Guides & Documentation
Everything you need to implement cookie consent on your website
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Featured Guides
GDPR Cookie Compliance Checklist: 15 Steps Every Website Must Follow in 2026
A practical, auditable checklist for GDPR cookie compliance. Covers prior consent, banner design, reject buttons, consent records, cookie scanning, Consent Mode, vendor management, and regular audits.
CookieBeam vs Cookiebot vs OneTrust: Which CMP Fits Your Site in 2026?
A head-to-head comparison of three leading consent management platforms, covering pricing, features, setup difficulty, and the trade-offs that actually matter for your stack.
CookieBeam Product Updates: August 2026
What shipped this month: DPA and sub-processor list, API route hardening, Intl formatter caching, open redirect security fix, 10+ i18n improvements, and consent mode signals for Microsoft + Meta.
Recently Published
WordPress Cookie Consent Without a Plugin: Lightweight GDPR Setup
Most WordPress cookie consent plugins add 200-400 KB of JavaScript, extra database queries, and their own admin panels. A single async script tag does the same job in under 30 KB with zero plugin overhead. Here's how to set it up three different ways.
Aug 28, 2026How to Switch from Cookiebot to CookieBeam: Migration Guide
A step-by-step guide to migrating your cookie consent management from Cookiebot to CookieBeam, covering script replacement, consent mode setup, cookie categories, and what to verify after the switch.
Aug 28, 2026Shopify Cookie Consent: GDPR and CCPA Setup Guide for 2026
Shopify's built-in cookie banner covers the basics, but falls short for stores selling into the EU, California, or multiple regions at once. This guide walks through what Shopify gives you, where it stops, and how to add a proper consent layer with CookieBeam.
Aug 28, 2026How to Scan Your Website for Cookies: A Practical Automated Auditing Guide
Walk through your first automated cookie scan, from triggering the crawl to interpreting results and acting on what the scanner finds. Covers cookies, scripts, and network connections.
Aug 28, 2026Remix Cookie Consent: Server-Side Rendering and GDPR
Add GDPR-compliant cookie consent to a Remix app. Covers script placement in root.tsx, streaming SSR considerations, consent-aware loaders, and the framework-specific quirks that trip up most implementations.
Aug 28, 2026Microsoft Consent Mode for Clarity and Bing Ads: Complete Setup Guide
Set up Microsoft Consent Mode for both Clarity and Bing Ads in one go. Covers how consent signals work, what happens when visitors decline, and how CookieBeam handles it automatically alongside Google Consent Mode v2.
Aug 28, 2026Setup
(32)WordPress Cookie Consent Without a Plugin: Lightweight GDPR Setup
Most WordPress cookie consent plugins add 200-400 KB of JavaScript, extra database queries, and their own admin panels. A single async script tag does the same job in under 30 KB with zero plugin overhead. Here's how to set it up three different ways.
Shopify Cookie Consent: GDPR and CCPA Setup Guide for 2026
Shopify's built-in cookie banner covers the basics, but falls short for stores selling into the EU, California, or multiple regions at once. This guide walks through what Shopify gives you, where it stops, and how to add a proper consent layer with CookieBeam.
How to Scan Your Website for Cookies: A Practical Automated Auditing Guide
Walk through your first automated cookie scan, from triggering the crawl to interpreting results and acting on what the scanner finds. Covers cookies, scripts, and network connections.
Remix Cookie Consent: Server-Side Rendering and GDPR
Add GDPR-compliant cookie consent to a Remix app. Covers script placement in root.tsx, streaming SSR considerations, consent-aware loaders, and the framework-specific quirks that trip up most implementations.
Jekyll Cookie Consent: Add GDPR Compliance to Your GitHub Pages Site
How to add a cookie consent banner to a Jekyll site hosted on GitHub Pages. Covers _includes setup, blocking analytics scripts, and working within Jekyll's static-site constraints.
Hugo Static Site Cookie Consent: Quick GDPR Setup
Add a GDPR-compliant cookie consent banner to your Hugo site in minutes. Covers partial templates, baseof.html integration, script blocking, and the static-site-specific gotchas most guides skip.
Customization
(45)How to Switch from Cookiebot to CookieBeam: Migration Guide
A step-by-step guide to migrating your cookie consent management from Cookiebot to CookieBeam, covering script replacement, consent mode setup, cookie categories, and what to verify after the switch.
Free Cookie Consent Tools in 2026: What You Actually Get (and What You Don't)
Every major CMP offers a free tier, but the limits vary wildly. Here's an honest look at what free plans actually include, where they cut you off, and when it makes sense to upgrade.
Cookie Consent and SEO: Does Your Cookie Banner Affect Google Rankings?
Website owners worry that cookie banners hurt SEO. Here's what actually happens to your Core Web Vitals, crawlability, and rankings when you add a consent banner, and how to avoid the real pitfalls.
How Cookie Consent Affects Your Lead Generation (And How to Minimize the Impact)
Cookie consent banners reduce your tracked conversions by 15-30%. Here's how to minimize that impact without compromising compliance: server-side tracking, consent rate optimization, and attribution modeling.
Cookie Consent for Marketing Teams: What You Need to Know (Without the Legal Jargon)
Your pixel stopped firing, your retargeting audience shrank, and nobody told you why. Here's what happened, what cookie consent means for your campaigns, and how to get your data back.
Cookie Consent Management for Agencies: Multi-Site Setup Guide
How digital agencies can manage cookie consent across dozens of client websites efficiently. Covers multi-banner setup, team permissions, white-label options, and billing strategies for agency accounts.
Compliance
(211)How to Add Cookie Consent to a React App: The 2026 Developer Guide
A practical guide to implementing cookie consent in React applications. Covers script loading strategies, consent state management with React Context, conditional rendering of tracking scripts, Google Consent Mode v2 integration, and one-line CookieBeam setup.
Microsoft Consent Mode for Clarity and Bing Ads: Complete Setup Guide
Set up Microsoft Consent Mode for both Clarity and Bing Ads in one go. Covers how consent signals work, what happens when visitors decline, and how CookieBeam handles it automatically alongside Google Consent Mode v2.
Google Tag Manager Consent Mode: Step-by-Step Setup Guide for 2026
Configure Google Consent Mode inside Google Tag Manager so your tags respect visitor consent choices. Covers default state, update commands, tag behavior, and verification.
Cookie Policy Template: How to Write One That Actually Protects You
A practical guide to writing a cookie policy that satisfies GDPR requirements and actually protects your business. Includes a template structure, common mistakes, and how to keep it updated.
Cookie Consent for SaaS: What B2B Platforms Actually Need
SaaS platforms face unique consent challenges: sub-processors, embedded analytics, third-party integrations, and customers in multiple jurisdictions. Here's what you actually need to get right.
Cookie Consent Audit: How to Check If Your Website Is Actually Compliant
A practical audit checklist you can run right now to find cookie consent gaps on your website. Covers the 10 things regulators check first, with instructions for testing each one yourself.
Integration
(25)Google Ads and Cookie Consent: How to Keep Conversion Tracking Working in 2026
Google now requires verified consent signals from EEA traffic before it will attribute conversions. Here's what that means for your ad spend, how Consent Mode v2 fills the gaps, and how to set it up so your conversion data stays accurate without breaking privacy laws.
What Is Server-Side Google Tag Manager? (2026 Guide)
A plain-English explanation of server-side Google Tag Manager: how the two-container model works, and why it matters in 2026 for consent, first-party data, and measurement that survives ad blockers and Safari.
Meta Pixel & Conversions API: Consent Gating Done Right
Meta Consent Mode gives you fbq('consent','grant') and fbq('consent','revoke'), but the Conversions API ignores them. Here's the full consent layer for Meta: browser pixel, server events, US opt-outs, and withdrawal.
Cookie Consent for Headless & Composable Commerce
Splitting your storefront into a Jamstack frontend and a commerce API doesn't change the cookie rule. It changes where you enforce it, and it takes away some conveniences the old platform gave you for free.
TikTok Pixel & Events API: Load It Only After Consent
The default TikTok Pixel snippet writes cookies the moment it loads, before anyone touches your banner. Here's how to gate both the browser pixel and the Events API on real consent, using TikTok's Cookie Consent Mode.
Server-Side vs Client-Side GTM: Performance & Privacy
A clear-eyed comparison of server-side and client-side Google Tag Manager across performance, privacy, data control, resilience, cost, and complexity, with guidance on which to choose and when.
Basics
(22)Cookie Consent Glossary: 30 Privacy Terms Explained in Plain English
Every privacy term you'll encounter when setting up cookie consent, explained without the legal jargon. From CMP to TCF, from DSAR to GPC.
Cookie Consent FAQ: 25 Questions Website Owners Actually Ask
Clear, straight answers to the most common cookie consent questions. No legal jargon, no hedging. From 'do I even need a cookie banner?' to 'what happens if I get fined?'
The Consent Mode v2 Parameters: A Plain-English Reference
All seven Google Consent Mode signals explained: what each controls, which are storage permissions versus data-use instructions, and which Google product depends on which parameter.
What Is a Cookie Banner and How Does It Work?
A cookie banner isn't just a notice you click away. Under the hood it decides which scripts are allowed to run. Here's the anatomy of a banner and the sequence it goes through on every page load.
What Happens When You Reject Cookies?
Clicking reject shouldn't break the site. Here's what actually changes when you decline cookies, what a website is still allowed to do, and what it's legally not allowed to do.
What Are Tracking Cookies and How Do They Work?
Tracking cookies recognise you across pages and sites using a unique ID that maps to a profile on someone else's server. Here's what they actually do, how the mechanism works, and why they need consent.