Cookie Consent – GDPR & CCPA Cookie Banner & Consent Manager vs MaxtDesign Cookie Consent – Google Consent Mode v2

🍪 What Cookie Consent Does Scans your site for cookies. Cookie Consent detects cookies by loading your pages in a full headless browser (Chromium), the same way a real visitor experiences your site. This catches cookies set by JavaScript execution, third-party embeds, analytics snippets, and dynamically loaded content that simpler HTTP-based scanners often miss. Detected cookies are automatically categorized into Necessary, Analytics, Marketing, Functional, or Uncategorized. You can scan your homepage, crawl your full site, or specify custom URLs. Results merge into your cookie manager without overwriting any manual edits. Blocks scripts until consent is given. In GDPR (opt-in) mode, non-essential scripts don’t execute until the visitor consents to the relevant category. This applies to analytics scripts, advertising pixels, tracking tags, and any other third-party script that sets non-essential cookies. Cookie Consent intercepts both WordPress-enqueued scripts and inline scripts, modifying them to wait for consent before firing. Essential cookies, like those used for login sessions, shopping carts, and basic site functionality, are never blocked. In CCPA (opt-out) mode, scripts load by default and visitors can choose to opt out of specific categories. Displays a customizable consent banner. Visitors see a cookie banner with clear options to accept, reject, or manage preferences by category. The banner, preferences dialog, and revisit button are all customizable including layout, position, colors, text, button styles, and border radius. A live preview shows you what visitors will see as you make changes. Logs every consent decision. Each time a visitor makes a choice, Cookie Consent records the decision type (accept all, reject all, or custom), the specific category preferences, and a timestamp. These records create an audit trail you can reference if compliance questions arise. Keeps everything in one place. Cookie list, scan results, script rules, consent logs, banner design, and compliance settings, all in one admin area. No separate platform to sign up for, no external app to connect, no additional accounts to manage. ⚙️ Setup A guided wizard gets your banner live in three steps: 1. Choose your compliance model – Select GDPR (opt-in) or CCPA (opt-out) based on your audience and the regulations that apply to your site. 2. Configure your banner – Pick a layout, adjust colors and text, and preview what visitors will see. 3. Scan your site – Cookie Consent visits your pages with a real browser, finds active cookies, and categorizes them. Your banner goes live with accurate cookie data from the start. After setup, you can re-scan anytime, refine your design, recategorize cookies, and adjust script rules, all from the same dashboard. 🎨 Banner Design & Customization Banner Templates: Start with a pre-configured template during setup, then customize to fit your site. Templates are tailored to your selected compliance model (GDPR or CCPA) so the default structure, buttons, and consent flow match your requirements from the start. Layouts: Footer bar, slide-in, or center popup. Positioning: Control where and how the banner appears on the page. Styling: Background colors, text colors, button primary and secondary colors, border radius, and button sizing, enough control to match any brand or design. Content: Editable title, description, and button labels for the banner, preferences dialog, and revisit button. Write in your own voice. Preferences Dialog: When a visitor clicks Manage Preferences, they see a breakdown of each cookie category with descriptions and toggles. Necessary cookies are marked as always active. Visitors choose exactly which categories they\’re comfortable with. Revisit Consent Button: A persistent button visitors can click anytime to reopen the preferences dialog and change their choices. Responsive: Automatically adapts to desktop and mobile. Live Preview: Desktop and mobile preview with a device toggle. Updates in real time as you edit — no publishing and refreshing the front end. Elementor Editor Integration [Requires Elementor Pro]: Open the banner and preferences dialog in the Elementor visual editor. Drag-and-drop widgets, styling panels, and your full design system, the same workflow you use for the rest of your site. Cloud Templates [Requires Elementor Pro]: Save a finished banner design to your cloud library and deploy it across other sites in one click. Useful for agencies and freelancers managing multiple client sites with consistent branding. 📋 Cookie & Script Management Cookie Manager: A central dashboard showing every cookie on your site, organized by consent category. Each entry shows the cookie name, domain, category, duration, and a description field. Add cookies manually, edit any field, or delete entries you no longer need. Drag-and-drop cookies to reorder them within a category, the order you set here is the order visitors see in the preferences dialog. Category View: Categories display as expandable accordion sections: Necessary, Analytics, Marketing, Functional, and Uncategorized. Each shows a status badge: \”Always Active\” for Necessary, or an Active/Inactive toggle for other categories. Expand any section to see the individual cookies it contains. Scanning: Run a scan anytime with homepage only, full-site crawl, or custom URLs you specify. Include and exclude lists let you control exactly which pages get scanned. Only one scan runs at a time. New cookies are added automatically; existing manual edits are never overwritten. A progress indicator shows scan status in real time. Script Manager: Control how individual scripts behave, independent of their category\’s default rule. Three options per script: – Do Not Block – Script always loads, bypassing the consent engine. Use for scripts you\’ve verified as essential but that aren\’t automatically detected as Necessary. – Block Until Consent – Script waits until the visitor consents to its assigned category. This is the default for non-essential scripts in GDPR mode. – Always Block – Script never loads under any circumstances. Use for scripts you want permanently disabled. Script Input: Add scripts by URL or paste inline code directly. Cookie Consent matches scripts using URL comparison or normalized snippet hashing. Inline Script Blocking: An optional output buffering method catches inline and hardcoded scripts that aren\’t loaded through the standard enqueue system. Toggle it off from Advanced Settings if you want to manage inline scripts manually or minimize server-side processing. Developer Hooks: Advanced users and agencies can hook into the blocking engine via an MU-plugin snippet to delay dynamically injected scripts, including those created by page builders or loaded after DOM ready. Scan History: A table of past scans showing date (UTC), status (success/failed), URLs scanned, categories found, and total cookies detected. = 🔒 Compliance Settings= GDPR (Opt-in): Non-essential scripts are blocked by default. The banner presents three options: Accept All, Reject All, and Manage Preferences. Visitors who open the preferences dialog see each cookie category with a description and a toggle. Necessary cookies are labeled \”Always Active\” with no toggle, they can\’t be disabled. Consent must be given before Analytics, Marketing, or Functional scripts execute. CCPA (Opt-out): All scripts load by default. The banner includes a Do Not Sell My Data option. Visitors who opt out trigger blocking of Marketing category scripts. Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals sent by the visitor\’s browser are detected and respected automatically. Consent Expiration: Set how many days a visitor\’s choice is remembered (1–365 days, default 180). When the period expires, the banner reappears and the visitor is prompted to choose again. Until expiration, the previous choice is respected and the banner stays hidden. Banner Activation: A global toggle to enable or disable the cookie banner. 🎁 Free Features Everything you need for working cookie consent. – Guided 3-step setup wizard – GDPR (opt-in) and CCPA (opt-out) compliance models – Google Consent Mode v2 – Automatically send consent signals to Google so analytics and ad measurement continue working after consent is deployed – Cookie scanning with headless browser (Chromium) detection – Automatic categorization into Necessary, Analytics, Marketing, Functional, and Uncategorized – Automatic script blocking for non-essential cookies – Blocks both enqueued scripts and inline scripts – Global Privacy Control (GPC) and Do Not Sell support – Customizable consent banner with Accept All, Reject All, and Manage Preferences – Preferences dialog with per-category toggles and descriptions – Revisit consent button for visitors to update choices anytime – Banner templates tailored to GDPR and CCPA compliance models – Footer bar, slide-in, and center popup layouts – Full styling controls: colors, buttons, borders, sizing – Editable banner text, button labels, and dialog content – Responsive desktop and mobile design – Live banner preview with device toggle – Cookie manager with manual add/edit/delete and sorting – Script manager with per-script overrides (always load, block until consent, always block) – Consent logging with timestamped audit trail – Configurable consent expiration (1–365 days) – Scan history with status and results tracking – Output buffering toggle for inline script blocking – No external dashboards – No CDN dependencies 🔥 Premium Cookie Consent features available with Elementor One White-Label: Remove Cookie Consent branding from the consent banner entirely. Multilingual Translations: Translate the banner and preferences dialog into additional languages for international visitors. Consent Log Export: Download consent records in CSV format for audits, legal reviews, or internal documentation. Advanced Scan Rule Exclusions: Exclude specific paths or URLs from cookie scans. Useful for staging environments, admin areas, or sections that don\’t need scanning. Disable Banner on Specific Pages: Prevent the banner from loading on pages you select (e.g., internal dashboards, login screens). Elementor Editor Design [Requires Elementor Pro]: Open the cookie banner and preferences dialog in the full Elementor visual editor. Drag-and-drop layout, widget-level control, and live editing. Cloud Templates [Requires Elementor Pro]: Save banner designs to your cloud library and deploy them across multiple sites instantly. Google Tag Manager Integration [Premium] – Pass consent signals to your GTM container for tag-level consent control. Geo-Targeting [Premium] – Automatically display the correct banner based on visitor location. GDPR opt-in for EU visitors, CCPA opt-out for US visitors without manual configuration. Multi-Region Banner Management [Premium] – Configure and manage separate banner designs and compliance rules for different geographic regions from one dashboard. 🔜 Coming Soon Cookie Policy Generator – Auto-generate a cookie policy page based on the cookies detected on your site. Automatic and Scheduled Scans [Premium] – Set scans to run on a recurring schedule so your cookie list stays current without manual intervention. ♿ Accessibility The Cookie Consent consent banner is built following accessibility best practices. For full website accessibility compliance, Cookie Consent works alongside Ally, Elementor\’s accessibility plugin that scans for and remediates accessibility issues across your site. Installation Install using the WordPress built-in Plugin installer, or Extract the zip file and drop the contents in the wp-content/plugins/ directory of your WordPress installation. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress. External Services Cookie Consent requires a connection to an active Elementor account in order to: * Identify the user and provide the user with the purchased service. * Log website visitors consents for “proof of consent” * Preform an external scan of cookies generated by and on the website. * Collect manually submitted feedback, to improve the product. This connection is initiated manually by the user via the plugin’s settings panel. Learn more about our terms and conditionsand Privacy Policy. This plugin uses a 3rd party service operated by Elementor. Cookie Consent uses a 3rd party service operated by Mixpanel to collect interactions with the plugin but only for consenting users, meaning if the user has Not consented to “sharing data” (default) this is disabled and no collection is made.

The MaxtDesign Cookie Consent Manager That Actually Works Most WordPress consent plugins either don’t actually control tracking (they just show a form) or they’re so bloated they slow down your site significantly. MaxtDesign Cookie Consent is different: proper Google Consent Mode v2 implementation in under 10KB. Why This Plugin? For Site Owners: You need CCPA/GDPR compliance but don’t want to sacrifice site performance or deal with complex configuration. For Developers: You want clean, efficient code that follows WordPress standards and doesn’t conflict with other plugins. For Agencies: You manage multiple client sites and need a reliable, lightweight solution that just works. Key Features ✓ Actually Controls Tracking Unlike “checkbox theater” plugins that only show forms, this plugin properly implements Google Consent Mode v2, ensuring GA4 and Google Ads respect user choices. ✓ Blazing Fast (<10KB) Zero performance overhead. No database queries during page load. Pure localStorage-based consent management. ✓ Three Style Presets Choose from Minimal, Modern, or Bold popup styles. Customize colors to match your brand. ✓ Works Everywhere Compatible with any theme. Works with Elementor (optional). Mobile responsive. Accessibility compliant (WCAG 2.1 AA). ✓ Developer-Friendly Clean code following WordPress standards. Two shortcodes for easy integration. No jQuery dependency. Vanilla JavaScript. ✓ WP Consent API Ready Acts as a provider for the WordPress Consent API standard. With the free WP Consent API plugin active, your visitors’ choices are respected site-wide by WooCommerce and other consent-aware plugins automatically. ✓ Privacy-First No server-side user tracking. No external API calls. User consent stored locally. GDPR/CCPA compliant by design. What is Google Consent Mode v2? Google Consent Mode v2 (GCM v2) became mandatory in March 2024 for GA4 and Google Ads in the EU. It’s Google’s framework for managing user consent signals across their advertising and analytics products. This plugin implements all four required consent types: analytics_storage – Google Analytics cookies ad_storage – Advertising cookies ad_user_data – User data for advertising ad_personalization – Personalized advertising Without proper GCM v2 implementation, your GA4 and Google Ads tracking may be unreliable or non-compliant. How It Works Visitor arrives → Consent popup appears (customizable position, style, timing) User chooses → Three options: Accept All, Analytics Only, or Decline All Consent stored → User choice saved in localStorage (privacy-friendly, no server tracking) GCM signals updated → Google Analytics and Ads respect the user’s choice immediately No repeat popup → Cookie remembers they’ve seen popup (configurable duration) Popup Customization Style Presets: * Minimal – Clean and subtle * Modern – Rounded and polished * Bold – Strong and prominent Position Options: * Top banner * Bottom banner * Center modal Animation Options: * Slide in * Fade in * No animation Color Customization: Primary color picker to match your brand Shortcodes Display Current Status: [mdcc_consent_status] Shows consent chips: “Analytics: On/Off” and “Ads: On/Off” Manage Consent Interface: [mdcc_manage_consent title="Your Privacy Choices"] Full consent management with Accept/Analytics/Decline buttons and current status display. Both shortcodes update in real-time when consent changes. Optional Elementor Integration Prefer to use a custom Elementor popup? Simply enter your Elementor Popup ID in settings, and the plugin will use your custom popup instead while maintaining proper GCM v2 functionality. Technical Specifications Size: <10KB total (CSS + JS combined, gzipped) Performance: Zero database queries during page load Storage: localStorage-based (no server-side user tracking) Dependencies: None (vanilla JavaScript, no jQuery) Compatibility: WordPress 5.8+, PHP 7.4+ Standards: WCAG 2.1 AA accessible, mobile responsive Perfect For WordPress sites using GA4 or Google Ads CCPA/GDPR compliance requirements Performance-conscious developers Agency client sites needing scalable consent management Anyone tired of bloated consent plugins What This Plugin Doesn’t Do Not a cookie scanner – Doesn’t automatically detect all cookies on your site Not a full compliance suite – Focuses on consent management for Google tracking Not multi-platform tracking – Free version handles GA4/Ads only (Pro version coming with Facebook, Hotjar, etc.) For comprehensive cookie auditing and multi-platform tracking control, consider our Pro version (launching 2025). Coming in Pro Version Facebook Pixel control Hotjar tracking control LinkedIn Insight Tag TikTok Pixel Custom script control Consent analytics dashboard Geolocation-based prompts White-label mode for agencies Privacy Policy MaxtDesign Cookie Consent does not collect, store, or transmit any user data. All consent preferences are stored locally in the user’s browser using localStorage. No information is sent to external servers. However, this plugin manages consent for third-party services (Google Analytics, Google Ads). Those services have their own privacy policies: Google Analytics Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy Google Ads Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads It is your responsibility to include appropriate disclosures in your site’s privacy policy about the tracking services you use. Support For support, please use the WordPress.org support forum. Credits Developed by MaxtDesign – https://maxtdesign.com Special thanks to the WordPress community for feedback and testing.