Care Home Group Website: Turning Family Enquiries Into Admissions in 2026

The verdict in three sentences

For a group running 7 care homes and assisted living residences, every empty room costs between £2,100 and £3,600 a month in lost revenue, and the website is now the first place families look. A site that shows fees for each home, a virtual tour and an enquiry journey that books a visit within hours can bring an 8 % vacancy rate down to 4 or 5 % within twelve months. At Kolonell, this kind of project sits between 800,000 and 3,500,000 FCFA (1,220 to 5,340 EUR) depending on the tier, with launch in 8 to 10 weeks.

Why occupancy is won or lost online

A family looking for a place for an elderly parent in Manchester, Leeds or Bristol typically compares four to six homes before requesting a visit. They usually do it in the evening, on a phone, after a call from the hospital announcing an imminent discharge. Three questions dominate: what does it cost, will my parent be well looked after, and when can a room become available.

Care group websites rarely answer those three questions on one page. Fees are buried in a PDF or missing altogether, the photos date from the opening, and the contact form lands in a generic inbox checked twice a week. The family calls the competitor who answered first.

For a group of 7 homes with around 560 beds, 8 % vacancy means roughly 45 empty rooms. At an average weekly fee of £1,250, the shortfall exceeds £240,000 a month. Even a two-point improvement easily pays for a better website.

What the website needs, home by home

The core of the project is 7 standalone home pages, each optimised for its town (care home Didsbury, nursing home Harrogate). Every page shows weekly fees for residential, nursing and dementia care, what is included and what is extra, funding routes (self-funding, local authority support, NHS Continuing Healthcare, Funded Nursing Care), real photos of rooms and lounges, the names of the home manager and clinical lead, the latest CQC rating, and a 360-degree virtual tour.

The enquiry journey is the second pillar. The family leaves contact details, the level of care needed and the expected timing, then immediately receives a proposed visit slot. The group's admissions team sees the enquiry in real time, tagged with the right home.

For a 7-home group, Growth or Premium is usually the right fit, because local SEO for each home takes real content work. Maintenance then runs at 35,000, 75,000 or 120,000 FCFA a month (53, 114 or 183 EUR) depending on the service level. Site languages are set in the quote.

Family trust: the signals that matter

Families do not choose a care home the way they choose a hotel. They look for proof. The elements that lift enquiry rates the most, in order of observed impact, are: clear fees with a worked example, recent real photos, named care staff, the activities programme for the week, and inspection reports published openly.

Accessibility is just as decisive. The adult children of residents are often 55 to 70 years old: strong contrast, body text of at least 18 pixels, large buttons and a tap-to-call number at the top of every page. A slow mobile site loses up to a third of visitors before the page even loads.

Mini case study

Claire, marketing director of a 7-home care group in the north of England, starts from 8 % vacancy, 45 rooms out of 560. She chooses a Premium site at 3,000,000 FCFA (about 4,570 EUR) with Standard maintenance at 75,000 FCFA a month.

After six months, online enquiries rise from 14 to 36 a month and enquiry to visit conversion reaches 42 %. The group fills 12 more rooms. Calculation: 12 rooms x £1,250 x 4.33 weeks = about £65,000 of monthly revenue recovered. The cost of the site plus a year of maintenance (about 4,570 + 1,370 EUR) is covered in a few days of extra revenue.

FAQ

Should we really publish fees on the website?

Yes. Families drop homes with no visible pricing first, and the CMA has told care homes since 2022 to publish fees upfront. A page with a worked funding example typically converts 20 to 30 % better than one without prices.

Does the website replace our CRM or admissions software?

No. The site captures the enquiry in under 2 minutes, qualifies urgency and pushes it to your admissions team or existing CRM with a visit slot already proposed.

How long does a 7-home group website take?

Plan for 8 to 10 weeks, including 2 to 3 weeks for photography, virtual tours and home-level content. The rest covers design, development and accessibility testing.

What should we budget for local SEO per home?

Kolonell's monthly SEO runs at 100,000, 200,000 or 350,000 FCFA a month depending on intensity. For 7 homes in different towns, the middle level at 200,000 FCFA is a realistic starting point.

Can we track enquiries by home?

Yes, every enquiry is tagged by home, so you can measure cost per admission and spot a home that is slipping. A monthly dashboard is enough in 80 % of cases.

Let's scope your project. We will map out each home's page, the enquiry journey and an 8 to 10 week launch plan with you. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.