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.

Design Systems

Royal Shakespeare Company — pattern library & website

A WordPress site and reusable UI pattern library showcasing the RSC's fellows and partners, built in collaboration with UK and international research and cultural organisations.

Client: Royal Shakespeare Company
Role: Lead Software Developer
Year: 2024
Duration: 6 months

In short

A new WordPress site plus a pattern library the RSC's internal team could extend on their own.
Designed to highlight a multi-year fellowship and partnership programme with clarity and care.
Built with performance, accessibility and editorial flexibility baked in — not retrofitted.

The brief

The RSC needed a home on the web for a programme involving fellows, academics and partner organisations across the UK and internationally. Content would change regularly; editorial ownership would sit inside the RSC; and anything we built needed to stay sharp and maintainable long after delivery.

The wider RSC estate used WordPress, which set the platform constraint. The design language, component library and editorial experience were ours to shape.

Approach

Starting with the editorial experience: who publishes what, how often, with what review. Shaping the component model around that — not the other way around.

Building a reusable UI pattern library in code, with living documentation the RSC's internal team could extend.

Hand-building a custom WordPress theme on top of the pattern library, avoiding page-builder bloat.

Performance-budgeted from day one — a cultural site should feel fast, not heavy.

Accessibility worked through with the design and content team, not retrofitted.

What I delivered

Custom WordPress theme
Reusable UI pattern library with documentation
Editorial workflow and custom content types
Performance, accessibility and SEO review
Handover documentation and training for the RSC's in-house team

Outcomes

A new home for the RSC's fellowship programme that the internal team can evolve without needing an external developer for every change
A component library that other RSC microsites can re-use
A reliable, accessible, fast site that represents the institution well

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

Fractional CTOTurizum, 2026

Turizum — fractional CTO for a travel-tech startup

Senior technical leadership for Turizum, a travel-tech startup reinventing how people plan and book trips with personalised recommendations and a seamless booking experience.