A custom compliance risk cost calculator built with PHP and WordPress, providing instant fine estimates and clear risk breakdowns for site visitors.
Currently active at:
Overview
MessageWatcher provides compliance and archiving solutions for financial, legal, and security-sensitive industries. They needed an online tool that would help potential customers understand the real cost of non-compliance — and demonstrate the value of their services in a clear, data-driven way.
I developed a custom Compliance Risk Cost Calculator, built as a standalone PHP application integrated into their WordPress site. The tool gives users instant, personalized estimates of potential fines and risk exposure based on industry data and adjustable variables.
Key Features
Interactive Risk Calculation
Users answer a short series of questions about organization size, communication channels, and regulatory exposure. The calculator combines these inputs with predefined fine ranges and industry benchmarks to generate individualized cost estimates.
Dynamic Results with Visual Breakdown
The results page shows:
- Total estimated compliance risk
- Per-category breakdowns
- Adjustable assumptions
- Immediate recalculation without page reload
- Easy-to-read formatting for decision makers
Lightweight, Fast, and Framework-Free
The calculator is built in raw PHP + jQuery, with no heavy libraries.
This keeps it:
- Fast
- Easy to host
- Easy to embed
- Maintainable for the MW team
Custom Admin Interface
A custom admin panel lets MessageWatcher staff:
- Adjust fine ranges
- Update industry assumptions
- Modify the text and descriptions
- Change multipliers without editing code
This ensures the calculator can evolve as regulations or risk factors change.
WordPress-Friendly Integration
The tool runs as a drop-in module that:
- Lives outside WordPress for performance
- Displays seamlessly inside a WordPress page
- Can be moved or re-embedded anywhere on the site
- Works with existing MW styling and layout
Project Details
Purpose-Built for Lead Generation
The calculator doubles as an educational tool and a lead magnet.
Organizations using it see clear numbers tied to real compliance risks — which naturally highlights the value of MessageWatcher’s services.
Clean Architecture
- Raw PHP for logic
- jQuery for live calculations
- Custom JSON datasets for fine ranges and regulatory assumptions
- Separate view templates for easy redesigns
- Clear, documented structure for future updates
Responsive, Mobile-Ready UI
The layout was built to work on mobile, tablet, and desktop without sacrificing readability.
Result
The Compliance Risk Cost Calculator gives MessageWatcher a high-value, interactive tool that helps prospective clients quantify risk instantly — something spreadsheets and static pages can’t do.
The system is fast, accurate, easy for MW staff to update, and fully integrated into their website. It continues to be used as part of their sales and evaluation process.
Tech Stack
- PHP
- JavaScript / jQuery
- WordPress (integration layer)
- JSON configuration files
- Responsive UI components
