Most plugins show a banner, but do not prevent cookies/scripts from loading until the user has opted-in.
Cookie Management Platforms (CMPs) take the hassle out of understanding the cookies used on your websites and offer systems of obtaining consent. We recommend OneTrust, and have a guide for basic integration. But CMPs come at a cost. If you run multiple websites, they can be expensive.
You can create a compliant cookie consent banner, without a CMP. You’ll be responsible for categorising your own cookies/scripts, but it will cost nothing. All you will need is Google Tag Manager, and our Container Template.
Download the Container Template
This Container Template is based on the superb work of both 68publishers and Orest Bida. Thanks to our optimisations, your banner can be implemented in under 30 minutes, and does not require a developer, nor changes to your website.
Want SMILE to do this for you? We can help.
Instructions (30 mins)
- In Google Tag Manager, go to your existing container, or add a new one.
- Go to Admin > Import Container
- Select the Container Template, choose the Existing Workspace (unless you know otherwise, this will be “Default Workspace”). For import option, use “Merge” with “Overwrite conflicting tags, triggers and variables”.
Now, your Workspace will include a Cookie Consent Banner (you’ll see this in Tags). But you’ll still need to delay your scripts/cookies from loading until the user has provided their consent. Our Container Template added some custom events (you can see these in Triggers):
- Ad Consent
- Analytics Consent
- Functionality Consent (otherwise known as “Strictly Necessary”)
- Personalization Consent
- Security Consent
For each script that you load with Google Tag Manager, you can now choose one of these as the trigger. By choosing one of these, you’re defining the category.
For example, Google Analytics, would use the Analytics Consent trigger as it provides analytics tracking.
Once you have published these changes your banner will be live, and users will be able to set their preferences. You should allow users to change their preferences, preferably on your privacy policy age. To allow users to open the preference centre, add this code to your page: <button type="button" data-cc="c-settings" class="cc-link">Change privacy settings</button>