Have you ever added a cookie banner to your Laravel site and thought, โYep, thatโs good enoughโ?
Spoiler alert: it might not be. Especially if youโre serious about user trust and legal compliance.
In this post, letโs break down the difference between a basic cookie notice and a full GDPR-compliant solution, and how you can implement one in your Laravel app with minimal effort using my open-source package.
๐ซ Basic Cookie Consent: The Illusion of Compliance
A basic cookie consent is what most websites throw in by default:
โWe use cookies to improve your experience. By continuing, you accept cookies.โ โ
This typically includes:
- A simple banner with an Accept button.
- Sometimes a Learn More link.
- No real control for the user.
- Cookies still load before consent.
Whatโs wrong with that?
Under GDPR (and other privacy laws like CCPA), this isnโt enough. Itโs just informing, not asking. It doesnโt respect user choice or privacy.
โ GDPR-Compliant Cookie Consent: What It Actually Means
To truly comply with GDPR, your cookie consent should:
- ๐ Block non-essential cookies by default.
- ๐๏ธ Let users choose which cookie categories they accept (e.g. analytics, marketing).
- ๐ Explain what each category does.
- ๐ Let users update or revoke their consent at any time.
- ๐งพ Log user preferences as proof of consent.
In short, GDPR is about informed, specific, and revocable consent. Not just a polite heads-up.
๐งฐ Meet: Laravel Cookie Consent
To solve this the right way, I built a package called:
๐ GitHub: Laravel Cookie Consent
๐ Packagist: packagist.org/packages/devrabiul/laravel-cookie-consent
๐ฏ Features:
- Customizable cookie categories (Necessary, Analytics, Marketing, etc.)
- Consent modal with category toggles
- Multi-language support (translations included)
- Preference management and storage
- Simple Blade directive for integration
- Clean, responsive UI
๐ ๏ธ How It Works
To get started with Cookie Consent, follow these simple steps:
- Install the package via Composer:
composer require devrabiul/laravel-cookie-consent
- Publish the package resources by running:
php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Devrabiul\CookieConsent\CookieConsentServiceProvider"
Basic Usage
Include these components in your Blade templates:
- Add styles in the
<head>section:
{!! CookieConsent::styles() !!}
- Add scripts before closing
</body>:
{!! CookieConsent::scripts() !!}
๐ Thatโs it! You now have a GDPR-ready cookie banner and modal live on your site.
๐งฉ Customization Made Easy
You can tweak everything:
- โ๏ธ Edit cookie categories in
config/cookie-consent.php - ๐ผ๏ธ Update styles and content in
resources/views/vendor/cookie-consent/ - ๐ Translate it using the published language files
Want to go further? Use the provided models and tables to build your own admin interface and manage everything from a dashboard.
๐ง Why It Matters
Ignoring proper cookie consent:
- ๐จ Risks GDPR or CCPA violations
- โ Erodes user trust
- ๐ Can affect analytics accuracy
Implementing proper consent:
- โ Keeps you legally safe
- ๐ Respects your users
- ๐ผ Boosts professionalism (especially if you're a freelancer or agency)
๐ Wrap-Up
Donโt settle for a checkbox that does nothing.
If youโre building apps with Laravel and want to get cookie consent right, check out the package:
๐ GitHub: Laravel Cookie Consent
๐ Packagist: https://packagist.org/packages/devrabiul/laravel-cookie-consent
๐ฌ I'd love your feedback!
If you try the package or have ideas to improve it, drop an issue on GitHub or comment below. Contributions and stars are always welcome ๐ค
Let me know if you want a cover image or a visual screenshot of the modal/banner to add to the post โ happy to help make this Medium post pop visually!
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