Plain Cookie Consent

Plain Cookie Consent is a lightweight WordPress plugin designed to provide GDPR and CCPA-compliant cookie consent functionality without unnecessary complexity or performance overhead. It addresses the need for website owners to obtain and manage user consent for cookies in a way that aligns with legal requirements, while maintaining fast site performance and minimal impact on Core Web Vitals.

The plugin operates with a single JavaScript file and a single CSS file, totaling approximately 6kb in size, and makes zero external requests. This approach ensures no render-blocking or layout shifts, helping to preserve healthy PageSpeed scores. Consent data is stored locally, with no external vendor tracking, dashboards, or telemetry involved. Users are presented with options to accept all cookies, decline non-essential cookies, or customize their preferences across three consent categories: Necessary, Analytics, and Marketing. The consent flow is granular, supporting proper opt-in and opt-out mechanisms that comply with both EU GDPR Article 7 and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The plugin avoids pre-ticked boxes and ensures that withdrawal of consent remains straightforward.

Installation is designed to be quick, with a default setup that works seamlessly on standard WordPress themes. The plugin includes a WordPress admin settings panel and offers hooks and filters for developers, making it adaptable and developer-friendly. All compliance features are included in the free plan, which is free forever. A paid Pro tier, priced at €9 per year for unlimited sites, adds visual customization options such as custom color schemes, banner position controls, animation styles, font overrides, and a white-label mode, but these are not required for compliance.

Plain Cookie Consent is maintained by experienced WordPress developers who emphasize simplicity and sustainability in compliance solutions. The tool is also accompanied by concise guides on GDPR, CCPA, and the ePrivacy Directive, serving as a resource for understanding consent requirements. It is suited for WordPress site owners and developers seeking a minimal, legally sound cookie consent solution that prioritizes performance and ease of use.