Consent Mode v2 on a WordPress site: what has to change before March 2024

From March 2024, Google requires sites that send traffic from the European Economic Area to Google Ads and Analytics to pass on users’ choices through Consent Mode v2. A cookie banner on its own is no longer enough. It also has to send a consent signal to Google tags, and in a new format. This is for people who run or manage a store on WordPress, WooCommerce or PrestaShop. You get a list of changes to make and the order to do them in before the deadline.

What is Consent Mode v2 and what does it change compared to the first version?

Consent Mode passes the user’s consent decision to Google tags and uses it to control how advertising and analytics data is collected. The first version had two parameters: ad_storage and analytics_storage. Now there are two more, ad_user_data and ad_personalization, as clearly described in Google’s developer documentation.

• ad_storage - storing advertising-related cookies,
• analytics_storage - storing analytics cookies, e.g. GA4,
• ad_user_data - consent to sending user data to Google for advertising purposes,
• ad_personalization - consent to personalised ads, including remarketing.

Oh, and one thing a lot of people get wrong. Consent Mode doesn’t store anything. The visitor’s choices are kept by the banner or the consent management platform (CMP), and Consent Mode only passes the result along. Think of it as a postman.

Who does Google’s EEA traffic requirement from March 2024 apply to?

Any site that measures or targets EEA users with Google tools. In practice, that mostly means Google Ads and GA4. In a small store this is usually remarketing, Google Ads conversion tracking, audience lists and Analytics linked to the ads account. No consent signals? Then advertising features and measurement will be limited for EEA traffic. And one more thing, to avoid any misunderstanding: Consent Mode is a Google technical requirement. It doesn’t replace your obligations under GDPR or telecommunications law, so go over the legal side with a lawyer.

Basic or advanced mode: which one should you choose?

In basic mode, Google tags load only after consent is given. In advanced mode, they start right away and send cookieless signals until the user decides. Basic is simpler and more cautious, but you get no data at all before consent. None. Advanced measures more fully, but setting it up needs more care. Google leaves the choice to whoever implements it and points to your company’s own guidelines (so, basically: decide for yourself). In my view, advanced mode has one detail you need to watch: the update command must be called on the same page where the user gives consent.

WordPress cookie banner and Google cookie consent: what the plugin must do

Asking for consent is only half the job. The banner also has to set the default Consent Mode values and update them after the user decides. Nothing is set by default, so this falls to the plugin. Before you pick a banner, check that it:

• sets the default value to denied before Google tags load,
• supports all four parameters, including ad_user_data and ad_personalization,
• calls the update command right after the click,
• remembers the choice and sends that state again on the following pages,
• lets users change their decision at any time.

Using Google Tag Manager? In that case Google recommends loading the banner through the container with a Consent Mode template. Ready-made templates from CMP vendors are in the Community Template Gallery.

How to implement Consent Mode v2 in WordPress and WooCommerce step by step

Overall it comes down to four things: a tag review, a v2-compatible banner, default values and a test that the state changes to granted after consent. I recommend this order:

1. List all Google tags: gtag.js, the GTM container and WooCommerce analytics plugins.
2. Remove duplicate tags, e.g. GA4 added both by a plugin and through GTM.
3. Choose a banner that supports v2 and configure it.
4. Set basic or advanced mode.
5. If needed, turn on ads_data_redaction (removing advertising data when there is no consent) and url_passthrough (passing click parameters in URLs).
6. Publish the changes and test them.

With gtag.js, the Google tag has to be on every page. So does the Consent Mode code. PrestaShop works exactly the same way, except you configure a module instead of a banner plugin.

How do you check that consents reach Google Ads and Analytics?

The easiest way is Tag Manager preview mode or the browser’s developer tools. Before anyone clicks the banner, the parameters should be set to denied, and after consent to granted. Test three scenarios: accepting everything, rejecting, and a partial choice. Repeat each one on several pages and through the WooCommerce checkout, all the way to the order confirmation. Only then do you know the choice is really remembered. What problems come up most often?

• tags loading before the default values are set,
• ad_user_data and ad_personalization missing from the configuration,
• page cache serving old banner code.

Consent Mode v2 before March: where to start right now

Start with the banner you already have. Does it support Consent Mode v2 or not? Then run it through the three scenarios above, and only then decide whether to switch plugins. And don’t leave this for the last week before the deadline. Changing the banner, cleaning up duplicate tags and testing the cart always take longer than you think. And consent errors only show up in Google Ads and Analytics reports, which is when the data is already lost.

Frequently asked questions