SiteLifters

Fractional CTO

You don't need more support hours. You need someone to guide the decisions.

Someone to guide your technology decisions and strategy — not another inbox for technical questions.

You get experienced technology leadership without the expense and commitment of a full-time CTO. This is not a more expensive version of On-Call Tech.

Starting at $3,000/month — up to 10 hours of dedicated CTO time

Let's Talk About Your Technology NeedsSee What's Included
Illustrated woman beside a strategy map in a software window

The role

What is a fractional CTO for a small business?

You don't necessarily need another developer. You need someone who can help you determine what should be built, which technologies make sense, where your systems are falling short, and how to make technology work better for your business.

A Fractional CTO brings technical expertise and strategic perspective to your leadership team without requiring a full-time executive hire.

Think of this person as your technology decision-maker, strategic advisor, and technical oversight partner.

The work is about making better technology decisions, reducing unnecessary complexity, managing technical risk, and aligning technology investments with business objectives.

  • Decision-maker

    Help you decide what should be built, bought, paused, or left alone.

  • Strategic advisor

    Bring technical judgment to leadership conversations before money is spent.

  • Oversight partner

    Review architecture, vendors, and project work with an independent eye.

What this can cover

Technology leadership across the decisions that matter.

I work alongside your business to help you make smarter technology decisions, plan for growth, oversee technical projects, and ensure your technology investments are moving your business in the right direction. This is not basic technical support or a development subscription. This is an ongoing strategic partnership.

  • 01

    Technology Strategy & Roadmaps

    • Develop a technology strategy aligned with business goals.
    • Identify opportunities to modernize existing systems.
    • Prioritize technology investments.
    • Build practical short-term and long-term technology roadmaps.
    • Help leadership understand technical tradeoffs and implications.

  • 02

    Architecture & Infrastructure Oversight

    • Review existing application architecture.
    • Evaluate hosting, infrastructure, databases, and security considerations.
    • Identify scalability and reliability concerns.
    • Review technical architecture proposals.
    • Recommend improvements to existing systems.

  • 03

    Software & Vendor Evaluation

    • Evaluate software platforms and technology vendors.
    • Review proposals from development agencies.
    • Help compare build-versus-buy decisions.
    • Evaluate third-party integrations and platforms.
    • Help businesses avoid unnecessary software costs and poor technology decisions.

  • 04

    Development & Project Oversight

    • Provide technical oversight of development projects.
    • Coordinate with internal developers and external agencies.
    • Review project scope, milestones, and deliverables.
    • Identify technical risks and potential roadblocks.
    • Help ensure development efforts align with business objectives.

  • 05

    Automation & AI Strategy

    • Identify opportunities to automate business processes.
    • Evaluate AI tools and potential applications.
    • Recommend practical integration and automation opportunities.
    • Help prioritize automation investments.
    • Provide technical guidance for implementation initiatives.

Engagement

Starting at $3,000/month

Every business has different technology needs. Engagements are scoped around your business, priorities, and the level of involvement required.

Suggested starting point

Fractional CTO — Foundation

$3,000/month

A practical first engagement for businesses that need ongoing leadership without a full-time executive hire.

  • Up to 10 hours of dedicated CTO time per month.
  • Monthly technology strategy and planning meeting.
  • Technology roadmap development and prioritization.
  • Architecture and infrastructure reviews.
  • Software, platform, and vendor evaluations.
  • Technical project oversight.
  • Ongoing email access for strategic questions.
  • Monthly progress and recommendations summary.

Scoped before we begin

The engagement scope, availability, and deliverables are agreed upon before the engagement begins. This is not unlimited availability, and it is not unlimited hours.

Additional involvement

If you need more time, deeper project involvement, or hands-on implementation, that work can be scoped and quoted separately.

Let's Talk About Your Technology Needs

What's included

Strategic leadership is included. Implementation can be arranged separately.

The Fractional CTO engagement is a flexible partnership focused on judgment, planning, reviews, and oversight. If hands-on development is the right next step, SiteLifters can provide a separate scope and quote.

Included in the engagement

Leadership, advisory work, reviews, planning, and oversight.

Independent technical judgment at the leadership level — so technology decisions are made with a clear point of view.

  • Technology strategy and planning
  • Roadmap development and prioritization
  • Architecture and infrastructure reviews
  • Software, platform, and vendor evaluation
  • Technical project oversight and risk assessment
  • Independent judgment on build-versus-buy decisions
  • Ongoing strategic guidance by email

Available separately

Hands-on development and implementation when you need it.

These are not automatically included in the monthly engagement. If they become the right next step, we'll scope and quote them on their own.

  • Writing production application code
  • Building custom software
  • Implementing integrations
  • Hands-on development or implementation
  • Day-to-day management of a full engineering team
  • Unlimited project management
  • Unlimited meetings or availability

Who this is for

Growing businesses that need technical leadership — not another full-time hire.

If the technology decisions are getting more expensive, more interconnected, or harder to judge from the inside, this is the level of help. I'm based on Long Island, New York, and I work with growing businesses here and remotely.

  • Small and mid-sized businesses that have outgrown their existing technology setup
  • Growing companies that need technology leadership but cannot justify a full-time CTO
  • Startup founders who need technical direction without hiring an executive
  • Businesses working with outside developers or software agencies that need independent technical oversight
  • Companies planning technology modernization, system integrations, or automation initiatives
  • Businesses making significant investments in software, infrastructure, or AI

Which service

Do I need a fractional CTO or an on-call developer?

These are two different levels of engagement — not simply two price points for the same service. Read the full comparison in On-Call Tech vs Fractional CTO, or what a fractional CTO does for a small business.

$249/month

Your On-Call Tech Person

Someone to turn to when you need technical help — questions, software decisions, or problems that come up.

  • Technical questions and guidance
  • Troubleshooting recommendations
  • Software and integration advice
  • Technical solution reviews
  • Direct email access
  • Initial response within 24 business hours
See the on-call developer service

Starting at $3,000/month

Fractional CTO

Someone to guide your technology decisions and strategy — ongoing leadership, not more support hours.

  • Technology strategy and roadmaps
  • Architecture and infrastructure oversight
  • Software and vendor evaluation
  • Development project oversight
  • Technical risk assessment
  • Ongoing strategic guidance
Fractional CTO for small business

Questions

What is a fractional CTO for a small business?

What is a fractional CTO for a small business?

A fractional CTO brings technical expertise and strategic perspective to your leadership team without a full-time executive hire. Think of this person as your technology decision-maker, strategic advisor, and technical oversight partner — someone to guide what should be built, bought, paused, or left alone.

Do I need a fractional CTO or an on-call developer?

These are two different levels of engagement — not two prices for the same service. An on-call developer is someone to turn to when you need technical help: questions, software decisions, or problems that come up, at $249/month. A fractional CTO is someone to guide your technology decisions and strategy — ongoing leadership, starting at $3,000/month, not more support hours.

Can you help a Long Island business remotely?

Yes. I'm based on Long Island, New York, and I work with growing businesses here and remotely. Most of this starts over email. If we need to look at a system together, we can do that online.

Get in touch

Start with a note about your technology needs.

Start with a note. Tell me about the business and the kind of technical leadership you're looking for. I'll reply by email — no calendar booking required.

This is an inquiry, not a checkout and not a scheduled call. Submitting the form does not create a paid engagement or any obligation. If it looks like a fit, we'll discuss scope, availability, and deliverables before anything begins.

Prefer email? jess@sitelifters.com

No paid engagement and no obligation until we agree on scope in writing.