If you've reached this article, you're certainly searching and wondering: What is the best cookie banner for your website, and how do you choose among the many options on the market? What are the criteria for this choice, and what are the strengths and weaknesses of each option? Well, we're here to help you because this decision needs to be well thought out!

Therefore, below we have listed the answers into key points that should be carefully analyzed.

1. Why do I need this banner, really?
2. But cookies are anonymous, so why all this?
3. Legislation and Language.
4. LGPD and the cookie banner, technical aspects of the Law.
5. Design.
6. Truth.
7. Detailed Purposes.
8. Freedom of choice.
9. Blocking third-party cookies.
10. Price
11. Integrations.

First of all, does your website REALLY need an LGPD Cookie banner?

What do you mean? I'm already in this article to choose a cookie software, and you still want to tell me who actually needs the LGPD Cookie banner?

Exactly! Because there are many people who come to us to install the cookie banner on a website that simply does not use cookies. Seriously! Sometimes it seems like our banner is synonymous with website quality (okay, I confess, I agree), but there are limits.

It's like buying sunscreen for a nighttime stroll or mosquito repellent for diving.

The key point is confusing for many!

1. Just because many websites are using it doesn't mean you need to as well!
2. Pay attention to other legal bases that can support your business, in addition to consent.
3. The key question: If you don't use cookies on your website, why have a cookie banner? In times of such complex legislation, less is more!

Here, we have highlighted some points from the LGPD to support our reasoning:

Article 8 addresses how the controller should request the data subject's consent. The first and most important rule is that the consent clauses must be separate from others, allowing the data subject to have a clear understanding of what they are consenting to.

Article 8 - § 2: The burden of proving that consent has been obtained in accordance with this Law lies with the controller.

_What does this mean? _
As the controller (your website), you must keep a record of all consents obtained, and these must be stored and documented.

Because at any time, data subjects have the right to request such records and any data you may have about them.

Refer to Article 19:

Article 19: Confirmation of the existence of personal data or access to personal data shall be provided upon request by the data subject:
_
I - in a simplified format, immediately;_ or

II - through a clear and complete statement indicating the origin of the data, the absence of a record, the criteria used, and the purpose of the processing, subject to trade and industrial secrets, provided within a period of up to 15 (fifteen) days from the date of the data subject's request.

1. Personal data shall be stored in a format that facilitates the exercise of the right of access.

2. Information and data may be provided, at the data subject's discretion. § 3. The processing of personal data based on defective consent is prohibited. § 4. Consent must relate to specific purposes, and generic authorizations for the processing of personal data shall be void. § 5. Consent may be revoked at any time by the data subject's express manifestation, by means of a free and facilitated procedure, without prejudice to the processing carried out under the previously given consent until the request for elimination, as provided for in item VI of the main section of Article 18 of this Law.

If you're not familiar with the digital world, let me explain to you with the most popular phrase from privacy policies ("Cookies are small pieces of text that are stored in your browser when you access a website on the internet.")

With this information from cookies, companies can do a lot, and I mean a lot! They can accurately profile your psychology and cross-reference this information with extremely personal data, known in the market as data enrichment or "data farming."

Several companies do this, and virtually all of those that have tags installed on their websites can somehow convert this information and target any individual specifically. Whether it's directly through their own database (Google), or by cross-referencing with third-party databases (such as Serasa).

In other words:

Cookies are not anonymous but rather anonymized.

This is an excellent variable to consider when looking for a cookie banner! Questions like: Does it support multiple languages, can that be an advantage? But, before that, does it accept multiple legislations?

For example, if your website is Brazilian and someone accesses it from Italy, it wouldn't be enough for the banner to be in Italian. The visitor is actually under the jurisdiction of the GDPR, unless the LGPD has more "private" provisions in those specific areas (as required by the visitor's country's law).

In other words, just because your site has multiple languages and versions doesn't mean that all the legislations are correctly implemented and complied with regarding the cookie banner. Is it clearer now?

Pay attention to compliance with the applicable legislations, especially for your target audience! Language and accessibility are crucial, but not the only factors when it comes to foreign accesses.

Now that we understand the context of the law, the complexities of cookies, and the parallel legislations that may influence the use of the Cookie Banner on your website, let's discuss some key points that will help you make this choice.

1. Design
   Why design when we're talking about technical aspects? Precisely because of that, after all, what are the main metrics of a website, an e-commerce? How do you analyze the conversion from visitors to leads and then to sales? Is Bounce Rate a concern? What are the KPIs of your site? Does usability and visitor experience matter?

Yes, they matter A LOT!

Thus, look for a cookie banner with refined and responsive design that allows you to customize colors, logos, and placement on the site in a way that harmonizes with the overall structure of the site. Don't just throw a senseless banner in the middle of the visitor's screen; respect the attention the visitor is giving you!

Be cautious with designs that occupy the entire screen! We understand that the law requires clear and assertive communication, and many are overwhelmed by the uncertainties in the market. However, you shouldn't disturb the visitor or act impulsively because of that!

We know how every second counts in capturing visitors' attention, so make it count!

Do you really want to use a banner that steals attention instead of fulfilling a simple and even basic role required by the law?

This Barcelona F.C. banner is like having ten players blocking the goal...

2. Transparency
   I may sound sensationalistic, but I dare say:

"Most of the cookie plugins and banners we see on the internet are just fake buttons. Yes, digital components that don't record or organize anything."

In addition to the "fakeness" of these mentioned points, always use assertive and direct language. Don't try to be "cool" or trendy. Of course, using too much legal jargon can push people away.

Not to mention that if I have no way to refuse, how would it block then? So, in the end, it's the same thing, don't you agree?

This is one of the crucial points we consider in a good cookie banner. According to LGPD, consent must be given for specific purposes. Therefore, a simple "OK" or even "Accept" without the option to explore my choices and understand their purposes and legal bases can be somewhat coercive.

Consent is not a salvation or a general acceptance. It is the formalization of acceptance for that specific purpose presented.

The General Data Protection Law (LGPD) lists a series of legal bases through which companies can use data with ease. If you have chosen consent for your company, use it with respect and always value the privacy of your data subjects.

There is no better or stronger legal basis. Instead, choose the one that best fits your business model and market. Similarly, a cookie banner should understand the context in which consent will be communicated and collected, and should provide visitors with the freedom to choose fully, partially, or not at all.

Always look for cookie banners that break down the listing of tags and cookies into categories and subcategories. This is essential to demonstrate that a particular purpose is presented within category "X," and visitors can freely choose whether to accept it or not.

The cookie banner is not just an interactive button; it must have authority over the behavior of other tags used on the website, authorizing or blocking their firing based on the consent collected during that visitor's session.

For example, the Google Analytics tag should only be fired when the visitor accepts the statistical category of tags. Before that, the notice informs and waits for visitor interaction.

For more information on how to configure the AdOpt Cookie Banner to enable automatic blocking of third-party tags, see our tutorial.

The price of a cookie banner should be:

Low prices that do not eat into your marketing budget. If there is a free plan, even better! The cookie banner only solves a part of the law's compliance, and it's likely that you will need other services or consultations in the future. Therefore, don't spend too much of your budget on this product.

A cookie banner does not cover all the obligations regulations like the GDPR, CCPA, LGPD... for example.

If you have other internal processes that use personal data, you will need to use other controls and even systems for that management.

The cookie banner should take care of the "digital gates" and reinforce the legal basis of consent.

How?

By recognizing and categorizing all users with their choices of total opt-in, partial opt-in, or opt-out and sending these requests directly to the Data Protection Officer (DPO), or even systems like CRM, ERP...

Look for cookie banners that offer billing with scalability parameters. In other words, they should have little to no impact initially, and as your website grows and your audience expands, you will pay for that processing power.

Additionally, the volume and value tiers should be broad enough to accommodate any seasonality, so you don't

Before you launch, follow the 7 steps to a GDPR-compliant cookie banner and check your setup against the 5 common cookie consent mistakes. To see a complete platform, read about the AdOpt CMP.