GDPR Cookie Consent: A Practical Guide
The GDPR requires websites to obtain informed consent before setting non-essential cookies. Here's what you need to know and how to implement it with our free generator.
⚖️ What GDPR Requires
📋 Informed Consent
Users must know what cookies you set and why before they consent.
✋ Opt-in, Not Opt-out
Pre-ticked boxes are not valid. Consent must be an affirmative action.
🗂️ Granular Consent
Users should be able to accept some cookies and reject others.
🚫 Easy Withdrawal
It must be as easy to withdraw consent as it was to give it.
🛠️ Essential vs Non-Essential Cookies
| Cookie Type | Consent Required? | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Strictly Necessary | ✅ No consent needed | Session cookies, CSRF tokens, shopping cart |
| Analytics | ⚠️ Consent required | Google Analytics, Plausible, Matomo |
| Marketing / Ads | ⚠️ Consent required | Facebook Pixel, Google Ads, retargeting |
| Preferences | ⚠️ Consent required | Language, theme, font size cookies |
🚀 Quick Implementation
- Generate your banner — use our free generator to customize text, colors, and position.
- Copy the HTML — the generator gives you ready-to-paste HTML+CSS+JS.
- Paste in your site — add it just before
</body>on every page. - Test — open in incognito mode, verify the banner appears and buttons work.