Key West eco tours, run by biologists

Honest Eco runs small-group boat tours in Key West. It was founded by a marine biologist, and every tour is designed and guided by biologists who know these waters. Families and small groups come for dolphins, reefs and mangroves, and the business has more than 5,000 reviews. The website didn't show any of that. Tours hid under names like "All the Above", About Us appeared twice in one menu, and the job form sat next to the phone number.

The brief was a site that tells the story in seconds and gets guests to book. Copy, photography and the logo came from the client. Structure, layouts and the design system are new.

We reviewed the operators a Key West visitor finds first. The big names sell volume: jet skis, parasailing and party boats on one page. Specialists like kayak outfitters do one thing well but stop there. None of them led with what sets Honest Eco apart: tours planned and guided by marine biologists, for small groups, with conservation built in.

That became the angle. For guests, it means a guide who knows every animal they see. We also mapped who books: families after a safe day on the water, couples looking for a sunset sail, nature lovers who want dolphins and reefs, and private groups who want the boat to themselves.

Three visual directions came first: a charter look, a dark premium one and a bright open-ocean one. The client chose the bright one, and we sorted more than 20 loose menu links into five clear groups: activities, eco tours, boats, about and contact.

Wireframes followed for the key pages on desktop and mobile, then a round of header explorations to find a top section that works on a phone without hiding the book button.

Every tour page answers the same questions in the same order: what you'll do, how long it takes, what it costs, which boat you're on and what other guests say. Prices and duration sit next to the title, so nobody scrolls to find them.

Booking runs through the client's existing FareHarbor system. We designed the path around it in three steps: pick a tour, pick a date and book, with free cancellation up to six days before. The same block closes every tour page.

Tours, activities, boats, the summer camp, blog, reviews and policies all come from one set of parts. One coral, one ocean blue, clear type, an icon set and reusable cards, so new tours drop in without new design.

Each of the 24 page types was designed for desktop, tablet and mobile. We also designed a print set of rack cards in the same style. The site was built on WordPress, with design reviews and page audits along the way, and it has run unchanged since launch.