{"id":3713,"date":"2016-12-19T10:41:44","date_gmt":"2016-12-19T08:41:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themeisle.com\/blog\/?p=3713"},"modified":"2022-04-19T16:24:37","modified_gmt":"2022-04-19T13:24:37","slug":"eu-cookie-consents-wordpress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themeisle.com\/blog\/eu-cookie-consents-wordpress\/","title":{"rendered":"EU Cookie Consents: What They Are, and How to Implement Them in WordPress"},"content":{"rendered":"

A lot of WordPress users probably aren’t aware\u00a0of what EU cookie consents are, and whether they need to display them or not. However, if your site operates out of the European Union (EU) or has a customer base there, cookie consents are something you definitely need to learn about. Simply put, you could be breaking the law if you don’t implement them.<\/p>\n

By default<\/a>, WordPress sites use cookies<\/a> to collect user data. Cookie consents provide your visitors and clients with the opportunity to protect their privacy, by either opting in or out of\u00a0storing them. By offering a cookie consent, you’re not only keeping on the right side of the law, you’re also showing the visitor you care about their privacy.<\/p>\n

In this post, we’ll dive into the process of implementing cookie consents using a plugin. However, before that, let’s take a few minutes to talk about the Cookie Law itself.<\/p>\n

The EU Cookie Law explained<\/h2>\n

The Cookie Law<\/a> came to life as an EU Directive in 2011. It was designed to protect a user’s online privacy by requiring websites to provide them\u00a0with the option to refuse the use of cookies.<\/p>\n

The cookies themselves\u00a0usually include only superficial data, such as login and session details, and other information sites can use to tailor their experience to you. Cookies aren’t dangerous per se, but the directive seeks to protect users who\u00a0may not be fully aware of their existence, or those who don’t feel comfortable with online services leveraging the\u00a0information collected.<\/p>\n

At its core, the directive states that all businesses in the EU\u00a0\u2013\u00a0as well as any international companies that serve EU customers online\u00a0\u2013 need to implement cookie consents. However, in practice, each member country is free to implement the law with different requirements<\/a>. Generally speaking, there are two\u00a0important criteria your EU cookie consent needs to meet to be legal:<\/p>\n

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  1. Inform users of what cookies you use and what their purpose is.<\/li>\n
  2. Offer\u00a0users to opt in or out of using cookies on your site.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Pretty straightforward, right? Now let’s talk about how to implement them using WordPress.<\/p>\n

    How to implement EU cookie consents in WordPress<\/h2>\n

    As we mentioned,\u00a0informing users about which types of cookies you’re using is important for your site to be law-abiding. While WordPress uses cookies by default, most people have no idea what kinds\u00a0of cookies it uses. The WordPress Codex\u00a0offers a helpful guide<\/a>, and you’ll need to reference it when\u00a0implementing your own EU cookie consents.<\/p>\n

    Let’s now take a look at the process, starting with the plugin you’ll use.<\/p>\n

    Introducing the Cookie Notice by dFactory plugin<\/h3>\n