WordPress CCPA Compliance: How to Make Your Website Legally Compliant in 2025

If your WordPress site collects personal data from people in California, even something as simple as an email address or IP, you need to pay attention to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). CCPA gives California residents specific rights over their personal information, and as a website owner, you have legal responsibilities to match.

The good news? You don’t need to be a lawyer or a developer to get started.

This blog provides an easy-to-understand and professional guide to WordPress CCPA compliance, including key CCPA website requirements and practical implementation steps.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (California Civil Code §§ 1798.100 – 1798.199.100) is one of the most comprehensive consumer privacy laws in the United States. It sets clear responsibilities for businesses that meet specific criteria and gives California residents greater control over how their personal information is collected, used, and shared.

California has positioned itself as a national leader in privacy legislation. Since the introduction of the CCPA, several other U.S. states have followed suit with laws that echo its core principles, further raising the bar for data privacy across the country.

According to §1798.140, the CCPA applies to businesses in the state or those outside that collect data of California residents and meet one of the following thresholds:

• annual gross revenue over $25 million
• buy/sell data of 100,000 or more consumers or households
• 50% or more of revenue is from sharing or selling personal information.

If your business meets the law’s thresholds, the CCPA requires you to:

• Inform consumers about personal data processing through a clear and accessible privacy policy.
  
• Offer users ways to exercise their rights, such as to access, delete, and opt out of data sales.
  
• Respond to consumer requests within specific timeframes (45 days).
  
• Implement reasonable security measures to protect personal data. 

CCPA rights

CCPA grants California consumers important rights regarding their personal data, including the right to:

• Know what categories of personal information are being collected 
• Access the specific personal information collected 
• Request correction of outdated or inaccurate information
• Limit the use and disclosure of sensitive data
• Request deletion of their personal information 
• Opt out of the sale or sharing of their personal information 
• Non-discrimination for exercising CCPA rights 

Let’s say someone from California submits a form on your WordPress site, or their activity is tracked through cookies or analytics. That alone can trigger CCPA obligations.

The law applies if you collect personal information, such as names, email addresses, IP addresses, or user behaviour, from California residents. Compliance with CCPA assures your customers that you care about their privacy, and therefore boosts trust, loyalty and brand reputation.

Non-compliance fines can reach $7,500 per violation (§1798.155), not to mention the legal and reputational fallout.

Below are the key WordPress CCPA compliance requirements:

#1 Identify personal data 

Conduct data mapping to identify all the personal data, including any sensitive data that your website collects and stores, along with where they come from. 

Personal data means any information that can directly or indirectly identify a natural person. For example, Email addresses from sign-up pages, or Physical addresses during checkouts.

Sensitive data is high-risk personal data that could cause harm to a person if compromised. E.g.: health data, ethnicity, and precise geolocation.

#2 Publish a comprehensive privacy policy

A privacy policy is a legal document that informs consumers about your organisation’s data handling practices. Ensure that you keep it up-to-date and accessible on your WordPress site’s homepage, footer, or menu.

Your privacy policy must:

• Explain what categories of data you collect and their sources (e.g., cookies, contact forms, analytics)
  
• State why and how the data is used
  
• List third parties that data is shared with (e.g., Google Analytics, payment gateways, plugins)
  
• Categories of data shared or sold to third parties
  
• Describe consumer rights and methods to exercise them
  
• Include a “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link if applicable

#3 Provide a “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” link

If personal information is sold or shared, include a clear, conspicuous link labelled “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” on your homepage, landing pages, cookie banner, etc, leading to an easy opt-out mechanism.

#4 Display a cookie consent banner

Under the CCPA, cookies that share or sell user data (e.g., for analytics or advertising) are considered “personal information.”

 Your site must:

• Inform users at or before data collection
  
• Offer an opt-out for cookies used for “sale or sharing” of data
  
• Update consent settings dynamically.

Additionally, ensure that you recognise Universal opt-out signals from users.

#5 Enable consumer rights requests 

Your site must allow California consumers to submit requests to exercise CCPA rights, such as to access, delete, or opt out of the sale/sharing of their personal information. This can be in the form of a dedicated toll-free number, form or an email address. Provide at least 2 methods.

Respond to such consumer requests within 45 days.

#6 Secure personal data

Implement reasonable security measures to protect consumers’ personal information.

Some of the security measures include:

• HTTPS and SSL encryption;
  
• Regular plugin and theme updates
  
• Restricted user access and roles
  
• Use of security plugins
  
• Enable multi-factor authentication

#7 Contracts with third-party processors

If you use third-party plugins or services like Mailchimp, Stripe, or Google Ads, ensure you:

• have Data Processing Agreements (DPAs).
  
• Verify they meet CCPA standards for data handling.
  
• Only transfer the necessary data.

#8 Limit sensitive data use

If you process sensitive data, provide a “Limit the use of my sensitive personal information” link for users to request limiting its use or sharing.

Along with that, take necessary steps to respect user choices.

• Use WordPress CMP plugins like CookieYes to generate and manage CCPA-compliant cookie banners and policies.
• Add a “Do Not Sell My Information” link on the cookie banner, Cookie Notice & other conspicuous areas.
• Set up a data rights request form for easy consumer access.
• Audit your site’s data collection and third-party partners regularly to ensure ongoing compliance with CCPA regulations.
• Implement security measures to protect personal information.
• Only choose CCPA-compliant plugins for your dashboard.

CookieYes WordPress plugin has over 1.5 million installs and comes packed with features to help you meet CCPA requirements without needing to write code or hire legal experts.

Here’s how it helps:

• Geo-targeted cookie banners: Show CCPA-specific banners only to California visitors to reduce banner fatigue.
• “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link: Automatically add a CCPA-compliant opt-out link to your site.
• Privacy and cookie policy generators: Create legally sound policies tailored to your data practices.
• Cookie scanner: Automatically detect cookies used on your site and classify them into categories.
• Consent logs: Maintain records of user consent to demonstrate compliance during audits.

It also supports IAB TCF v2.2, Google Consent mode V2, and Microsoft UET consent mode.

Easy setup for WordPress

CookieYes offers a dedicated WordPress plugin, making it simple to install and configure in just a few clicks. No technical background? No problem. The plugin guides you through cookie scanning, banner setup, and policy creation, all from your WordPress dashboard.