You know them: you open a website and first have to get through a wall of buttons. Some visitors leave right there, and those who stay start with a little distrust.
When is a cookie banner required?
Under EU rules (the ePrivacy Directive and the GDPR) you need consent for cookies and similar techniques that are not strictly necessary. Think Google Analytics with default settings, Facebook pixels, embedded YouTube videos and advertising cookies.
So what do you need instead?
- Cookieless analytics. Tools like Plausible or a self-hosted Umami count visitors without cookies and without personal data.
- Self-hosted fonts. Loading Google Fonts from Google sends your visitor’s IP address to the US. Hosting them yourself solves that, and it’s faster too.
- No heavy embeds. Load a video or map only when the visitor clicks on it.
What does it bring?
A calmer first impression, a faster website, less legal hassle and more visitors doing what they came for: calling, booking or ordering. This website is an example itself.