Cookie Consent Banners: Everything You Need to Know

Let’s take a closer look at some widely recognized and highly relevant data privacy laws:

• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): The European Union designed this law to give individuals more control and rights over their personal data. To comply, you must obtain user consent and provide users with detailed information on what cookies your website uses and how you will use visitors' data.
• California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA): The CCPA and its amendment, the CPRA, give California residents control over how websites use their personal data. Like the GDPR, you must explain your use of cookies. But unlike the GDPR, which requires opt-in consent, the CCPA and CPRA only require opt-out consent options. This means you can use cookies to collect users’ data, but you must provide users with an easy way to opt out of sharing their data. 
• The Data Protection Act (DPA): The United Kingdom’s DPA requires you to obtain user consent before you use non-essential cookies.
• The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA): Canada’s PIPEDA mandates that you obtain cookie consent before collecting personal information.
• The Privacy Act: Australia mandates that you inform users about the personal data you collect and requires opt-out consent choices.

As data privacy concerns grow globally, many other countries are implementing similar privacy laws to protect users’ personal data. Ultimately, if any of your users are in a location that requires prior consent before you can collect data, you must:

• Fully inform users about what data you’re collecting and how you’ll use that data.
• Obtain users’ explicit agreement.
• Provide options to allow users to change their cookie preferences.

Do you need explicit consent for all cookie categories?

No, cookie consent laws don’t require consent for strictly necessary cookies. These are cookies that are necessary for the basic functioning of your website. For example, cookies that remember users’ shopping cart contents across web pages are essential for the proper functioning of an e-commerce website.

However, many data privacy laws require opt-in consent if you use non-essential cookies. These cookies provide additional functionality to your website but aren’t necessary for essential functions. Here are some common non-essential cookie categories:

• Analytics cookies that use personal data to track user behavior and traffic patterns
• Advertising cookies that track personal data across websites to deliver targeted ads and personalized content
• Functional cookies that collect personal data like language preferences and login details

What happens if you don’t gain users’ consent to use their personal data?

If you don’t obtain users’ consent before deploying non-essential cookies, there could be serious ramifications, starting with heavy fines.

For example, if you don’t comply with the GDPR, the EU’s individual data protection authorities can fine you up to €20 million ($22 million) or 4% of your global annual revenue, whichever is higher.

In another example, if you don’t meet CCPA requirements, the California attorney general can fine you as much as $7,500 per violation. In addition, there’s no cap on the total fines California can levy.

It’s important to understand that these penalties apply to business and personal websites of all sizes, with authorities imposing fines as small as a few thousand dollars and as large as a billion dollars.

To date, the 3 largest GDPR fines issued for non-compliance are:

1. Meta: €1.2 billion ($1.32 billion) for violating data privacy regulations in 2023
2. Amazon: €746 million ($822 million) for mishandling user data in 2021
3. Instagram’s owner, Meta Platforms Limited: €405 million ($446 million) for violating children’s privacy in 2022

But that’s not all. Non-compliance with privacy laws shatters customer trust and damages your brand’s reputation. When news of fines or data breaches gets out, it will not only cost your business money but also drive previously loyal users away.

So, keep up with data privacy compliance, maintain trust with your users, and implement a compliant cookie consent banner.

The key components of a cookie banner

A trustworthy GDPR-compliant cookie banner must include the following elements.

Cookie consent message

Your cookie notice should clearly state that your website uses cookies and briefly explain your cookie usage. For example, “Our website uses cookies to serve personalized content.”

Cookie consent options

Your cookie consent banner must allow users the option to accept, reject, or customize cookies.

Cookie consent policy

Your cookie consent popup must include a link to your cookie and privacy policies. Your policies should detail your data collection practices and use and explain how users can manage cookies.

Options to update cookie consent preferences

Your cookie notice must allow users to modify their previous choices about which cookies they accept or decline without barriers or complex steps.

Accessibility features

Your cookie banners should be easy to find and navigate for all users, including those with disabilities. For example, you can make your cookie banners more accessible to low-vision users by ensuring they are compatible with screen readers. 

Dismiss option

You must allow your users to dismiss your cookie banner if they don’t want to interact with it. Don’t force them into a choice by using a cookie wall (or tracking wall), which is a barrier that blocks users from accessing your website unless they accept cookies. Cookie walls don’t meet the definition of user consent outlined in Article 4 of the GDPR because they deny users a real, free choice in how much and what kind of data they share.

Six tips for a frictionless cookie banner user experience

If you’re like most people, you probably feel overwhelmed by all the cookie consent banners you experience every day—a phenomenon called cookie fatigue or consent fatigue.

A poor cookie banner user experience can create friction, leading to higher bounce rates and lower website engagement. Effective cookie banners should provide a seamless user experience.

Here are 6 tips to create a user-friendly cookie banner.

Tip #1: Use clear and concise language

Visitors are more likely to engage with your cookie banners when they understand precisely what they’re consenting to. Clear language also reduces the likelihood of confusion or frustration, which can help to increase your cookie consent rate. Here’s how to write a clear cookie message:

• Avoid complicated legal jargon and vague language.
• Use simple, direct language.
• Keep the main cookie consent message short and simple.
• Include a prominent link to your detailed cookie consent policy for those who want more information.

Tip #2: Avoid dark patterns

Dark patterns are design tactics that mislead users into accepting cookies without fully knowing what they’re agreeing to. An example would be having a prominent green Accept Cookies button and a comparatively hidden red Reject Cookies button.

Dark patterns violate data privacy laws and erode user trust. So, make sure you create cookie banners that offer impartial consent choices and seek to inform, educate, and empower your users to take control of their data.

Tip #3: Provide binary and granular consent choices

You can provide users with 2 consent choices:

• A binary choice where they can either accept or reject all cookies. 
• A granular choice where they can control which types of cookies they allow or reject.

A binary choice is simple and quick, while offering granular consent choices signals your respect for users’ preferences and gives them a greater sense of control over their data.

That said, an overly granular choice could overwhelm or confuse users. Faced with too many options, they might abandon your site or unquestioningly accept all cookies, which defeats the purpose of meaningful consent.

Tip #4: Optimize for different devices

A cookie consent banner that looks great on a computer might be overly intrusive or difficult to navigate on a mobile device. This could frustrate your users and increase your bounce rates.

So, implement a responsive and adaptable cookie banner for different screen sizes and browsers.

Remember, users may access your website from different devices, and, ideally, they should submit their consent choices only once for a smooth experience. However, this can be tricky to manage because websites often deploy different cookies on different devices. So, it’s crucial that your cookie policy accounts for every type of cookie you use across all devices.

Tip #5: Consider banner placement

Where you place your cookie banner on the screen may have an impact on how users interact with it. A well-placed opt-in banner minimizes disruption and encourages user interaction. An intrusive consent banner, on the other hand, might drive users away from your site.

So, test different placements to optimize your cookie banner’s position for your visitors and make sure it doesn’t cover key webpage content, especially on mobile devices where screen space is limited.

Tip #6: Include multilingual functionality

If your website has a global audience, offer your cookie banners in the main languages of the regions you serve. You can do this by incorporating language detection software to automatically display the appropriate version of the consent banner based on the user’s location or browser language.

This will enhance the user experience and help you avoid compliance issues by ensuring visitors clearly understand what they’re consenting to when they visit your website.

Finally, ensure that every language version of your cookie banner, controls, and policy is clear and easy to understand.

How does cookie consent affect your website?

Cookie consent doesn’t just impact data privacy, it also affects website performance and analytics. Here’s how.

Cookie consent can skew your website analytics

Some cookies track key metrics like traffic, conversions, and user behavior.

However, when visitors opt out of analytics cookies, tools like Google Analytics can’t collect their data, leaving you with incomplete reports that can impact the quality of your marketing data.

Thankfully, tools like Google Consent Mode let you track some data while respecting cookie consent laws like the GDPR. It adjusts how tools like Google Analytics gather insights from non-consenting users by using aggregated, anonymized data while respecting their privacy preferences.

Cookie banners can affect website performance

In certain situations, your cookie banners could hurt your website performance, for example:

• Poorly optimized cookie banners will often slow down page loading times.
• Complex cookie banners may drain server resources, degrading your site performance. 

Poor performance and slower loading times undermine your search engine optimization efforts because search engines prioritize high-performing websites in search rankings. To avoid these issues, analyze your website's performance and find areas to improve.

How to implement a cookie consent banner on your website

If implementing a GDPR-compliant cookie banner feels overwhelming, don’t worry. Here are 2 straightforward options to get a compliant cookie banner on your website.

Option #1: Use your website builder’s cookie consent management tools

Most website builders, like Mailchimp, Squarespace, and WordPress, offer a basic cookie consent tool. These tools are usually relatively easy to set up and can work well for simple websites that only use basic cookies, like Google Analytics.

But if your website relies on more advanced third-party cookies, such as those from advertising platforms like Google Ads or Facebook Pixel, these basic consent tools might not be enough. 

Option #2: Use a third-party cookie consent management platform

If your website uses a range of non-essential cookies or you want advanced features like multilingual functionality and custom branding, consider using a consent management platform (CMP).

CMPs like OneTrust, TrustArc, and Cookiebot provide solutions to help you manage consent for different types of cookies across different platforms and regions.

When choosing a CMP, look for these key features that will protect user data and keep your site functional and compliant with privacy laws:

• Data encryption to securely log consent activities
• Secure data storage to prevent unauthorized access or breaches
• Consent log tracking to document when consent is given, modified, or revoked
• Audit trails to ensure compliance with regulations
• Vendor transparency so users know who has access to their data
• Consent synchronization to capture consent choices across different devices

How can you maintain a compliant cookie banner?

Aside from staying informed about changes to global data privacy legislation, keeping up with the following practices can help you stay compliant.

Conduct a periodic cookie consent audit

The goal of your data protection audit is to identify gaps in compliance and improve your user consent management.

So, when you conduct an audit:

• Update your cookie policy to reflect the current laws.
• Set up your cookie banner to obtain consent for every type of non-essential cookie your website uses.
• Provide sufficient transparency on third-party vendors' involvement and how they process user data.
• Use third-party cookie providers that are also compliant.

Update your cookie policy as needed

If you introduce new website features, tools, or partnerships, you may also be introducing new cookies, so you’ll need to update your cookie consent policy and banner to reflect the changes.

Manage users’ consent

Cookie laws like the GDPR mandate that your visitors be able to change or withdraw their consent to non-essential cookies whenever they choose, and you must have the systems in place to honor those user preferences immediately. Here’s how to do so.

• Place a prominent link to cookie settings in your website’s footer, so users can modify or withdraw consent at any time.
• Use cookie consent software that updates users’ cookie preferences immediately and without the need to reload the webpage.

The future of the cookie consent banner

Data privacy regulations are still evolving as our collective definition of data protection changes and matures.

EU cookie laws, like the GDPR, have already led major browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari to block third-party cookies by default, and Google Chrome hopes to follow suit by phasing out third-party cookies in 2025.

As privacy laws limit access to personal data, website owners must shift to first-party data collection and explore privacy-friendly tracking methods like Google’s Privacy Sandbox. 

For now, it looks like the cookie banner is here to stay. So, implement one on your website to stay compliant, maintain trust with your users, and protect your business.