarity, trust, and usability.
Rather than a single point-in-time case study, this page represents longitudinal design ownership and how thoughtful iteration supports both users and the business as they grow.
02
My Role & Responsibilities
Led foundational web design from early concept through launch
Owned multiple web redesigns and strategic refreshes over time
Defined page strategy, information architecture, messaging hierarchy, and interaction patterns
Partnered closely with Product, Brand, Content, Research, and Engineering
Evolved the web design alongside the design system to support scale and experimentation
What I Drove:
Collaborated with:
PMs
Partnered with several Product Managers to define problems and KPIs for each business unit
Engineers
Strategic working sessions with Engineering to establish a working design system & repeatable patterns used over time
Research
Together with our UX researcher and content strategist, we ran 15+ studies: concept evaluations, card sorting, and content variation tests
Design
Worked alongside design leadership to build and continue evolving the website
Writer
One of my closest partnerships on the site, we worked side by side ideating concepts to align with content strategy
Brand
Worked with Brand leadership on voice, visual, and trust expression
Sr. Leadership
Close working relationship with senior partners from each business unit to ensure messaging and business KPIs were met
Compliance
Compliance to meet regulatory standards
02
Design Strategy & Process
Phase 1: Early Exploration and Foundational Launch
At the start of Achieve, the homepage played a critical role in defining what the company stood for and how users understood the value of the product.
Key focus areas:
Translating an emerging brand into a clear, credible product experience
Establishing trust and legitimacy in a highly sensitive financial category
Creating a narrative that balanced emotional reassurance with functional clarity
Designing flexible foundations that could evolve as the company grew
This phase was less about optimization and more about establishing belief, clarity, and trust—setting the tone for everything that followed.
Phase 2: Reframing for Product Expansion & User Intent
As Achieve expanded beyond its initial offering, the homepage needed to evolve from a primarily narrative experience into a more intent-driven entry point.
Shifts during this phase included:
Supporting multiple products and paths without overwhelming users
Clarifying user intent earlier in the journey
Refining hierarchy and content structure to reduce cognitive load
Aligning brand voice with increasingly product-led decision flows
Personalized experience for returning visitors
Design decisions during this phase focused on helping users self-identify quickly and confidently, while ensuring the homepage remained cohesive, approachable, and trustworthy.
Phase 3: Optimization, Scale, and System Thinking
With increased traffic, experimentation, and business complexity, the homepage transitioned into a scalable system rather than a static page.
Key evolutions:
Designing with experimentation and iteration in mind
Strengthening alignment between homepage patterns and the broader design system
Supporting faster launches, A/B testing, and cross-team collaboration
Balancing performance, conversion, and brand integrity at scale
At this stage, the homepage became a platform for growth, capable of adapting to new priorities.
03
Design Evolution
copy goes here
2022
Acknowledge financial stress in a calm, supportive tone that builds trust
2023
Acknowledge financial stress in a calm, supportive tone that builds trust
2024
Acknowledge financial stress in a calm, supportive tone that builds trust
2025
04
Impact and Metrics
2023 Launch-Year Results
Website drove 32% of all Achieve enrollments and 54.4% of total margin
Traffic growth: 1.15M unique visitors (+106%), 2.02M sessions (+198%), 9.87M page views (+259%)
2024 Growth
879% monthly traffic growth from Dec ’23 →Dec ’24
582% YoY increase in non-brand content traffic
Flow start rate tripled: 9% in Jan → 27% in Dec (+200%)
Velocity & Scale
Modular library → 2x faster launches
Foundation extended into the enterprise design system, shaping product flows beyond the website
05
Reflection
Lead a flagship redesign that delivered significant business outcomes
Ground design in user research and iterative testing
Build scalable systems that evolved into an enterprise-wide design system
Navigate stakeholder alignment and shift strategies from feature-first to user-centered
Mentor designers and set standards that scaled design craft across the org