As social media sites become more and more massive and global, a startup is looking to bring Myspace's user-friendly customization to a new generation of users seeking to define their online presence in ways that unique.
Universe is a mobile website creation tool for the era of social media, avoiding complicated templates for easily customizable website "filters" that combine trendy patterns with gridlines where users can slide and upload photos, videos and icons. Mobile optimized website in minutes on the iOS application of the company.
"People use Universe because they want to build a website on their phone and they want total control over the appearance of this site," said founder Joseph Cohen at TechCrunch. "In many ways, try to take over from Tumblr."
The team launched last year a $ 3.2 million financing from Box Group, General Catalyst, Greylock Partners and Eniac Ventures. We then sketched out the startup profile, now they are about to step out of Y Combinator's latest start-up class with new funding and a growing feature set for users.
When the service was launched for the first time, it was a single page containing quick information and links that you could create in a minute or two. The site has kept creating the site fast integration, but last month, the mobile application began to attack multi-page sites that could stack pages with a simple CMS with which users could blog directly on their sites.
"If you look at us as a website builder, our product DNA is more like Lego," said Cohen.
The added feature gives users a lot more to go to and deepen the utility for the artists who use the site to show their portfolio. The company has long argued that they want to help you create the website that you link into your Instagram bio, it's a pretty tight goal, but they have regularly added features that make this sale pretty compelling.
The added utility causes an explosion of traffic to the network of startup sites, with traffic increasing by 10% per week, while the network of sites built on Univers also increases by several thousand every week. The application has also recently been featured as the app of the day on the App Store.
In terms of pricing, the service is free for users who have their site well on the domain of the Universe (ex: lucasmatney.onuniverse.com), and $ 3 a month for those who would like their own URL. In addition, users can add an additional $ 3 to add scans or remove the Universe logo from the bottom of the site.
You can download free Univers on iOS.