How to Install and Setup GDPR Cookie Consent Plugin
Last updated on June 7, 2024
Overview
The GDPR Cookie Consent Plugin helps website owners comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other data privacy laws. It provides a customizable cookie consent banner that ensures transparency by informing visitors about cookie usage and granting them the ability to accept or reject non-essential cookies. This empowers visitors to make informed choices regarding their privacy preferences on your website.
This setup guide offers a thorough overview of installing and configuring the GDPR Cookie Consent Plugin effectively, maintaining compliance with GDPR guidelines and ensuring a positive user experience.
The plugin requires a minimum of WordPress version 5 or above.
Get Started
To begin, install and activate the GDPR Cookie Consent Plugin on your website.
After successfully activating the plugin, your website will display a basic consent banner immediately. This banner comes preconfigured with a set of default settings suitable for most websites.
Setup And Customisation
The default settings provided upon activation offer a solid foundation for cookie consent management. The default settings provided upon activation offer a solid foundation for cookie consent management. Customising the plugin allows you to tailor the consent banner and cookie settings to your website’s unique requirements. Adjust the appearance of the banner to match your site’s branding. Fine-tune the cookie preferences to align with your data collection practices. This section will guide you through the process step by step.
To customise the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and tailor it to your website’s specific requirements, follow the below steps:
Settings
To customize the main elements of the Cookie banner, go to WordPress admin > GDPR Cookie Consent > Settings.
There are different tabs to customize the cookie banner.
- Enable cookie bar: (On/Off) This option enables or disables the display of the cookie bar on the front end of your website. By default, the plugin enables the cookie bar.
- Select the type of law: (GDPR / CCPA / GDPR & CCPA) Choose the type of law to show the respective Cookie Consent Notice Bar.
- Auto-hide(Accept) cookie bar after delay?: (Yes/No) If enabled and configured, you can set a time limit to assume user acceptance if they remain on the webpage for the specified duration of time. You should configure the time in Milliseconds.
- Auto-hide cookie bar if the user scrolls (Accept on Scroll)?: (Yes/No)This option allows automatic acceptance of the cookie bar when the user scrolls through the webpage. Enabling this feature hides the cookie bar as the user starts scrolling.
Other
- Reload after “scroll accept” event?: (Yes/No) Enabling this option causes the webpage to reload automatically upon user scrolling to accept consent.
- Reload after Accept button click: (Yes/No) Enabling this option causes the webpage to reload automatically upon the user clicking the Accept button.
- Reload after Reject button click: (Yes/No) Enabling this option causes the webpage to reload automatically upon the user clicking the Reject button.
To customise the cookie bar appearance and content to suit your website, navigate to GDPR Cookie Consent > Settings > Customise cookie bar.
Cookie bar
- Message Heading: Enter a suitable message title for the cookie bar. If not needed, you may leave it blank.
- Message: Edit/change the content of the message; the text field contains the default message for the cookie banner. It accepts basic HTML tags and other shortcodes, enabling customization for elements like the Accept button, Reject button, etc.
- Cookie Bar Colour: (Colour palette/HEX code) Select the colour for the cookie bar.
- Text Colour: (Colour palette/HEX code) Select the colour for the text in the cookie bar.
- Font: The font style of text that appears in the cookie bar.
- Show cookie bar as: (Banner/Popup/Widget) Select the layout for your cookie bar.
- Banner: The banner option offers two available positions: at the header or footer of the webpage.
- Popup: This option displays the cookie bar message as a popup. You can configure an overlay with the popup, preventing users from browsing the website until they grant consent.
- Widget: The widget option offers two positions: on the left or right side of the webpage.
- Banner: The banner option offers two available positions: at the header or footer of the webpage.
- On load: (Animate/Sticky) Specifies how the notification keeps it upon loading the website.
- On hide: (Animate/Sticky) Specifies how the notification fades away from the website.
Revisit Consent
The Revisit Consent feature allows the user to review, modify, or revoke their previously granted consent preferences. This feature ensures transparency and fosters trust by allowing users to manage their privacy choices actively.
The below mentioned options are available under the Revisit Consent feature:
- Enable revisit consent widget: (checkbox) Enabling this option displays a small privacy widget at the footer of your website, which remains fixed as the user scrolls the page. Alternatively, you can manually add the widget by inserting the shortcode [wt_cli_manage_consent] into your website.
- Tab Position: (Left/Right) Choose the position of the widget.
- From Left Margin/From Right Margin: (textbox) Enter a value in pixels or percentages to specify the distance from the respective margin, allowing you to position the widget on the left or right side of the webpage.
- Text on the widget: (textbox) Enter the text you want to display on the revisit consent widget. By default, the keyword “Manage consent” is the widget name.
To customize the links and buttons of the Cookie bar, navigate to the Go to GDPR Cookie Consent > Settings > Customise Buttons. From there, you can adjust colors and styles and choose to display them as links or buttons.
The Accept, Accept All, Reject and Setting Button tabs include these fields:
- Text: (Text) Enter the name to display on the button.
- Text Color: (Colour palette/HEX code) Choose the colour for the text.
- Show as: (Button/Link) Choose whether the shortcode should display as a button or link.
- Background Colour: (Colour palette/HEX code) If the shortcode to appear is selected as a button, this option will become available. Choose the colour for the button.
- Action: Choose the action against the button/link. The Close Header option closes the cookie bar upon user action. The Open URL option opens the specified URL in a new or existing window, as appropriate.
- Size: Choose the preferred button size from the drop-down menu: Extra Large, Large, Medium or Small.
The Read More link directs users to the website’s Privacy & Cookie Policy page. Additional fields for customizing the Read More link beyond the standard options include the following:
- URL or Page?: Choose Page or URL to specify where users should be redirected if they click the Read More link.
If selecting URL, enter the specific URL into the designated text box. If opting for Page, choose a page from the dropdown list of available pages on the website to redirect users.
- Hide cookie bar in this page/URL: (Yes/No) Choose Yes to prevent the cookie bar from being displayed on that page.
- Open in new window?: (Yes/No) Choose Yes to open the page/URL in a new window.
For the plugin’s Advanced Settings, navigate to GDPR Cookie Consent > Settings >Advanced. The advanced tab contains these options:
- Reset Settings: The Delete settings and reset button will restore the plugin to its default state, removing all customised settings. This action switches you to the new and improved user interface and this is irreversible.
- Advanced script rendering: (Enable/Disable) Enabling this option renders blocked scripts using JavaScript, eliminating the need for a page refresh. The plugin optimizes caching, removing the need for server-side processing after obtaining consent.
- Delete site data from CookieYes: This button will delete all your data from CookieYes account.
After finishing, click the Update Settings button to save the customizations made in the cookie bar.
The Help Guide tab contains two sections: Shortcodes and Help Links.
Shortcode
Shortcodes are used to insert cookie banner elements into website pages or posts. To add shortcodes inside a template file, use the ‘do_shortcode’ function.
For detailed instructions, refer to the documentation on shortcodes.
Help Link
This section contains links to resources related to the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin.
Cookie List
In the Cookie List section, you can customize the cookie settings by adding and editing cookies under different cookie categories.
How to add and edit cookies manually in the cookie list?
To add a cookie manually, follow these steps:
- Navigate to GDPR Cookie Consent > Cookie List.
- Click the Add New button.
- Enter these fields:
- Cookie Title: Enter the title of the cookie. This field is designated for audit purposes, allowing you to input the cookie name in a user-friendly format.
- Cookie description: Enter the description of the cookie to explain its purpose, functionality, data collection and other relevant details.
- Cookie Category: Enter the cookie category to which the cookie belongs.
- Cookie ID: Add the name of the cookie.
- Cookie Type: Enter the type of the cookie. There are three types of cookies: persistent, session, and third-party. Persistent cookies remain even after the browser is closed. Session cookies expire at the end of the browsing session. Third-party cookies are installed by third-party services used on the website.
- Cookie Duration: The time duration the cookies will be active on the browser.
- Cookie Sensitivity: Enter the sensitivity of the cookie: necessary and non-necessary. Necessary cookies are essential for the website to function properly, and users cannot disable them. Non-necessary cookies require scripts to be added to the plugin and users have the option to enable or disable them.
- Click the Publish button.
To edit the existing cookie:
- Click the Edit button.
- Make your desired modifications.
- Click the Publish button.
Cookie Category
In the cookie category section, you can customize the cookie settings by adding and editing cookies under different cookie categories. You can turn the cookies on or off in the user’s browser based on the category.
How to add and edit the cookies category in the cookie list?
To add a new cookie category manually, follow these steps:
- Navigate to GDPR Cookie Consent > Cookie Category.
- Enter these fields under the Add cookie category:
- Name: Enter the name of the cookie category, which will appear on the cookie bar.
- Slug: Enter a URL-friendly version of the category name. It typically consists of all lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens.
- Description: Enter the description of the cookie category. Explain its purpose, functionality and other relevant details.
- Category default state: (Enable/Disable) If you enable this option, the category toggle button will be set to active for cookie consent.
- Head scripts/Body Script: Enter the scripts related to the cookies that have been added to this category. If you add scripts in the Head Scripts field, they will be rendered in the head of the website upon user consent. Alternatively, if you add scripts in the Body Scripts field, they will be rendered in the body of the website.
- Name: Enter the name of the cookie category, which will appear on the cookie bar.
- Click the Add cookie category button.
To edit the existing cookie category:
- Click the Edit button.
- Make your desired modifications.
- Click the Update button.
Cookie Scanner
The GDPR Cookie Consent plugin enables you to connect with a free CookieYes account and initiate scanning of your website for cookies. To scan your website, follow the below steps:
- Navigate to the GDPR Cookie Consent > Cookie Scanner.
- Click on the Connect & Scan button.
- Existing users of CookieYes can enter their username and password.
New users will automatically connect with CookieYes. After a successful connection, you can start the scanning process. - Click on the Scan website for cookies button to begin the scanning.
The scanning commences. It may take a few minutes to a few hours. Depends on number of pages to scan and website speed.
You can navigate to other screens while scanning is ongoing. If needed, you can abort the scan at any time by clicking the Abort scan button. - After completing the scan, you can view all the scanned cookies and URLs in the Scan results. The results will be displayed as follows:
From here, you can add the scanned cookies to the cookie list and perform the scan again.
Policy Generator
The Policy Generator feature streamlines the process of creating content for your privacy and cookie policy pages. To generate your customized cookie policy, navigate to the GDPR Cookie Consent > Policy Generator. The Policy Generator helps create a dedicated page for your cookie policy, outlining these details:
- Overview of the Cookie Policy
- Explanation of cookies
- Usage of cookies
- Types of cookies utilized
- Options for managing cookie preferences
You will receive a live preview of the cookie policy. Choose to create a new cookie policy page or update the existing one.
Once a new policy page is created, you can publish it to make it available on your store.
Script Blocker
With the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, you can automatically block scripts associated with cookies on your website. The script blocker provides a list of supported services and plugins for automatic blocking. The services/plugins are enabled by default to be blocked on the front end of your website until user consent is obtained and they are rendered accordingly based on consent.
Four plugins are currently supported for auto-blocking:
- Official Facebook Pixel
- Smash Balloon Instagram Feed
- Smash Balloon Twitter Feed
- Google Analytics for WordPress by MonsterInsights
Inactive plugins are those that are not installed or activated on your website. Enabled plugins are automatically blocked on the front end of your website until user consent is obtained and are rendered accordingly based on consent.
To disable automatic script blocking for any of these plugins, simply toggle the button next to the respective plugin.
Privacy Overview
The GDPR Cookie Consent plugin allows you to customize the Privacy Overview displayed on the second layer of the cookie bar.
To customize the Privacy Overview, navigate to the GDPR Cookie Consent > Privacy Overview.
You can customize the text displayed on the cookie settings popup window from this section. Begin by setting a suitable title for the Privacy Overview Title field, which will serve as the header. Then, in the body section, you can input the content that will appear below the title. While default content is provided, you have the flexibility to edit and modify it to your requirements.