Families usually start looking for a care home at a difficult time, often after a hospital admission or a sudden decline, and often with little time to decide. A care home website has to give them honest, practical information quickly and treat them with care while doing it. It also has to meet specific requirements from the regulator and from consumer law.
This guide covers residential and nursing homes and, where relevant, home care agencies. It focuses on England, where the Care Quality Commission regulates care; Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own regulators with similar expectations.
What families need to know first
The first questions are practical. Do you provide the kind of care my parent needs (residential, nursing, dementia, respite, end of life)? Do you have a room? How much does it cost, and what is included? What is your CQC rating? Can I visit? A website that answers these clearly on the homepage or one tap away saves families time and reduces calls that go nowhere.
Then come the harder questions. Will they be treated kindly? Will they have things to do? What is the food like? Can we visit whenever we like? Real photographs, a description of a typical day, sample menus and an activities programme answer these better than general promises about dignity and compassion.
Pages a care home website needs
| Page | What it must do |
|---|---|
| Home | Types of care, location, current vacancies, CQC rating and how to arrange a visit. |
| Types of care | A page for each type of care: who it suits, what is provided, staffing and specialist training. |
| Fees | Weekly fees by room or care type, what is included, what costs extra, deposits and how fees are reviewed. |
| Rooms and facilities | Photos and descriptions of rooms, en suites, gardens, lounges and accessibility. |
| Life at the home | Daily routine, activities, food, visiting, outings and how families stay involved. |
| Team | The manager and key staff with photos and roles, and how staff are trained. |
| Reports and policies | CQC rating and report, complaints procedure, terms and conditions, privacy notice. |
CQC ratings: a legal requirement
Care providers registered with the CQC in England that have received a rating must display it on their website, under Regulation 20A of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The rating must be displayed clearly and prominently, and the CQC expects it on the main page and on any page about the specific location. The CQC provides a free widget that shows the current rating and updates automatically, which is the easiest way to comply.
If your rating is lower than you would like, you still have to display it. It is reasonable to explain briefly what has changed since the inspection, but not in a way that misrepresents the report. In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, link to your latest report from Care Inspectorate Wales, the Care Inspectorate or the RQIA.
Fees and consumer law
The Competition and Markets Authority published consumer law advice for care home providers in 2018 after finding that many families struggled to get clear information. It says care homes should give prospective residents and their families key information upfront, including on their websites. That includes weekly fees (or a guide to the range), what the fees cover and what costs extra, whether a deposit is required, how fees may change, and the home’s key terms such as notice periods and what happens to fees after a resident dies.
Terms must be fair under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The CMA has taken enforcement action against care home providers over unfair terms, such as charging fees for an extended period after a resident’s death. Get your terms reviewed and publish them or a clear summary.
Explain how fees work for self-funders and for residents funded or part-funded by the local authority or the NHS, including any top-up fees. Families often do not know the difference, and clear information helps them make decisions and ask the right questions.
Photos, privacy and dignity
Real photos of your rooms, gardens and communal spaces help families picture their relative living there. Photos of residents need their informed consent, or that of someone legally able to give it, and should always show people with dignity. Many homes use photos of activities and spaces without identifiable residents for the public website.
Personal information about residents and families is sensitive, and health information is special category data under UK GDPR. Enquiry forms should ask only for what you need, and your privacy notice should explain how you handle it.
Mistakes care home websites make
- No fees at all, or “prices on application”, which the CMA has specifically raised concerns about.
- CQC rating missing, out of date or displayed as a static image.
- Stock photos of smiling older people instead of your own rooms and garden.
- Vacancy information that is never updated.
- Types of care described in jargon families do not understand.
- Visiting arrangements that are unclear or out of date.
What a good care home website looks like
A good care home website opens with a clear statement of the care provided and where, the CQC rating widget, a note on current vacancies and an invitation to visit. The fees page sets out weekly fees by room type and care type, what is included, what costs extra and how fees are reviewed, in the kind of plain terms the CMA expects.
The life at the home page shows a real week: activities, outings, menus, visiting, and how families are kept informed. Photos show the actual rooms, gardens and lounges. The manager is named, with a photo and a direct phone number. Families can find the complaints procedure and terms without searching.
Above all, the tone is calm and practical. Families are often under pressure; a site that answers their questions honestly and makes it easy to talk to a person does more than any amount of reassuring language.
What a care home website costs
Specialist care sector agencies commonly quote £3,000 to £15,000 for a care home website, with groups spending more. Freelancers typically charge £1,000 to £4,000 for a single home. Care management software and the CQC widget are separate; the widget is free.
We design care home websites from scratch, write the fees, care type and life-at-the-home pages with you, and keep the CQC widget and vacancies current as part of the service. A single home fits Monthly at £299 plus £99/month (12 months minimum) or Own It at £1,795 plus £49/month for up to 25 pages. Care groups with several homes, each needing its own pages, rating display and local profile, would look at Pro at £6,950 plus £299/month. Nerdsharks builds for single family-run homes and larger care groups alike.