What is the difference between a project, a domain and a domain group?
Learn the three basic concepts and how they affect the way the banner and consents work.
Project, domain and domain group are three key concepts in CookieOfficer that determine how the banner works and how the consents given by visitors are managed. Below you'll find their definitions and the rules that follow from them.
In short
| Concept | What it is | What it has of its own |
|---|---|---|
| Project | The basic unit of work in the panel, to which the entire configuration is assigned | ID, banner, cookie categories, Consent Log, statistics |
| Main domain | The address you create the project for | Project name, a separate line in billing |
| Additional domain | Another address served by the same project, for example a subdomain | A separate line in billing |
| Domain group | All the addresses served by one project | The scope in which the code works on the site |
What is a project?
A project is the main configuration unit in the panel. You create it for one main domain, and all the settings, that is the banner, categories, Consent Log and statistics, are assigned to it. Every project has a unique ID that is used in the code you paste into your site.
What are the main domain and an additional domain?
- Main domain: the address you create the project for. You can't edit it, but you can add a new one and remove the old one. The project will then take the name of the new domain.
- Additional domain: another address served by the same project, for example a subdomain. You add it in the “Domains” section with the “Add domain” button. It shares its configuration, that is the banner, categories and Consent Log, with the main domain.
Domain limit:
- Free plan: one domain.
- Basic and higher plans: no limit.
What is a domain group?
A domain group is the set of all addresses served by one project: the main domain, additional domains and the staging alias (one per project, available from the Basic plan). The banner code works only on addresses in this group.
Exception: the www prefix is stripped automatically, so yourcompany.com and www.yourcompany.com are treated as the same address.
How consents work within a domain group
- By default: consent is saved separately for each address. Moving from
yourcompany.comtoshop.yourcompany.comwill cause the banner to be shown again. - To avoid asking visitors repeatedly to set their consent status, turn on consent sharing across the group in the “Consent across the domain group” section on the Settings page. The feature is available from the Basic plan.
Scope of sharing:
- Subdomains of the same domain, for example
yourcompany.comandshop.yourcompany.com: consent carries over automatically. - Different second-level domains, for example
yourcompany.comandyourcompany.de: carrying consent over isn't guaranteed because of browser restrictions.
When to use a new project and when an additional domain
| Situation | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| A subdomain of the same site | Additional domain |
| Another address of the same brand | Additional domain |
| A different brand, different banner texts | New project |
| Another agency client's site | New project |
| Test environment | Staging alias within the project |
You'll find the full step-by-step instructions for adding a new domain in the article How do I add a new domain?.
Mistakes to avoid
- Don't create a new project for a subdomain. It will split the statistics and force you to set up a second piece of code.
- Don't count on the code working on an address outside the domain group. The banner won't be shown and scripts won't be blocked.
- Don't assume that consent given on one domain works on another. Without sharing, each address collects consents separately.