Set up Shopify cookie banner legally compliant, here's how

Cookie banners are considered annoying by most. With every new website, the pop-up must first be closed. Only then can browsing continue without any worries.

The European Court of Justice is responsible for this change, which is annoying for users. But it is actually in the interest of the user, because it protects privacy.

It gets even more uncomfortable for store operators, because they have to implement a cookie banner in their store to be legally compliant. 

In this article, we'll clarify the background of cookie banners, and show you how to set up cookie banners in Shopify.

Before we go into detail, it is important to emphasize that we cannot provide legal advice because we do not have legal expertise. If you have specific legal concerns, we recommend that you consult a lawyer.

Does every website need cookie banners?

Since 2019, cookie banners are mandatory for every website that uses cookies, and thus also for every Shopify store. Previously, the situation was partly unclear, but since then the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has taken a clear position: Website visitors must consent to the use of non-essential cookies before application.

Operators of a Shopify store must therefore implement a legally compliant Shopify cookie banner. All essential and technically necessary cookies may already be executed before confirmation. All others, i.e. cookies for tracking and marketing, must be confirmed with an opt-in. It is also not allowed to design the cookie banner in a manipulative way to entice users to opt-in sooner. For example, making the confirmation button larger or in more attractive colors.

Cookies requiring consent may only be set after opt-in.

More gray areas

The cookie-banner debate is thus settled, but one area remains to be specified. It is not defined what is considered essential and technically necessary and what is not. Shopify operators will have to wait a little longer for a further ruling.

What are the options for setting up a Shopify cookie banner?

Since Shopify is not based in the EU, there is no cookie banner feature here by default. This is a pity, because Shopify mainly promises the easy setup of an online store for sellers. 

Accordingly, there are two ways to set up a cookie banner: 

• Coding a Custom Cookie Banner 
• Using a Shopify App

If you are interested in integrating a personalized cookie banner for your Shopify theme but don't have coding skills, contact us and we can assist you.

Alternatively, here are some of the apps that might be suitable for you.

Shopify Privacy&Compliance from Shopify

This app was released directly by Shopify one year after the court order to comply with EU requirements.

It is a free variant for cookie banners and therefore especially interesting for smaller stores. Unfortunately, it is not 100% compliant with EU legislation. Therefore we cannot recommend it.

Cookiebot from Usercentrics

Cookiebot is the most widely used all-in-one cookie banner solution in the world. Cookiebot automatically detects all cookies as well as trackers on the website and blocks them until website visitors agree to them.

On a monthly basis, Cookiebot scans the website and creates a report of all cookies found. This can be viewed by all website visitors. For a domain with a maximum of 100 subpages, Cookiebot is free of charge. But you have to accept some limitations. For example, there are no optical customization options or multilingualism. From a legal point of view, however, you are on the right side with Cookiebot.

However, Cookiebot does have one catch: it cannot simply be installed as an app, but must be implemented via code. With the tutorial this should not be a problem even for borrowers.

GDPR Legal Cookie 

For 100% compliance also ensures GDPR Legal Cookie app. We also use this for our customers. The app comes from a German company, so they are very familiar with the European requirements. The app is compatible with all cookies and tracking scripts of your store and apps. Here, all cookies are properly blocked until the user agrees to their use.

Also the design can be customized to your store. Currently, the app only supports the languages German and English, but this will be expanded over time.

For GDPR Legal Cookie, the price depends on your own Shopify plan.

Consentmo DSGVO compliance

Here, too, you achieve EU compliance, with a comprehensive app. Users can decide which cookies they want to allow and which not. All EU languages are even included. Depending on the plan, there are many configuration options. EU compliance is already achieved with the free version, but the banner design cannot be customized here. Nevertheless, the app is a good, free alternative. Consentmo is therefore also a clear recommendation. 

Numerous options for Shopify cookie banner

The Shopify cookie solutions presented here are our favorites. Of course, there are numerous other apps that promise EU-compliant cookie banners. However, this promise cannot always be kept. Even Shopify's internal solution itself does not meet the EU requirements. Therefore, it is important to inform yourself about the functions of the corresponding apps in advance.

Conclusion

It is important to keep your Shopify store legally compliant because there can be serious consequences. Every day lawyers send out warning letters with high fines to website operators who are not compliant. With Shopify cookie banner apps, you're at least well positioned in this area. While we can't offer you legal advice, as a Shopify agency we know the store system very well and can help you to raise your online store to the next level.