I hate these pop-ups. It’s the execution: an interruption that shows up before you’ve read a headline or even formed an opinion about the site you are visiting. It’s the first thing every visitor sees, and on almost every site in the world, it looks exactly the same.
That’s not an accident and unfortunately the things aren’t going away. The law just made this click mandatory for a lot more sites than it used to be. Whether that’s the right call is an argument for lawyers (we know a few good ones). What isn’t up for debate: like it or not, this mandatory click will be required on your own website. The screen space, that interruption in the experience — they’re precious real estate for a brand.
“Mandatory” doesn’t mean that no one will notice it. This thing sits in your yard and it’s the first thing anyone sees before they see anything on your page. Leave it generic and you’ve just handed that moment to whoever wrote the boilerplate. Most people don’t even read these anymore, they just click whichever button’s biggest and move on. Fair. I don’t read the terms and conditions on my phone either, but I know it’s there. It doesn’t cost you anything extra to take charge of the default. Just don’t give the real estate away.
This wasn’t a thought experiment for us this year, the issue landed on our own desks [and site]. So our banner doesn’t simply say “In accordance to law, this site uses cookies, blah blah blah.” Here’s our update to the interruption everyone else gives away for free.
Of course, if you’re reading this you’ve already seen it.
It’s a little detail that didn’t cost us anything extra and reclaimed the experience.
