It’s Not Just a Cookie Banner on Your Website — It’s a Complete Compliance Engine for WordPress

Every website collects data. Every website uses cookies. And in today’s digital landscape, every website owner is legally responsible for how that data is collected, stored, and shared with third parties. Most people think cookie compliance is just about slapping a pop-up banner on their website that says “We use cookies.” But that is the bare minimum — and in most cases, it is not even legally sufficient.

Complianz is a WordPress plugin that changes the entire conversation around cookie consent. It is not a banner. It is a full privacy compliance engine that handles everything from cookie scanning and script blocking to legal document generation and geo-targeted consent banners — all from within your WordPress dashboard.

In this article, we will take a deep dive into what Complianz is, what it does, and how to implement it correctly on your WordPress website.

What is Complianz?

Complianz is a privacy and cookie consent management plugin for WordPress. It is developed by Really Simple Plugins and is trusted by over one million users across the world. It supports compliance with multiple international privacy regulations including GDPR (Europe), CCPA and CPRA (California), ePrivacy, DSGVO (Germany), LGPD (Brazil), POPIA (South Africa), and PIPEDA (Canada).

What sets Complianz apart from basic cookie plugins is its depth. It does not just show a consent notice — it actively manages what scripts run on your website based on user consent, automatically scans for cookies, generates legally compliant documents, stores proof of consent, and adapts its behavior based on the visitor’s geographic location.

Why Cookie Compliance Matters
Before we get into the implementation, it is important to understand why cookie compliance is not optional. The GDPR, which came into effect in May 2018, requires that websites operating in or serving users from the European Union must obtain explicit, informed consent before setting non-essential cookies. Violations can result in fines of up to 20 million euros or 4 percent of annual global turnover — whichever is higher.

The CCPA and CPRA in California give consumers the right to know what personal data is being collected, the right to opt out of the sale of that data, and the right to request deletion. Similar laws are emerging in Brazil, South Africa, Canada, and across Asia.

For WordPress site owners, ignoring this is a legal and reputational risk. Complianz provides the infrastructure to handle this correctly without needing a lawyer for every update.

Key Features of Complianz

Setup Wizard

Complianz starts with a guided setup wizard that walks you through your website’s configuration. It asks about the type of website you run, the plugins and services you use, the countries you operate in, and the regulations that apply to you. Based on your answers, it configures the appropriate consent logic, banner type, and legal documents automatically. This wizard makes it accessible even for non-technical users while still being powerful enough for developers.

Automatic Cookie Scanner

One of the most powerful features of Complianz is its automated cookie scanner. Most website owners have no idea how many cookies their website sets. Between WordPress core, plugins, themes, embedded videos, Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, advertising scripts, and chat widgets — the list can be surprisingly long.

Complianz scans your website automatically and categorizes each cookie it finds — functional, analytics, marketing, or preferences. It then matches detected cookies against its own database of known services and populates your cookie policy with accurate descriptions. Scans can be scheduled to run periodically so that your compliance stays current even as plugins are updated or new services are added.

Script Blocking and Consent-Based Loading

This is where Complianz becomes a true compliance engine rather than just a banner plugin. Script blocking means that third-party scripts — like Google Analytics, Google Maps, YouTube embeds, Facebook Pixel, Instagram feeds, AdSense, Hotjar, and others — are prevented from loading until the user has given their consent.

Without script blocking, your cookie banner is essentially cosmetic. The scripts run regardless of whether the user clicks accept or decline, which means you are still in violation of GDPR and ePrivacy rules. Complianz integrates with WordPress’s script loading system and uses conditional loading to ensure that no non-essential script fires before consent is obtained.

For YouTube embeds specifically, Complianz can replace the embedded video with a placeholder that only loads the actual YouTube iframe after the user accepts marketing cookies. The same applies to Google Maps and other embed types.

Geo IP and Region-Based Consent

Not every visitor to your website comes from a region with the same legal requirements. A visitor from California needs a different consent experience than a visitor from Germany, and a visitor from Texas may not need a consent banner at all under current US laws.

Complianz uses Geo IP detection to identify where each visitor is coming from and serves them the appropriate consent banner and logic based on the applicable law for their region. This means your European visitors see a full GDPR-compliant opt-in banner, your California visitors see a CCPA-compliant opt-out notice, and visitors from regions with no specific requirements may see a simplified notice or none at all. This keeps your compliance targeted and your user experience clean.

Auto-Generated Legal Documents

Complianz automatically generates a Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, Disclaimer, and Terms and Conditions for your website based on your setup wizard responses and the services detected by the cookie scanner. These documents are not generic templates — they are dynamically generated based on what your specific website actually does.

As your website changes — new plugins added, new services integrated — Complianz updates these documents accordingly. You can embed them on any page using a simple shortcode or block, and they stay current without manual editing.

Google Consent Mode v2

Google introduced Consent Mode as a way for websites to communicate user consent choices directly to Google’s advertising and analytics tags. Version 2, which became mandatory for EU users in early 2024, requires websites to pass consent signals for ad_storage, analytics_storage, ad_user_data, and ad_personalization parameters.

Complianz integrates with Google Consent Mode v2 out of the box. When a user accepts or declines specific cookie categories, those choices are communicated directly to Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics 4, and Google Ads in real time. This ensures that your ad measurement and retargeting remains as effective as possible within the boundaries of user consent, while staying fully compliant.

Proof of Consent and Consent Records

Regulators do not just want you to ask for consent — they want you to prove it. Under GDPR Article 7, the data controller must be able to demonstrate that the user consented. Complianz stores a record of each consent given, including the timestamp, the version of the consent banner shown, the categories accepted, and an anonymized identifier for the user.

This consent log is stored in your WordPress database and can be accessed from the Complianz dashboard. If you ever face an audit or a user complaint, you have documented evidence that consent was properly obtained.

For website publishers who work with programmatic advertising networks, Complianz supports the IAB Transparency and Consent Framework version 2.0 (TCF 2.0). This is the industry standard for communicating consent choices across the digital advertising supply chain. Enabling TCF 2.0 in Complianz ensures that the consent signals from your visitors are properly passed to all downstream ad technology vendors.

How to Implement Complianz on WordPress

Step 1 — Install the Plugin. Go to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins, click Add New, and search for Complianz. Install and activate the free version. A premium version is also available with additional features like A/B testing for banners, advanced statistics, and priority support.

Step 2 — Run the Setup Wizard. Once activated, Complianz will prompt you to start the setup wizard. Work through each step carefully. Select the countries and regulations that apply to your website, identify the services and plugins you use, and configure your preferences for document generation and banner style.

Step 3 — Review the Cookie Scan Results. After the wizard, run your first cookie scan. Review the list of detected cookies, verify their categories, and add any cookies that were not automatically detected. Complianz has a large database of known services, but custom cookies from proprietary tools may need to be added manually.

Step 4 — Customize Your Consent Banner. Choose your banner layout, position, color scheme, and button labels. Make sure the messaging is clear and accessible. Complianz offers multiple banner templates that are pre-tested for compliance.

Step 5 — Publish Your Legal Documents. Create pages on your website for Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, and any other documents generated by Complianz. Use the provided shortcodes to embed the auto-generated content. Link these pages in your website footer and within the consent banner.

Step 6 — Enable Script Blocking. In the Complianz settings, enable the script integration for each third-party service you use. Test your website to ensure that scripts are correctly blocked before consent and activated after consent is given.

Step 7 — Configure Google Consent Mode v2. If you use Google Analytics or Google Ads, enable the Google Consent Mode v2 integration within Complianz. Verify that the correct consent signals are being sent using Google Tag Assistant or the browser’s developer tools.

Step 8 — Set Up Scheduled Scans. Enable periodic cookie scanning so that your compliance stays current. A monthly scan is typically sufficient for most websites, but high-traffic or frequently updated sites may benefit from weekly scans.

Step 9 — Test Across Regions. Use a VPN or browser extension to simulate visits from different geographic regions and verify that the correct banner and consent logic is being served to users in the EU, California, and other regulated regions.

Free vs Premium

The free version of Complianz available on WordPress.org covers GDPR and CCPA compliance, cookie scanning, script blocking, auto-generated documents, and the consent banner. The premium version, Complianz Premium, adds features like A/B testing for consent banners, advanced statistics and consent analytics, support for additional regulations, deep integration with WooCommerce, priority customer support, and more granular control over document customization.

For most small to medium websites, the free version is more than sufficient. For agencies, eCommerce stores, and publishers with programmatic advertising, the premium version provides a measurable return on investment.

Cookie compliance is not a one-time setup — it is an ongoing responsibility. Privacy laws are evolving, new services are constantly being added to websites, and regulators are becoming more active in enforcement. Complianz is built to handle this complexity so that website owners do not have to become privacy lawyers.

When you install Complianz on your WordPress website, you are not just adding a cookie banner. You are putting in place a system that continuously monitors, documents, and enforces your privacy obligations — automatically, reliably, and in a way that respects your visitors’ rights while keeping your website fully operational.

That is the difference between a cookie banner and a compliance engine. And that is exactly what Complianz delivers.