The Beard of Cookie Consent

Wednesday 5 january 2022

By browsing the sites of many member e-shops, I noticed that many ask for cookies on each page, even though they do not even save cookies for the site itself and a fortiori for third-party sites.
When you build a website, you may use cookies to improve the user experience. However, many beginners think it is necessary to ask permission to place cookies on the site, which can be annoying for users and slow down access to the site. In this article we will explain why it is not always necessary to ask permission to place cookies.

Functional cookies

There are different types of cookies. Functional cookies, for example, are necessary for the proper functioning of the site. They make it possible to remember connection information, language preferences, or the content of an online shopping cart. For these types of cookies, it is not necessary to ask the user for permission. Indeed, they are essential for the site to work properly. For example, on the leseshopsbelges site we save a cookie with the trace of your connection if you are connected. This allows the program to recognize you on a new visit and saves you from having to reconnect each time with email and password and allows you to quickly access your history on the site.

Third-party cookies

Third-party cookies, i.e. cookies managed for partners outside the site, are used to monitor user activity on the site, in order to better understand their browsing habits and offer them targeted advertisements. In this case, it is indeed necessary to request the user's permission before placing these cookies on the site.
However, if your site does not use third-party cookies, there is no need to ask the user for this permission. Indeed, third-party cookies are the only cookies that require user consent. If you only use functional cookies, there is no need to ask permission.

The disadvantages of asking permission

Asking permission to place cookies quickly becomes very annoying for users. Indeed, instead of seeing right away what they are looking for on your site, or what you are trying to promote, you force them to do an administrative duty first. It's anti-commercial. This considerably slows down access to the site, especially if you ask permission on each page. Users are discouraged from visiting your site if they are constantly asked for consent.
It is also important to note that the way the question is asked can make choosing the preferences too complicated and therefore not very “fair play”.

Conclusion

In conclusion, when building a website, it is important to know that you may not need to ask permission to place cookies.

Return