Cookie banners are an unavoidable part of our web browsing experience these days. As much as we hate them as users, site owners need them to not only demonstrate to visitors that they have privacy options and to build trust, but to make sure they are complying with a variety of laws.
It’s a tricky world because the average site owner is not a lawyer but it feels like we have to become one to understand what is required of us.
You might think that your site doesn’t require a cookie plugin, but the vast majority will. Common features like Google Analytics (pretty much any Google product in fact), Facebook tracking pixels and more all indicate the need for cookie consent. This article does a good job of breaking this down in more detail. And PrivacyChecker has some useful articles on their blog.
There are so many options for WordPress plugins that manage cookie consent. Many are freemium, meaning there is a free version with paid upgrades, but I know most site owners, especially of smaller non-monetized sites, won’t want to add yet another subscription to their website maintenance costs.
I’ve tested many of the available plugins and and found that there’s only a few free options worth looking at, along with a couple of Premium.
