Top 5 Cookie Consent Banner Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)

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Top 5 Cookie Consent Banner Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)

Summary

While privacy laws such as GDPR and CCPA have become stringent, a simple cookie banner just does not get the job done. You need a banner that actively asks for consent, logs consent decisions, and stores them for audits. 

Additionally,  geotargeting to meet specific region-based regulations is highly crucial. Avoiding ambiguous language or confusing design should also be avoided. 

We have listed some of the most common cookie consent mistakes that could cause your website’s downfall if you don’t comply soon enough. Websites should use consent management platforms such as WPLP Compliance Platform and rectify these mistakes. 

Could a tiny mistake in your cookie banner cost you millions in penalties?

As we enter the digital-first age, privacy laws like GDPR, CCPA, and ePrivacy Directive have started becoming more stringent. Your cookie banner is no longer just a formality, but a legal requirement.

Nevertheless, even websites that have banners in place are not immune. Even a single cookie banner error could nullify your compliance efforts and result in a penalty. 

Multiple issues like unclear language, design manipulations, and dark patterns can cause you to lose your customers’ trust and attract scrutiny from regulators.

That’s why it is super important to get it right! In this blog, we explore the various common consent banner errors made by website owners and ways to rectify them. We provide straightforward solutions to ensure your website’s compliance and trustworthiness.

So let’s dive right in!

Table Of Contents

In today’s era, compliance has become extremely crucial. Regulators are keeping an eye on “dark patterns”, that is, deceptive design tricks that users fall prey to, and allow their data to be tracked.

Recently, Sweden’s IMY issued formal warnings against major companies for misleading consent interfaces. This clearly indicates the shift from just following the rules to focusing on how users experience consent.

Today, consent must be freely given, specific, informed, and clear, highlighting user choice and transparency.

A study from earlier this year revealed that only 15% of the top websites fully meet the current consent laws. This is a widespread issue that can be easily avoided by using consent management platforms. 

Cookie consent banner mistakes

1. No easy “Reject All” option

A lot of websites make the “Accept All” button clearly visible by adding colours and highlights to it, while the “Reject All” button is nowhere to be found or is confusing to find and requires several clicks.

Mistake #1

Regulators have fined companies for such cookie consent mistakes, as it clearly goes against laws such as GDPR, CCPA, etc. They state that users should be able to reject cookies as easily as they can accept them.

To be compliant, you must ensure both “Accept All” and “Reject All” buttons are clearly visible and easy to find. Use similar colours and typography.

To do this, you can use the WPLP Compliance Platform, designed to help you stay compliant with all the privacy laws by just answering a few questions. You can generate highly compliant cookie banners in a few clicks.

In 2022, the CNIL (French regulators) fined Google and Meta a combined €210 million, as it was too difficult for users to reject cookies, according to The Guardian. They provided a single ‘Accept All’ button, but hid ‘Reject All’ behind multiple steps.

Most websites load non-essential cookies (like those used for analytics or ads) as soon as the page is loaded. The data is collected even before the users have had a chance to give their consent.

This makes websites non-compliant with the major privacy laws, which require consent to be given before cookies are set. Companies risk heavy fines for this practice and can also be subjected to legal action.

In 2023, the CNIL (French Regulators) fined Amazon and Google €135 million combined for automatically firing advertising cookies on users’ devices as soon as they visited the sites, without any user consent. This was a clear violation of the French Data Protection Act, according to The Hindu.

To avoid this, you must use a consent management platform, such as WPLP Compliance Platform, which helps you follow all the guidelines in just a few clicks. 

It identifies all cookies on your site, categorises them, and automatically prevents them from firing unless the user has given their permission.

3. Using Confusing Language or “Dark Pattern” Design

Mistake #3

Some banners use overly technical or vague language that doesn’t clearly state why the cookies are being used and what will be done with the data collected. Using phrases like ‘I understand’ instead of ‘I accept’ can mislead users.

Vague and confusing language can invalidate consent and, in turn, lead to non-compliance, causing heavy penalties and legal actions. Organisations also use dense legal language to confuse and manipulate users into accepting.

To prevent this cookie consent mistake, use simple, clear language that straightforwardly explains the need for cookies. Provide a link to a detailed cookie policy for more information. 

WPLP Compliance Platform plugin provides you with over 30 legal templates that enable you to stay compliant with laws such as GDPR, CCPA, and more.

Consent logging is crucial for website owners as it is a record of which user has given what kind of consent. 

Many businesses have a cookie banner, but not a proper consent logging system. Without a detailed record, you can’t prove consent was given, making you susceptible to fines and penalties.

To fix this, you should consider implementing a system that records every consent ever given, including the date and time.

The WPLP Compliance Platform plugin enables you to easily log every consent, making it easy to export records for audits and prove compliance. 

Many websites generate a single cookie banner, but fail to consider the legal requirements in various geographical regions. For instance, Europe requires an “opt-in” consent, whereas many U.S. states follow an “opt-out” model. 

Not targeting your banner based on location can lead to heavy non-compliance issues. If a European visitor sees an opt-out banner meant for U.S. users, it violates GDPR.

Your consent banner should automatically detect your user’s location and show the user a consent banner meant for their region. 

For instance, a person from the Netherlands should see an ‘opt-in’ banner, whereas a person sitting in California should see a “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information link.”

WPLP Compliance Platform boasts geo-targeting features that adjust banner settings according to the user’s region, ensuring compliance with local laws. You don’t even need a lawyer to start.

In 2022, California’s regulators fined Sephora $1.2 million as it was found selling user data without knowledge and did not honour opt-out requests of users from California. It failed to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act, according to Wiley.

Now that you know what the most common cookie consent mistakes are, you can easily fix them and stay compliant.

It is vital to maintain a compliant website to build user trust and data transparency, and also safeguard yourself from penalties and legal actions. 

Best Practices for a compliant website

Best Practices

To have a compliant website, follow these best practices:

  • Accessibility: You must ensure that your banner is easily accessible to all, and especially users with disabilities, by following the WCAG standards.
  • Mobile-first design: Ensure that your consent banner is displayed correctly on all devices and screen sizes, especially on mobile devices.
  • Regular Updates: You must regularly update your theme, plugins, and most importantly, your consent management platform (CMP). This helps to address new security threats and comply with legal amendments and updates.
  • Multilingual Support: If you have a website that caters to audiences from multiple regions, you must offer consent banners and policies in various languages. Additionally, it should automatically detect the user’s region and show the consent banner in the regional language.

Troubleshooting

  1. Symptom: When the consent banner shows up, but analytical data continues to be collected even before users reject cookies.

Diagnosis: It indicates that your scripts are not being blocked in the right way, mostly due to not being able to obtain consent previously.

Solution: A solution for this issue is to use a strong CMP that automatically scans and blocks all non-essential scripts. One such compliance platform is the WPLP Compliance platform, which has settings such as Script Blocking and Whitelabel script that enable you to be compliant with the privacy laws.

  1. Symptom: You get an enquiry asking for proof of consent

Diagnosis: You do not have a proper system set in place to efficiently log all consent and maintain an audit trail.

Solution: Use a consent management platform that generates a detailed and exportable log of consent. WPLP Compliance Platform lets you collect the consent decisions and keep a structured log of them. You can also export this file for audits or proof of consent.

To maintain a secure and compliant website, you should consider using a trusted consent management platform. Website owners largely use and highly trust the WPLP Compliance Platform plugin.

WPLP Compliance Platform: Effortless Fixes for Every Issue

WPLP Compliance Platform

The WPLP Compliance Platform is devised to keep your websites compliant with all the major privacy laws and prevent all the cookie consent mistakes mentioned in this blog. 

You can add a cookie consent banner or a cookie pop-up to your website using the Cookie Consent Management feature in the plugin. You can choose from nine fully customisable cookie consent templates according to your needs, in the form of cookie consent banners, pop-ups, or inline notices.

cookie banner

This is a cookie consent banner made using WPLP Compliance Platform.

Additionally, it is loaded with features such as cookie categorisation, consent audits, support for Google Consent Mode v2, and geo-targeted banners. It is also IAB TCF 2.2 compliant to promote transparency and avoid penalties.

The plugin provides 30+ pre-built legal templates such as Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, Terms and Conditions, and many more. They are crafted mainly as per various laws, so that you can generate legal pages within a few minutes.

WPLP Compliance Platform is an all-in-one solution to comply with privacy laws. And guess what, you don’t even need a lawyer to begin with!

Features Offered

  • Automatic Compliance Updates: WPLP Compliance Platform frequently monitors the changes in global regulations and automatically updates your cookie banner to keep your website compliant.
  • Equal Visibility for Option: Our compliance platform gives equal importance to all consent choices (Accept and Reject). This removes the “dark pattern” of manipulating users to favour one option over another. 
  • Geo-Targeted Banner Display: Geo-targeting is quite important to comply with data privacy laws. WPLP Compliance Platform features built-in geo-targeting, which ensures the right banner is shown to users in various regions.
Consent logs
  • Exportable Consent Logs: The WPLP Compliance platform plugin enables you to record every consent decision and export it whenever you want. 
  • No Coding Required: The plugin’s intuitive interface allows you to easily create and set up your cookie consent without needing any coding knowledge.
Wizard
  • Guided Wizard: It features a guided wizard that guides you through the entire process by answering a few simple questions about your website.

Don’t wait until you discover your cookie banner isn’t compliant. Get a free trial of the WPLP Compliance Platform today and ensure the security and trustworthiness of your site.

FAQ

1. What happens if a cookie consent error goes unfixed?

If a cookie consent error goes unfixed, it implies that your website is not compliant with privacy laws such as GDPR, CCPA, and so on. Non-compliance can lead to penalties (up to €20 million or 4% of global turnover under GDPR) and legal actions, loss of user trust, reputation, and potential complaints regarding data use.

2. How often should banners be audited?

It is absolutely necessary to audit your cookie banners at least every 6 months, whenever you add a new plugin or third-party service to your site, or whenever privacy laws are changed. Regular audits make sure that your website is compliant and cookie banners are up to date with the latest privacy law updates. This ensures that new cookies are identified and categorised.

3. What’s the simplest way to fix banner issues in WordPress?

The simplest way to fix cookie banner errors in WordPress is to leverage a highly trusted compliance platform such as the WPLP Compliance Platform. It is a WordPress plugin that updates automatically with legal changes. It is also highly rated in the WordPress directory and trusted by many. Integrating this plugin would ensure your cookie banners meet the law requirements without needing any coding knowledge. 

4. How can you prove compliance during an audit?

You can prove compliance during an audit by keeping a detailed record of your banner configuration, consent logs, and audit history. Many compliance tools, such as the WPLP Compliance Platform, make it easy to collect this proof with date and time, and present it during an audit. You can easily export the consent logs as a CSV file and use the data for audits. 

Conclusion

Having the right banner isn’t just about following the rules. It’s about building trust and transparency and showing your website visitors that you actually care. 

Even the smallest cookie banner errors can lead to fines and legal actions, which could in turn hurt your reputation. 

By fixing these cookie consent mistakes and checking your setup regularly for updates and bugs, you can keep users happy and your website compliant. 

We also recommend that you install the WPLP Compliance Platform plugin for your next WordPress website and safeguard your website from penalties and legal actions. 

Disclaimer: This content is for information only and is not legal advice. Consult a legal expert for guidance on compliance.

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Are you looking to rectify the common cookie consent banner mistakes? Install the WPLP Compliance Platform now.