What is a fractional CTO, and do I need one?

A fractional CTO is a senior technical leader who works part-time across one or more companies, typically one to two days a week. You likely need one if your team is shipping software but has no senior engineering voice in the room — for hiring, architecture, security, roadmap and tough technical decisions.

How much does a website accessibility audit cost?

A small marketing-site WCAG 2.2 audit typically starts around £1,500, with larger product audits in the £4,000–£10,000 range depending on the number of templates, components and user journeys. Every engagement includes a prioritised issue list and a remediation plan you can hand directly to your developers.

What is WCAG 2.2 and does my site need to comply?

WCAG 2.2 is the current Web Content Accessibility Guidelines standard. In the UK, public-sector sites are legally required to meet WCAG 2.2 AA under the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018. Private-sector sites are expected to be accessible under the Equality Act 2010 and increasingly under the European Accessibility Act from June 2025.

How long does a website performance audit take?

A typical performance audit takes one to two weeks: lab testing against Core Web Vitals, field-data review from real users, render-path analysis and a written report with prioritised fixes. Urgent engagements can be completed in a few days if the site is small and the issues are obvious.

Do you work with teams outside the UK?

Yes. chrimes.dev is remote-first and based in Leeds, UK, working across UK and European time zones. Most engagements happen over video calls, shared docs and pull requests. I travel to clients in person for kick-offs and workshops when it helps.

What technology stacks do you specialise in?

Modern web stacks — Next.js, React, TypeScript, Node.js, and headless content systems. I have deep experience with design systems (including the NHS and GOV.UK patterns), accessibility tooling and performance engineering. For audits I’m stack-agnostic.

How do engagements typically start?

A short free call to understand the problem, a written proposal with scope, price and timeline, and a signed agreement before any work begins. Audits are fixed-price; retainers and fractional CTO work are billed monthly.

Software Development

Kirklees Council website

A new website for Kirklees Council — helping residents find services and information online, built accessibility-first.

Client: Kirklees Council
Role: Software Developer
Year: 2016
Duration: 9 months

In short

A rebuild of a local-government website that 430,000 residents rely on.
Accessibility, usability and content design at the heart of the brief.
Tight public-sector constraints; exacting quality expectations.

The brief

Local-government websites carry a specific weight: for many residents they're the only way they interact with their council. Kirklees serves 430,000 people across West Yorkshire — benefits, waste collection, schools, housing, planning, licensing — and the old site wasn't getting people to what they needed quickly enough.

The brief was a ground-up rebuild around user needs, to LGA / GOV.UK accessibility and usability norms, and at a cost the council could defend.

Approach

Content- and task-led information architecture — organising around what residents want to do, not the council's internal org chart.

Accessibility baked in: manual testing with assistive-tech users alongside automated checks.

Progressive enhancement — working right on older devices and browsers that residents actually had.

Working alongside content designers to cut and rewrite pages that weren't pulling their weight.

What I delivered

New public-facing website
Accessibility remediation
Migration from the previous content platform
Training and handover for council staff

Outcomes

A website that made it faster for residents to find and complete the services they came for
An accessible baseline the council could confidently build on
A foundation that's supported further digital work for Kirklees since

Software DevelopmentKainos (for NHS England), 2026

NHS Online service

Helping build NHS Online — a new national digital hospital launching in England by 2027, connecting patients to specialists via the NHS App and easing elective waiting times.

Read case study

Software DevelopmentNHS England, 2025

Manage Your Screening (MAYS)

Lead UI Developer on the Manage Your Screening team — making NHS cancer screening easier to understand, easier to access, and easier to manage.