Complianz

We get a ton of questions from our readers about the best way to comply with GDPR and other important privacy laws.

Cookies can help you remember user preferences, keep people logged in, and even show targeted content, but they also store sensitive user data. If you don’t use cookies in the right way, then your website may be breaking a ton of important international laws and guidelines.

Since so many WPBeginner readers are concerned about cookies, in this review we’re taking a closer look at a plugin that promises to help you comply with GDPR, CCPA, COPPA, PIPEDA, and lots of other international laws.

In this Complianz review, we’ll look at this popular consent and cookie management plugin, to see if it has the features you need to handle this sensitive issue carefully. We’ll be looking at its features, the laws it supports, how easy it is to use, and other important factors.

So, is Complianz the right cookie consent and privacy plugin for you? Let’s find out, in this Complianz review.

Complianz Review: Why Use It in WordPress?

Complianz supports a wide range of different privacy laws and guidelines including GDPR, ePrivacy AVG, RGPD, and LGPD. Simply select the laws you want to comply with, and Complianz will automatically apply the correct privacy laws based on the visitor’s location.

Complianz will also scan your site for cookies and scripts, and automatically add this information to a detailed Cookie Policy that it creates automatically. Complianz will also fetch detailed descriptions from cookiedatabase.org and add them to your legal documents, including your Cookie Policy.

With that done, you can create a custom cookie consent banner that has your own color scheme, messaging, custom logo, and more. Complianz will then detect the visitor’s location and display this consent banner when it’s required by the local laws.

If you’re just getting started or have a limited budget, then you can download the lite version of Complianz from WordPress.org.

This free plugin lets you generate a Cookie Policy and select a single privacy law or guideline to use across your entire WordPress website.

However, if you upgrade to the premium plugin then you can support multiple laws and guidelines, and Complianz will select the correct law to use based on the visitor’s location.

The premium plans also come with A/B split testing and built-in statistics so you can track how visitors are interacting with your consent banners.

Complianz Review: Is It the Right Cookie Plugin for You?

Cookies can improve the user experience, but they also collect information about the visitor and may even sell that data to third-parties.

To comply with important privacy laws, you need a top-notch cookie consent plugin. This must have WordPress plugin will help people understand how you use their personal details, and lets them keep this information private, if they prefer.

With that said, let’s see if Complianz is the right cookie popup and consent plugin for you.

1. Easy to Set Up

It’s easy to get started with Complianz. To begin, you can install and activate it just like any other WordPress plugin.

With that done, Complianz has a user-friendly wizard that can configure your site for key privacy laws around the world. It can then generate important privacy documents based on the information you’ve entered.

To start, simply select all the privacy laws and guidelines you want to support, and Complianz will automatically apply the correct privacy laws based on the visitor’s location.

After that, Complianz will ask you some simple questions such as whether you allow user registration. If you do, then Complianz will extend the scan to the wp-admin part of your website.

Next, select which legal documents you want Complianz to generate such as a Cookie Policy, Privacy Statement, or imprint. The free plugin can generate a Cookie Policy, but you’ll need to buy a premium plan to create the other documents.

If you’ve already created a document, then you can select ‘Existing page’ or ‘URL’ and then link to that existing document on your WordPress blog.

The Complianz wizard will then guide you through other key privacy areas, such as whether to enable or disable data request forms, or respect the visitor’s Do Not Track requests.

Simply follow the onscreen instructions, and Complianz will update your WordPress website based on your answers.

You can also override these default settings at any time, or even re-run the setup wizard. This is ideal if you’ve made major changes to your WordPress website, and want to ensure your legal documents are still accurate.

2. Supports a Ton of Privacy Laws

Complianz supports all the following privacy regulations: GDPR, ePrivacy AVG, RGPD, LGPD, DSGVO, CNIL, PECR, UK DPA, CCPA, COPPA, PIPEDA, CASL, POPIA, Privacy Act 1988, Australian Privacy Principles, The Marco Civil, and the Brazilian General Data Protection Law.

That said, it’s a good choice for all kinds of blogs, business websites, online stores, and more.

3. Cookie Scanner

Complianz can scan your site for cookies and third-party scripts. It will then add this information to your Cookie Policy so visitors can understand how you’re using cookies on your site, and what you’re using them for.

Complianz will run this scan every month and update your Cookie Policy with any changes it finds. It will also send a message to your WordPress admin email, to keep you informed about these updates.

4. Cookie Policy Generator

A Cookie Policy lists all the cookies you use, along with information about all the personal data you collect, and how you plan to use that data.

Collecting this information manually would take a lot of time and effort. Instead, Complianz can scan your website for cookies and scripts, and then create a Cookie Policy automatically. This policy will also include all the information you entered about your site, such as the owner’s name, your location, and business email address.

Complianz will also fetch the latest information from cookiedatabase.org, so visitors can learn more about the exact cookies you use on your website.

Already created a Cookie Policy for your website? Then you can link to this URL or existing page in the plugin’s settings.

5. Integrates With CookieDatabase.org

When it detects a cookie or service on your site, Complianz will fetch its description from cookiedatabase.org and then add that to your Cookie Policy. This database is constantly updated with clear and transparent descriptions, so you can be confident that you’re always showing useful information to your visitors.

Complianz can even link to each cookie’s page on cookiedatabase.org, so visitors can get more information if they need it.

For most websites, Complianz will get enough information from cookiedatabase.org. However, if you’re using a cookie that isn’t described on cookiedatabase.org, then you can add this information to your Policy manually.

6. Fully Customizable Cookie Banners

Complianz lets you add a cookie consent banner to your WordPress website, blog, or WooCommerce store.

This banner is completely customizable so you can fine-tune it to perfectly suit your WordPress theme or personal branding.

For example, you can change the background color, buttons, toggles, and text color.

You can also add your own messaging, so visitors can make a more informed decision about whether to share their personal information.

You can even add links to the banner. For example, you might link to your Privacy Policy or contact form where visitors can ask any questions they might have.

More advanced users can even add custom CSS to the banner for a completely unique look.

7. Geographical Targeting

Different regions have different privacy laws. For example, you’ll need to comply with GDPR when visitors are coming from the EU or UK, while also displaying information about CCPA/CPRA for people located in the United States.

Thankfully, Complianz will automatically detect the visitor’s location and then show the correct version of your documents, including the relevant Cookie Policy and Privacy Statement.

Even better, it has a GEO IP setting that you can enable. That done, Complianz will check the visitor’s location and only show the cookie banner if it’s required in their region. This can improve your cookie consent ratio, since you don’t need to request permission from every single visitor.

In addition, you’ll be happy to learn that Complianz comes with an A/B testing tool. This lets you create different versions of your cookie banner, to see which gets the most opt-ins.

8. Consent Logging

At some point, you may need to prove that you have permission to collect and use an individual’s personal information. For example, data authorities might ask you to demonstrate cookie consent for your website.

To help you out, Complianz keeps a detailed record of your consent management changes and each user’s consent registration.

9. Built-in Cookie Statistics

After creating a consent banner, you’ll want to monitor whether people are opting into your cookies or not. You can then use this insight to fine-tune your banners, in order to get better conversion rates.

Instead of relying on a separate analytics solution, Complianz records your consent statistics and then displays this information directly in the WordPress dashboard. To help you comply with important privacy laws, these statistics are fully anonymous and stored locally.

10. Privacy Policy Generator

Legally, your website needs a Privacy Policy page that discloses all the information you collect about the people who visit your website. Thankfully, Complianz can create a complete Privacy Statement as part of its setup process.

Alternatively, if you’ve already created this statement then you can select it in the Complianz settings. No matter what approach you choose, Complianz will link to this document in your consent banner, so visitors can find it with ease.

11. Cookie Auto-Blocking

Laws such as GDPR require you to automatically block non-essential cookies.

The good news is that Complianz can identify the most commonly used third-party cookies and stop them from being set on the browser. This includes Google Maps, Facebook, Instagram, AdSense, HubSpot, reCAPTCHA, X/Twitter, and ActiveCampaign.

Just be aware that Complianz can only block third-party marketing cookies that consent to the WP Consent API.

12. Block iFrames Automatically

Complianz can block iFrames like YouTube, Vimeo, and Dailymotion. With that done, it can display a custom placeholder for these blocked iFrames.

Beyond that, Complianz can block social iFrames, such as Instagram and Facebook.

13. Ready-Made Data Request Forms

Many privacy laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) give individuals the right to access and delete their personal data.

To help you comply with these rules, Complianz can add a data request form to your Privacy Statement, so visitors can easily request access to their information.

They can also use this form to request an export of their data, or even request that you completely delete all the personal information you have about them.

Behind-the-scenes, Complianz has an area where you can view all these visitor requests, and export their data as a ZIP file.

14. Create Data Processing Documents

Do you need to create a Data Processing Agreement?

Complianz’s user-friendly wizard will guide you through the steps to creating a legally validated Processing Agreement for your WordPress website.

In the worst case scenario where you encounter a security issue, Complianz can also generate a Data Breach Report. You can then send this report to your supervisory authority and everyone affected by the data leak.

15. DNT and GPC Support

Most modern web browsers have a Do Not Track (DNT) setting. When enabled, it tells websites that the user doesn’t want to be tracked. There’s also a Global Privacy Control (GPC), which signals the user doesn’t want you to sell their data.

To help you provide a better user experience, Complianz can respect the user’s DNT and GPC settings. When activated, Complianz won’t show your cookie consent banner to anyone who has DNT or GPC enabled, as their consent status will be sent to ‘Denied’ by default.

16. Supports Popular Analytics Tools

Are you using an analytics solution to track your website visitors?

For Google Analytics users, Complianz can check if you need a cooking warning based on whether you only have functional cookies on your site.

Are you using Matomo instead? Then you can enable cookieless tracking with Matomo inside the Complianz settings. If the visitor gives consent, then Complianz will release Matomo cookies and you’ll get more context and insight into that person’s behavior.

17. Supports 45+ Locales

Do you run a multilingual WordPress website? The Complianz menus and legal documents are fully translated into over 45+ locales, so you should have no problems using it on your multilingual website.

18. Supports Google Consent Mode

Google Consent Mode lets you communicate the visitor’s cookie consent status to Google. Google will then adjust the behavior of its analytics solution, Ads and any third-party tags that create or read cookies.

This may sound complicated, but the good news is that Complianz can enable Google Consent Mode for you. With that done, Complianz will only use statistical cookies if the visitor explicitly gives their consent.

19. Export Your Complianz Settings

Do you run multiple websites? In that case, you may want to use the same Complianz settings in multiple locations. This can save you a ton of time and effort, compared to recreating your settings manually on every single website.

In that case, you can export all your Complianz settings and then import them into any other website that has the plugin installed.

If you run a WordPress development agency, then you can even use this feature to create a template of all the essential settings you typically use on client sites.

You can then import this template into any client website, and get a head start on setting up their cookie consent banners.

20. Compatible With WordPress Multisite

Do you run a WordPress multisite network? In that case, Complianz is fully compatible with WordPress multisite.

When setting up the plugin, simply specify the root domain you want to set the cookies on.

21. Community and Professional Support

With its automated cookie scans and set up wizard, Complianz aims to make a potentially-complicated task straightforward. Simply follow the onscreen instructions and it will typically create all the legal documents and cookie consent banners you need, in order to comply with all kinds of privacy laws.

With that said, privacy is an important topic so you’ll want to ensure you’re doing everything right.

To help you out, Complianz has online documentation that you can access 24/7. This includes detailed guides to all the plugin’s features, plus tips on how to resolve some common WordPress errors you may encounter when using it.

In addition, all the premium plans come with 1 year of support, so you can submit a ticket at any time and get help directly from the experts. According to the Complianz website, they aim to respond within 24 hours during weekdays, and within 48 hours over the weekend.

If you’re using the free plugin, then you can post your questions to the Complianz forum on WordPress.org. When posting to a public support form, we recommend providing as much information as possible. This helps the experts to understand the problem fully, so they can post a helpful response.

For more on this topic, please see our guide on how to properly ask for WordPress support and get it.

Complianz Review: Pricing and Plans

If you’re just getting started or have a limited budget, then you can download the lite version of Complianz from WordPress.org. This plugin comes with a built-in cookie scanner and can generate a Cookie Policy for you.

It can also automatically block third-party cookies and iFrames, and will anonymize personal data if you’re using an analytics solution.

However, the premium plugin goes one step further and will apply the correct privacy laws based on the visitor’s location. In addition, it can generate additional legal documents including a Privacy Statement and Processing Agreement.

You can also access detailed statistics and A/B testing so you can see exactly how people are interacting with your cookie consent banners.

Unlike some other privacy plugins, you’ll get the full range of features no matter what Complianz plan you buy. The main difference is the number of sites where you can use Complianz:

• Personal. For $59 per year, you can install Complianz on a single WordPress website.
• Professional. Priced at $179 per year, this plan lets you use Complianz on up to 5 websites. This makes it a great choice if you run several websites, such as multiple affiliate marketing blogs in a network.
• Agency. For $399, you can use this plugin on up to 25 websites. With that said, this is a good option for freelance developers and designers, or even WordPress development agencies. Agency is also the only plan that includes multisite support, so it’s a must-have if you run a multisite network.

Complianz Review: Is It the Right Cookie Plugin for You?

To sum up this Complianz review, we’re confident that it’s a great cookie consent and privacy plugin. It can scan your site and create a custom Cookie Policy, plus other important legal documents that you can add to your site. Even better, Complianz will routinely scan your site and update your documents with any new or modified cookies it discovers.

Beyond that, Complianz can show different documents and cookie consent banners to visitors based on their geographical location. In this way, you can comply with important privacy laws around the world.

We hope this Complianz review helped you decide whether it’s the right cookie plugin for you. Next, you may want to see our ultimate WordPress security guide, or check out our expert pick of the best email marketing services.

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