The cookie banner isn't showing on the website

There can be several reasons why the cookie banner is missing from your website. For each one you'll find a way to check it and a solution. At the end, we describe the situations in which the cookie banner isn't supposed to show.

Start with verification

Open the website in incognito mode. In a regular browser window the cookie banner may not appear, because your earlier decision is saved there.

Check the script's setup status in the panel. Go to the “Installation” page and click “Verify now” and, on later attempts, “Check again”. If the CookieOfficer script is on your website, you'll see the heading “Script detected and active”. Otherwise you'll get the message “CookieOfficer banner not detected”.

The result of the check shows where to look for the cause. If the script wasn't detected, the problem is in the setup. If it was detected, the cause lies in the project settings.

Causes related to the script setup

The script hasn't been added to the website

How to check. Open the page's source code and search for the phrase cookieofficer. If it's missing, the script hasn't made it onto this subpage.

Solution. Paste the installation code into the website template, so that the script appears on all subpages. You'll find details for different platforms in the article Choosing a setup method.

The host doesn't belong to the domain group

A situation we come across often: the cookie banner shows on one domain but not on another, even though the code is the same.

How to check. Open the browser console. There you'll find a message saying that the host isn't part of the domain group, which is why the cookie banner stays inactive.

Solution. Add the missing domain or subdomain on the “Domains” page in the panel, using the “Add domain” button.

Wrong project ID in the installation code

A rare situation, seen when codes from different projects are combined by hand.

How to check. In the browser console you'll see a message about a mismatched ID or an error loading the script file.

Solution. Copy the code from the “Installation” page in the panel again and replace the previous version with it.

A plugin that speeds up the website has changed how the script loads

The problem appears on WordPress-based websites that have a plugin installed to speed up loading. The cookie banner then shows up late or not at all.

How to check. Open the page's source code. The CookieOfficer script is at the end of the document, is combined with other files, or has an attribute that delays loading.

Solution. Add cookieofficer to the plugin's exclusion list and clear the cache. You'll find more details in the article Excluding CookieOfficer code from WordPress cache plugins.

Causes related to the project settings

The project is paused

A situation where the cookie banner suddenly disappears even though nothing has changed on the website.

How to check. Go to the “Domains” page in the panel. If the project is paused, you'll see a red bar above the list with the date it was switched off and the reason: the pageview limit being exceeded or an unpaid invoice.

Solution. Upgrade your plan or pay the overdue invoice. The pause is lifted immediately after the purchase.

The visitor is outside the selected display region

The cookie banner is shown only to visitors from the region selected in the editor, so some see it and others don't.

How to check. In the cookie banner editor, go to the “Settings” step and check the selected display region.

Solution. Set it to “Whole world” if you want to ask all visitors for consent. Remember that outside the selected region, tracking tools start without asking for consent.

The change is waiting in a draft

A situation where the cookie banner looks different in the editor than on your website.

How to check. In the cookie banner editor you'll see a draft bar saying when the draft was saved.

Solution. Click “Publish changes”. The draft is stored only in your browser and doesn't reach your website until you publish it.

Delay in updating the configuration

Right after you publish changes, the cookie banner shows the previous version for a short time.

How to check. Check in the cookie banner editor whether the change has been published. If it has, the cache is the cause.

Solution. Wait a few minutes. The new configuration is kept in the cache for about five minutes.

When the cookie banner won't be visible on the website

The visitor's browser sends a privacy signal. Some browsers and extensions let you refuse consent in advance on all websites. This mechanism is called Global Privacy Control. The decision is then made automatically, and instead of the cookie banner the visitor sees a short bar with a message.

The visitor is outside the selected display region. This is a setting in the “Settings” step of the cookie banner editor.

The visitor has already made a decision. The cookie banner will be visible again only after the visitor's consent expires, after the cookie categories change, or after consents are renewed in the panel.