Why it makes sense to add a cookie consent button

Our take on the cookie consent controversy

The cookie consent alerts, buttons and additions to a websites privacy policy are recent phenomena. The requirements are related to laws created in the European Union. The law says that visitors to your site need to be able to know that cookies are getting set, and what types of cookies might be tracking their visit.

To be clear, we at Out of the Box Innovations Ltd. do not have any authority or qualifications to offer legal advice whatsoever.

This article is simply a blog commentary on whether you should put the cookie notice on your website from a practical point of view.

SPOILER ALERT:

Since we’re going to recommend that you follow the EU laws in all cases, whether you legally have to or not, hopefully, we won’t get into trouble!

PS If any of you know of a barmy law that forbids people from telling others to follow the law, please let us know, and we will take the post down. Seriously!

So, should you add a cookie compliance button to your website?

Here are the types of questions/comments that I have come across on the topics, and my responses:

• My company location is outside Europe so it doesn’t affect me.

– If your customers are international, some are likely to be in Europe. If not now, then probably in the future. The EU is a big market that you wouldn’t want to miss out on if a crackdown and website was blocking at the country level in the future.

• The privacy issues that the public have problems with aren’t related to commercial websites but government prying. We’re getting extra hassle when we’re not the culprits. This policy should get aimed at ‘big brother’.

– Write to your local politician? Start a revolution? Rules and regulations can affect your business, whether you think that they are justified or not.

• They aren’t enforcing the rules, and the rules have been around for a few years now.

– Do you want your business to get caught in the first wave of a regulatory crackdown?

• Even though I have customers in Europe, they aren’t going to come to my town to prosecute me; I’m in a different country.
  

– As previously mentioned, to suddenly have a considerable market cut off from your business for the sake of a button and a few paragraphs of the new text seems foolish.

It makes sense to comply to the cookie policy even if it weren’t a legal requirement.

You should add the button and a few paragraphs even if we knew for sure that the law would never get enforced.

Ever.

That might seem like an odd stance for some, but here’s why:

Having the cookie consent button on your website is a quality signal that adds perceived trust to your site.

If you visited two websites to buy your next batch of online widgets and the price was the same, which would you choose:

… The site with the pretty pictures, cat videos and general product reviews?

OR

… Would you feel more comfortable on the site that had all the essential business-related details published? Phone number, company address, telephone number, company registration number, HTTPS padlock, Cookie consent button, privacy policy, terms and conditions, user login, anti-virus shield and green tick, name of the business owner…

ETC, ETC

These things can be called quality signals and each one helps a visitor feel more comfortable.

Some visitors may think that cookie laws are pointless. Subconsciously though, they’ll be happy that you’re playing by the rules.

The new generation of increasingly tech-savvy people likes to see bells and whistles on websites. While many of these pop-ups, downs, ins, or outs get discussed as being ‘annoying’ they all work very well to get a message across. Whether it’s an email opt-in pop-up, hello bar, welcome mat, live chat box or a cookie consent box, people love that stuff. It makes your website look modern, and up to date.

Some people might be genuinely interested or concerned about the use of cookies by the websites that they visit. While it is hard to imagine anyone reading every privacy and cookie policy on every site that they visit, anything is possible.

The great thing about web-based businesses is that over time, you can publish content that covers every topic. Any concern, question or enquiry that a potential customer might ever have. You only need to write each page once, and it is there permanently. This time frame allows the luxury of satisfying every visitor over time, regardless of which journey they take through your website. The customer is always right, especially when they are visitors who do not ask your direct attention, look after them all.