Real History Walking Tours
Brand Refresh & Website Design
This project encompassed website strategy, copywriting, user experience design, SEO, and responsive Wix development for Real History Walking Tours, an independent Sydney tour company bringing the city’s past to life.
The brief was to create a digital presence that reflected the depth of knowledge and personality behind the tours. Founded by historian Ned Dickson, Real History Walking Tours had an engaging story, a distinctive voice, and a genuine connection to the places it explored.
The existing website, however, did not fully communicate what separated the business from larger, more conventional tourism operators. Our challenge was to translate Ned’s enthusiasm for history into an experience that felt credible and approachable.
Brand Update
The visual direction draws on the character of archival material without feeling dated, supported by a logo refresh that retained the recognisable clock element while subtly updating the colour palette to improve contrast and richness.
The palette itself is distinctly Australian and rooted in history, drawing on deep dark greens and terracotta tones. A warm, neutral background creates the sense of a well-kept historical document, while expressive serif typography gives the site a distinctive personality and a clear connection to storytelling.
Strong imagery, generous spacing, and restrained supporting elements allow Sydney itself to remain central to the experience.
Historic photographs and ephemera sourced from the State Library of NSW were woven throughout the website to connect each tour location with its earlier life. Archival images are layered alongside contemporary photography, allowing visitors to compare the Sydney they recognise with the streets, buildings, and landmarks that came before it.
Website Architecture
The website architecture was rebuilt to support several distinct audiences and revenue streams.
Public walking tours sit at the centre of the site, supported by dedicated pathways for private groups, schools, and the introduction of gift vouchers as a new purchase option.
Each section was structured to answer the practical questions that influence a booking, including tour format, duration, distance, suitability, and what participants can expect, while preserving enough intrigue for the experience to retain a sense of discovery.
Clear calls to action and streamlined booking pathways make it easy for visitors to move from browsing to selecting a date, purchasing a gift voucher, or submitting an enquiry.
Website Design & Development
The copy was rewritten throughout to establish a voice that is knowledgeable, conversational, and distinctly personal. Ned’s story, including the early tours he began in Mudgee at the age of fifteen and his own family connections to Australian history, became an important point of differentiation.
Rather than presenting history as a fixed collection of dates and landmarks, the content positions each tour as an opportunity to understand the people, decisions, and events that shaped the city.
Search-optimised page titles, metadata, and on-page content were developed to improve visibility for high-intent searches relating to Sydney historical tours, private group activities, school excursions, and walking tour gift vouchers.
Custom responsive styling was also introduced across the Wix site to refine typography, spacing, service cards, buttons, and booking information on mobile, ensuring the visual hierarchy and personality of the desktop experience carried consistently across smaller screens.
