No Tears EU Cookie Banners

I don’t want to debate the issue of the EU’s cookie law, especially for webmasters outside the area. The bottom line is that some 3rd party services, like Google AdSense, want you to comply. The good news is there are many solutions. One of these is also a great example of how one company took a growing problem and created a free and useful tool that builds loyalty. The product is called Cookie Consent by Silktide.

Update: This tool is no longer available and has been pulled from the Silktide website.

The law requires that websites display a banner to visitors that cookies are used. It’s hard to find a site that doesn’t use cookies as so many content management systems (CMS) and publishing services use them by default. The user can then click a button to indicate they understand or learn more. The picture below is from https://www.cookiechoices.org/. This is a site Google created to help publishers.

example of EU cookie banner
Cookie banner example

The reason I opted to use the Silktide solution was that it offered customization and an easy installation wizard. After you complete the wizard, you’ll have a code snippet that you can install on your site. For most people that would be in the site template above the tag.

Creating Cookie Content Code

    1. Go to https://silktide.com/tools/cookie-consent/
    2. Click the Download Now button. The installation wizard appears.
    3. Decide which “theme” you’d like. There are six themes based on color and location. A white border will show around your selection but it is difficult to see if you selected a white version.
Banner theme option
Banner Theme Options
    1. Click the red Continue button.
    2. If you wish to change the wording, check the Customise the text box and enter your text on the next line. You may also enter a link for your cookie policy. Some people may have this on their privacy page instead.
customization panel
Add your custom message and link
    1. Click the Continue button to see your code.
example of cookie banner code
Sample cookie banner code
  1. Click in the white code box. This should highlight all the code you need.
  2. Right-click with your mouse and select Copy.
  3. The last part is to paste this code in your site’s template. The steps here vary based on how your site is built. The options are endless and if you can’t figure it out, you can post on the company’s GitHub page.