Cookie Compliance for WordPress is a simple and customizable website banner that can help you meet the cookie consent requirements of the EU GDPR and CCPA regulations. It integrates seamlessly with the Cookie Compliance, a cutting-edge Consent Management Platform (CMP), to ensure that your website is up-to-date with the latest consent laws.

Get the plugin free from the WordPress.org plugin directory — 800,000+ active installs, rated 4.8 out of 5 from 3,025 ratings.

There are two common ways to add a cookie consent banner to WordPress. You can paste a script into your theme’s header, or you can install a plugin. On WordPress, use the plugin. This section shows how, step by step, and how to check that the banner holds trackers back until a visitor chooses.

Why a plugin rather than pasted code

A pasted script works on sites without a content management system (CMS). On WordPress it causes problems:

  • Two banners, two answers. If the plugin is also active, visitors can get two banners and two separate consent records.
  • Script order breaks easily. Caching and “combine JavaScript” tools can move or merge a pasted script. The plugin tells supported optimisers to leave its script alone.
  • You lose WordPress features. The plugin pulls your published settings, lets you control blocking from wp-admin, and works with the WP Consent API (see below).

The pasted snippet in the Cookie Compliance dashboard is for sites that do not run WordPress.

Before you start

  • A Cookie Compliance account, or create one from inside the plugin. The Free plan needs no card.
  • Permission to install plugins (or to network-activate them on multisite).
  • No other cookie banner. If your theme or another plugin already shows a consent popup, plan to remove it.

Step by step

  1. In wp-admin, go to Plugins → Add Plugin (Add New Plugin or Add New in older WordPress versions) and search for Cookie Compliance. Before installing, check that the result is Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA by Humanityco, and that its WordPress.org address ends in /plugins/cookie-notice/. Install and activate it.
  2. Open the plugin’s screen, Compliance. On the Overview tab, click Connect Your Site →, then follow the steps and create an account or sign in. The plugin finds or creates this site’s app in your account and connects it for you. If your account has apps but none for this site, the plugin (3.1.13 or later) asks which app to use.
  3. Alternative: connect with keys. If you already have an app, or are reconnecting, enter its App ID and App Secret Key in the Domain Info card and click Connect Your Site there. Find them in the dashboard under Integrations → WordPress Integration. Plugin 3.1.12 and earlier call the key App Key. Treat it like a password.
  4. After changing settings in the Cookie Compliance dashboard, click Publish Now. Published changes normally reach a connected site within seconds, because our server tells the plugin to fetch them again. The plugin also refreshes when you open its admin screen, when you click Pull latest settings in the Domain Info card, and on a twice-daily schedule as a fallback.
  5. Leave your analytics plugins alone. You do not need to remove Site Kit, MonsterInsights or similar plugins “to make consent work”. The banner holds recognised trackers until the visitor chooses, in regions that require consent first.
  6. Remove any other cookie popup or consent tool still on the site.

What the plugin controls

Two blocking switches. In Compliance → Cookie Consent there are two switches (plugin 3.1.10 and later):

  • Script blocking engine — the master switch. If it is off, nothing is blocked for any visitor.
  • Autoblocking — holds matching third-party scripts until the visitor chooses, where the region requires it. If it is off, scripts load straight away and the visitor’s choice is applied afterwards.

Both are on by default for connected sites. If trackers fire before consent, check the engine first.

Plugins that read the visitor’s choice. The plugin registers as the consent tool for the free WP Consent API plugin. With that plugin active, cooperating plugins read the visitor’s choice and gate themselves. Our documentation lists WooCommerce, Google Site Kit, Burst Statistics, WP Statistics, Pixel Manager for WooCommerce, AddToAny Share Buttons and AFL UTM Tracker. Other recognised scripts are still covered by blocking.

Caching and optimisation plugins

The plugin tells a number of optimisers not to defer, delay or combine its script, including Autoptimize, Breeze, Hummingbird, LiteSpeed Cache, Speed Optimizer and WP Rocket. See Caching plugin compatibility for the current list. With Caching compatibility switched on (the default for new installs), it also clears the page cache of supported caching plugins when banner settings change.

After a change, still clear any plugin, host or CDN cache yourself if the site shows old settings. If you use an optimiser that is not supported, exclude the banner script from defer, delay and combine yourself.

Multisite

You can network-activate the plugin. By default, each site in the network keeps its own settings and its own App ID. Some network-wide settings need network admin rights. A site admin without those rights cannot change them.

Check it works

Test as a visitor, not as an admin. The plugin does not block scripts for users who can manage the banner (administrators, by default), so use a private window while logged out.

  1. View the page source. The banner scripts should be near the top of <head>, added by the plugin. There should be no second, hand-pasted huOptions block.
  2. Check the connection. In the plugin, the Domain Info card should show Protection: Active, not Not connected.
  3. Before you click anything, your browser’s developer tools should show no tracking cookies such as _ga or _fbp.
  4. After you accept, those trackers should start.

For the full check, see How to test whether your cookie banner really blocks trackers.

Plans

The plugin is free. Connected to a Free Cookie Compliance plan, blocking works up to the Free plan’s visit limit (see Pricing). Each page view where the banner loads counts as a visit. Once a site passes that limit for the current 30-day cycle, blocking stops and consent records are no longer saved to our server until the next cycle. The banner still shows, and each visitor’s choice is still stored in their browser. The Professional plan has no visit limit.

Installing the plugin does not by itself make a site compliant with any law. Depending on your settings and plan, it shows the choice, holds recognised scripts and keeps consent records. Which rules apply to your site is your decision.

Cookie Compliance is an innovative solution that provides automated compliance features and advanced design controls. It is the first to offer Intentional Consent, a framework that incorporates the most recent guidelines from over 100 countries and international organizations such as the IEEE and European Center for Digital Rights. Cookie Compliance presents a user-friendly, multi-level experience and offers new options and controls to help site visitors understand and participate in data privacy decisions.

Cookie Compliance web application provides a more ethical and proactive approach to capturing and managing consent. This early version of the Intentional Consent framework is the result of Hu-manity.co’s collaboration with leading Fortune 500 companies, governments, and standards organizations. We believe that the current unequal relationship between consumers and corporations regarding data privacy and consent online is unsustainable. By making this application available to all website owners and operators we aim to eliminate the dark patterns in online consent.

Cookie Compliance for WordPress (plugin on its own)

On its own, Cookie Compliance for WordPress offers a customizable website banner that makes it easier for you to meet the cookie consent requirements. It includes the following features:

Banner features:

  • Customizable notice message
  • Consent on click or scroll (both optional); closing the notice counts as a refusal
  • Multiple cookie expiry options
  • Link to Privacy Policy page
  • WordPress Privacy Policy page synchronization
  • WPML and Polylang compatible
  • SEO friendly

Cookie Compliance (WordPress plugin + web application)

Cookie Compliance - Dashboard overview

By connecting Cookie Compliance for WordPress to the Cookie Compliance Consent Management Platform (CMP) web application you get access to the most current formatting guidelines and technical compliance requirements for over 100 countries and legal jurisdictions. The Cookie Compliance banner features include:

Banner features:

  • Intentional Consent provides 3 equal buttons to give site visitors the ability to accept none, some, or all cookies through packaged choices called Data Access Levels. Data Access Levels improve consent conversion and eliminate the dark pattern of deceptive, non-equal choices in the first layer. Complies with equal choice principle prescribed under GDPR and other data protection laws.
  • Consent duration selector gives visitor control over how long their consent remains valid for your site. Enables your site to align with recent guidelines from EU Data Protection Authorities, which state that cookie consent should be valid for no longer than a period of 6 months.
  • Cookie purpose categories make it easy for website visitors to customize their consent by category. Complies with affirmative, opt-in consent requirements prescribed under GDPR and other data protection laws.
  • Consent metrics displays the visitor’s consent record and a list of blocked / allowed 3rd parties directly in the expanded level of the banner. Complies with latest guidance from EU Data Protection Authorities like CNIL (France) and ICO (UK).
  • Customizable Privacy Paper provides helpful information to improve visitor comprehension and understanding of the data sharing risks and benefits. Allows you to summarize core components of your sites privacy notice and aligns with the informed principle prescribed by GDPR rules for valid consent capture.
  • Configurable Privacy Contact allows you to provide contact information for a business’ data privacy admin, as well as helpful links to data subject request forms and other data privacy resources. Aligns with the informed principle prescribed by GDPR rules for valid consent capture.

Web Application features:

  • Consent analytics dashboard shows event data for number of visits and provides a “trust score” to help you track how site visitors are setting their consent. Make adjustments to your banner to improve your cookie acceptance rate and monitor progress via the consent activity graph.
  • Default configurations for GDPR, CCPA and more help to remove dark patterns and allow for quick and easy deployment of the consent banner without any guesswork. Customize the design of any default configuration to match the look and feel of your site.
  • Automatic script blocking blocks all non-essential cookie scripts and iFrames by default and complies with valid consent rules under GDPR and other data protection laws; in order to be compliant, your site must record visitor consent before setting or sending cookies.
  • Consent record storage automatically stores a record of each consent and makes these records available for export (on the Free plan, records stop once the site passes its visit limit for the current cycle, and the dashboard shows and exports a 7-day log history). Complies with proof-of-consent requirements prescribed under GDPR and other data protection laws.
  • Multilingual support automatically translates all banner text strings and allows you to provide custom translations for every text field to ensure visitors get a consistent consent experience.
  • Multidomain management allows you to manage additional Free or Professional domains under a single account and enables you to customize banner configuration and design for each domain independently.

Cookie Compliance proactive approach:

For all businesses, the resources required to stay ahead of the latest regulations increases with the passage of each new law. With enforcement of compliance violations increasing daily, we believe it is critical for us as a trusted consent vendor to do everything in our power to help you stay ahead of these laws and remove the risk to your business.

Cookie Compliance covers all current and upcoming regulations:

  • GDPR (EU)
  • ePrivacy Directive (EU)
  • ePrivacy Regulation (EU)
  • PECR (UK)
  • LGPD (Brazil)
  • PIPEDA (Canada)
  • PDPB (India)
  • CCPA (California, US)
  • VCDPA (Virginia, US)
  • Colorado Privacy Act (US)
  • CPRA (California, US)

Cookie Compliance incorporates all recent formatting guidance:

  • European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS)
  • ICO (United Kingdom)
  • CNIL (France)
  • GPDP (Italy)
  • BfDl (Germany)
  • AEPD (Spain)
  • European Center for Digital Rights (noyb.eu)

FAQ

Is “Cookie Notice” the same plugin as Cookie Compliance for WordPress?

Yes. The plugin’s WordPress.org address still uses its earlier name, cookie-notice. The current name is Cookie Compliance for WordPress.

Can I paste the banner code into my theme instead?

On WordPress, use the plugin. A pasted snippet next to the plugin gives visitors two banners. Without the plugin you lose its settings sync, blocking controls and WP Consent API support.

Do I need an account to use the plugin?

To get blocking, consent records and the dashboard, you connect the plugin to a Cookie Compliance account. The Free plan needs no card.

Does testing as an administrator show real blocking behaviour?

No. The plugin does not block scripts for users who can manage the banner (administrators, by default), so trackers can run for you even when they are held for visitors. Test in a private window while logged out.