When families are researching care options, often their first stop is your website.
It serves as the virtual front door to your business, and if it isn’t welcoming, clear, trustworthy, and well-designed, visitors may click away and never come back. In the competitive care sector, poor website design can cost you enquiries, referrals, and ultimately residents.
Here are seven common mistakes in care home website design and how to avoid them so that yours becomes one of the best care home websites in your area.
Looking for a home care website design and development that really works? Book a call with the team at Care Connect Marketing and let us help you create a winning online presence.
1. Slow Load Times and Poor Mobile Optimisation
One of the most damaging mistakes in care home website design is ignoring performance and mobile friendliness.
Keep in mind that many potential users will browse on mobile devices, often from a phone at a difficult time and in a hurry. A slow website or one that displays poorly on mobile instantly undermines trust. A good home care website must be mobile-friendly and fast-loading to engage families.
Tip: Maximise speed by using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, compressing images, and choosing a good hosting provider. Also, ensure that your website is responsive for both tablets and phones.
2. Confusing Navigation and Unclear Services
When visitors land on your website, they need to immediately see what services you offer, where you are, and how to contact you.
If your site uses vague terms like ‘care services’ without specifying (think terms like ‘dementia care’ or ‘respite care’) or doesn’t clearly list your location, you risk losing them. Important topics should get their own pages, and your site navigation should be optimised.
Tip: Create dedicated pages for each service you provide, include location information, and make the menu simple. You can use headings to reinforce context (such as ‘residential dementia care in [town]’).
3. Generic, Stock Photo Heavy Design Without Authentic Branding
Families want to see real people (including staff, residents, and the general environment), not just generic stock photos that could belong to any care home. Using the same stock imagery as your competitors weakens your distinct identity.
Tip: Use genuine photographs showing residents, staff, communal life, and the home environment (make sure you have consent). Include staff bios, team photos, and genuine testimonials. Reflect your brand colours, values, and personality consistently throughout your site.
4. Lack of Trust Signals, Credentials, and Clarity
In the care sector, trust is everything. If your website fails to clearly display your credentials (such as a regulator rating, like that given by the Care Quality Commission, or CQC), testimonials, awards, or case studies, you may inadvertently push families to choose another provider. A care home website should reassure families and build trust.
Tip: Prominently display your CQC rating or equivalent, staff qualifications, client testimonials, accreditation badges, reviews, and case studies. Provide clear contact details and a visible call to action (like ‘book a visit’ or ‘request a brochure’).
5. Poor Accessibility and Design for Older Users
Many home care and care home websites still neglect users with visual or mobility impairments. Keep in mind that these users may themselves be residents or family members looking for services. Accessibility is also a ranking signal for search engines and reflects well on your brand, so it shouldn’t be overlooked.
Tip: Use readable fonts, high contrast text and background colours, alt-text for images, ensure that the site is keyboard-navigable, and ensure that buttons are easy to click. Make sure your home care website design is inclusive and compliant with accessibility standards.
6. Weak or Missing Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Local Focus
A beautifully designed website won’t help much if families can’t find it. If you neglect proper SEO and local targeting, you’ll lose out. Failing to implement an optimisation strategy is one of the biggest mistakes that providers make, as is failing to get their name out there in the local community.
Tip: Use keywords that are relevant to your facility (such as ‘dementia care’ and ‘respite care’) and include location keywords (town and/or region) where possible. Ensure meta titles, descriptions, headings, and content reflect these. Build local directory listings, ensure each site (if multi-site) has its own Google Business Profile, and optimise for local search.
7. Outdated Content and Inactivity
A website that hasn’t been updated in months or years can signal neglect. Families may infer that the care home isn’t thriving, financially healthy, or that it isn’t keeping up with standards.
Tip: Regularly post news, event updates, staff introductions, activity photos, and blog entries about care topics. Maintain an up-to-date news section. Ensure that services, fees (if displayed), and staff profiles are current.
Putting it all Together: The Best Care Home Websites
By avoiding these seven critical mistakes and applying best practices in care home website design and development, your site can become a key driver of enquiries and occupancy; part of your admissions funnel rather than a missed opportunity.
If you’d like expert help to audit or redesign your care home website, the team at Care Connect is here to help.
From accessibility and SEO to branding and responsive design, we’re specialists in helping your care home grow online.
Contact us today to discuss how we can turn your website into a high-performance asset.