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Visitors systematically refuse tracking, so what’s the point?
If you create your WordPress site with wordpress.com for example, you’ll end up with plugins that perform tracking (page views, number of visitors, etc.) and require user consent to function.
However, visitors systematically refuse these cookies.
Rather than harming the user experience by displaying an ugly banner that just annoy your visitor, you might as well disable these problematic features.
Disabling cookies that require consent in WordPress.com
Here, we’re referring to the plugins enabled by default on WordPress.com that require user consent.
You may also find them on your self-hosted website, so it’s still good to check.
Other plugins you may have installed can also require consent.
But these two are the most obvious and you are automatically activated on a WordPress.com made website.
Jetpack Stats
Disabling Jetpack Stats is very quick once you know where to go:
- In the dashboard: go to Jetpack -> Settings
- At the bottom of the page, click on “Modules”
- Find “Jetpack Stats” in the list and click “Deactivate”
Disabling WooCommerce order attribution
WooCommerce also includes a feature enabled by default that tracks users.
This is called order attribution. You can disable it by following these steps:
1. In the dashboard: go to WooCommerce -> Settings
2. Then click on the tabs Advanced -> Features
3. Find “Order attribution” in the list and uncheck it
Clearing the cache on a site hosted by WordPress.com
Sometimes your changes may not take effect, and tracking cookies may still be placed in your visitors’ browsers.
In that case, simply clearing the cache is usually enough to fix the issue.
On a self-hosted site just clear the cache plugin you’ve installed.
But the manipulation is more specific if you’re website is hosted by WordPress.com:
1. Go to www.wordpress.com/sites, click the three dots next to the relevant site, then -> Settings
2. Click on the tab -> Settings, then -> Caching
3. Then click the button -> “Clear all caches”
Check that the changes have taken effect and whether other plugins use tracking cookies
With Chrome:
1. It’s very important to use Incognito mode
2. Go to your website
3. Press F12 to open Developer Tools
Then click on Application -> Cookies
You should now only see functional cookies (WooCommerce cart, language, etc.), and no tracking cookies that require user consent.
If you still see tracking cookies, it likely means you have installed a plugin that tracks your visitors, and you will find it and then disable it.
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