Chykalophia Docs

A plain-English overview of every way Chykalophia engages with clients — project work, ongoing care, and Fractional CTO/CMO retainers — with real starting numbers.

This is the canonical reference for what Chykalophia offers and what each engagement starts at. Every number below is a real starting point — final proposals are scoped to your specific project after a discovery call.

Quick summary

Four ways to work with us: The Boring Stuff ($997+/m) for ongoing website care, Standard projects ($25K+) for new builds and redesigns, Larger projects ($55K+) for complex work, and Fractional retainers ($2,500+/m for one role, $5,500+/m for both + implementation).

The Boring Stuff — ongoing care plan

Starting at $997/month.

The Boring Stuff is our website care plan. It covers all the routine, behind-the-scenes work that keeps a site healthy, secure, and online — the work that's boring to think about but expensive to skip.

Included at every tier:

Software updates (WordPress core, themes, plugins) tested on staging
Daily backups stored off-server
Uptime monitoring with alerts
Security monitoring
SSL certificate management
Broken link & form checks
Priority response when something needs us
Staging environment for safe testing

Higher tiers add monthly content-update time, performance and SEO checks, and dedicated development hours.

See:

Understanding care plan pricing — what drives the cost
What our care plan covers — the full service list
Why websites need maintenance — the case for ongoing care

Project work

Project work means a new website, a redesign, or a major buildout. We deliver on a fixed scope agreed in your proposal.

Standard projects — $25K+

Best fit for:

Small-to-mid business marketing sites
Brochure and service sites with custom design
Most WordPress, Webflow, and Squarespace builds
Simple e-commerce on Shopify or WooCommerce

Typical scope: discovery, design, content collaboration, build, testing, launch, and handoff. Most projects of this size complete in 6–12 weeks.

Larger projects — $55K+

Best fit for:

Multi-stakeholder rebrands and redesigns
Complex e-commerce with custom flows
Sites requiring custom integrations or apps
Multi-site systems or platform migrations
Custom web applications

Typical scope: deeper discovery, additional design rounds, more integrations, and longer timelines (usually 10–16+ weeks).

Both tiers cover discovery, design, build, content collaboration, testing, launch, and handoff. The difference is the depth and complexity of work the agreed scope covers.

See What a website actually costs for what drives pricing inside each tier.

Fractional CTO & Fractional CMO retainers

Ongoing strategic engagements for businesses that need senior-level guidance without hiring a full-time executive.

Single retainer — $2,500+/month

Choose Fractional CTO or Fractional CMO — not both at this tier.

Fractional CTO typically covers: technology strategy, architecture decisions, vendor selection, build oversight, security & compliance posture, and acting as your technical sparring partner for big decisions.

Fractional CMO typically covers: marketing strategy, brand positioning, channel mix, demand-gen planning, content & SEO oversight, and acting as your marketing sparring partner for big decisions.

Both + implementation — $5,500+/month

Fractional CTO and Fractional CMO together, plus hands-on implementation work each month.

This is the right fit when:

You need senior strategic guidance on both technology and marketing
You want strategy and execution from the same team (no handoffs)
You're scaling and the two functions need to stay tightly aligned

Implementation can include build work, content production, campaign execution, or whatever the strategy calls for each month.

The single and dual retainers are mutually exclusive — they're not stacked. If you start with one and the scope grows, we'll discuss moving to the combined retainer.

Payment terms

How we bill

Project work and retainers are due in full before work begins. For all contracts, balances 30 days past due begin to include late penalty fees. The Boring Stuff is billed monthly in advance.

See Understanding quotes & invoices for how to read a quote or invoice when one arrives.

How to engage

The path is the same regardless of which engagement makes sense for you:

Reach out. Email support@chykalophia.com with a short note about your business, what you're trying to do, and a rough sense of timeline.

Discovery call. A 30–45 minute conversation to understand your goals, audience, and constraints. No pressure, no cost.

Proposal. We send a written proposal with a clear scope, timeline, and price. The proposal is yours to review with anyone on your team.

Sign & start. Once the proposal is signed and the invoice is paid, we begin.

What's NOT in scope

To keep things honest:

We don't offer hourly "rent a developer" work outside an active project or retainer
We don't take on emergency-only one-off security cleanups (unless transitioning to a care plan)
We don't combine the single and dual Fractional retainers — it's one tier or the other
We don't run paid-ad campaigns as a standalone service (we can advise as part of a Fractional CMO engagement, but execution-only ad work isn't a product we offer)

Common questions

Can I start with a project and then add The Boring Stuff later?

Yes — and most clients do. Project work covers the build; The Boring Stuff keeps it healthy after launch. We typically discuss the care plan during the project so it's set up before you go live.

Can I pause The Boring Stuff?

Pausing depends on your specific agreement. The honest answer: even a static site needs software updates, monitoring, and backups, so pauses tend to create risk. Talk to your project lead about options before pausing.

What if my project doesn't fit either project tier?

A few projects fall outside the standard or larger tiers — for example, very small landing-page sprints or very large multi-site platforms. We'll talk through it on the discovery call and either scope a fit or refer you to someone who's a better match.

Are response times the same across engagements?

Care plan and retainer clients receive priority response windows under their contract. See Our response times & support hours for the specifics. Non-contracted requests are handled when capacity allows.

Can I switch between Fractional CTO and Fractional CMO mid-retainer?

Yes — the retainer is a single seat at $2,500+/m for either role. If your needs shift, we can shift the role focus at the next renewal.

Need a hand?

If you're stuck, email support@chykalophia.com and we'll help. Include your website address and a screenshot if you can.

Our services & pricing