What a care home website must show: CQC and CMA rules

Two rules decide what every independent care home website has to show families. If your service has a CQC rating, the law says your website must display it, with the date it was given and where to read the report. And the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) advises that your fees, what they include and any deposits should be prominent on your website, which it considers likely to mean no more than one click from the home page.

That’s it for the rules. Everything else in this guide is good practice: the things that help a family choose your home once they’ve found it. We keep the two apart below, so you know which is which.

This is a plain-English summary, not legal advice. Both rules were checked against the primary texts on 22 October 2026, and both are linked so you can read them yourself.

Rule 1: show your CQC rating (Regulation 20A)

The source: Regulation 20A of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

What it says, in plain English: where a provider has a CQC rating, its website must show:

• the most recent rating;
• the date the rating was given;
• where on the CQC website the latest assessment can be read.

And it must be shown conspicuously and legibly. In plain terms: easy to spot and easy to read.

What this means for your site: families look for your rating early. Displaying it clearly, with the date and a link to the full report, does what the rule asks and answers one of the first questions a family has.

Rule 2: make your fees prominent (CMA advice)

The source: the CMA’s advice for care home providers on consumer law, revised on 8 December 2021.

What it says, in plain English: key information should be prominent on your website, including:

• an indication of the weekly fees that self-funding residents pay;
• what the fees include;
• any deposits.

The CMA says it considers “prominent” is likely to mean no more than one click from the home page.

What this means for your site: a “Fees” link in the main menu, leading to a page that gives a weekly fee indication, says what is and isn’t included, and explains any deposit. Or put that information on the home page itself.

The CMA document is advice on how consumer law applies to care homes, rather than a regulation like 20A. It is also the clearest statement of what the CMA expects to see, so it is the standard to build to.

The checklist

What the rules ask for

These come straight from the two texts above.

• Your most recent CQC rating on the website, conspicuously and legibly.
• The date the rating was given, next to it.
• Where to read the latest assessment on the CQC website, ideally as a direct link to your home’s page.
• An indication of the weekly fees self-funders pay.
• What those fees include.
• Any deposits.
• All of that fee information prominent, which the CMA considers likely to mean no more than one click from the home page.

Good practice

None of these is a legal requirement. They are what we see help families choose a home.

• The CQC rating widget on the home page. The CQC offers providers a widget that shows your current rating and links to your report. Putting it on the home page shows the rating where families look first.
• A fees page one click from the home page, linked from the main menu on desktop and mobile, so nobody has to hunt for it.
• What the fees include, in plain words: meals, laundry, activities, hairdressing, chiropody, outings, and what costs extra.
• Deposits explained: how much, when it is paid and when it is returned.
• Tap-to-call on every page, with a phone number that someone answers. Families often ring the first home that looks right.
• A page for each type of care you provide, such as residential, nursing, dementia and respite care, so families searching for that care find a page about it.
• Real photos of your home: the outside, the lounge, a bedroom, the dining room and the garden. Families want to picture their parent there.

Where to start this week

1. Open your website on a phone and time how long it takes to find your CQC rating, its date and a link to the report. If you can’t find all three in a few seconds, fix that first.
2. From the home page, count the clicks to your fees. If it is more than one, add “Fees” to the main menu.
3. Read your fees page as a family would. Does it give a weekly figure, say what’s included and explain any deposit?
4. Then work through the good-practice list.

If you would rather hand it over, our care home website design builds all of this in from the start: rating on the home page, fees one click away, a page per type of care, and tap-to-call throughout. And if the site is right but the beds are still empty, care home marketing covers getting found by the families searching for a home near them.