Consently – Cookie Consent & Compliance

Description

Consently is a powerful Consent Management Platform (CMP) that helps you comply with GDPR, CCPA, ePrivacy, and IAB TCF v2.3 regulations. This plugin connects your WordPress site to your Consently account to display a fully customizable cookie consent banner.

Key Features

  • Account Connection – Link your WordPress site to a Consently account with a single API key
  • Banner Injection – Injects the Consently consent banner before all other scripts for proper compliance
  • Google Consent Mode v2 – Sets deny-all defaults before any Google tag, then updates on consent
  • Cache Plugin Compatibility – Auto-configures WP Rocket, LiteSpeed, W3 Total Cache, Autoptimize, SG Optimizer, and WP Super Cache
  • WP Consent API Bridge – Broadcasts consent signals to compatible WordPress plugins
  • Cookie Scanner – Combines remote browser scan with local WordPress analysis for comprehensive cookie detection
  • Settings – Local settings plus read-only view of your Consently configuration
  • Diagnostics – Full system status view for troubleshooting
  • WP Site Health Integration – Adds Consently checks to WordPress’s built-in health tool
  • Multisite Support – Network activation with per-subsite configuration

How It Works

  1. Sign up at consently.net and get your API key
  2. Install this plugin on your WordPress site
  3. Enter your API key and click Connect
  4. Your site is automatically registered and the consent banner goes live immediately

External services

This plugin connects to the Consently consent management platform (consently.net) to provide its functionality. It is required for the plugin to work, since the consent banner, cookie database, and compliance configuration are managed in your Consently account.

1. Consently API – api.consently.net

All API calls are triggered by an explicit user action in the WordPress admin and authenticate with the API key you enter. No API calls are made on plugin activation or on front-end page loads.

  • POST /api/wp/connect – Triggered when you click “Connect”. Sends your site URL, site name, WordPress version, and the plugin version to register the site.
  • GET /api/wp/site-config/{site_id} – Triggered when you connect or refresh configuration. Sends the site ID; retrieves your banner ID and script-blocking configuration.
  • POST /api/v1/scans – Triggered when you start a cookie scan. Sends the website ID and the page URLs to scan.
  • GET /api/v1/scans/{id} – Triggered while a scan is running, to poll its status. Sends the scan ID.
  • POST and GET /api/v1/websites/{id}/cookies – Triggered when you sync scan results. Sends and retrieves cookie records (name, domain, category, etc.).

2. Consently CDN – app.consently.net

The consent banner JavaScript (app.consently.net/consently.js) is loaded on your site’s front-end pages so visitors can see and interact with the consent banner. Only your banner ID is passed, via a data attribute on the script tag.

By using this plugin, you agree to Consently’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Local scanner reference data (not an external service): The cookie scanner ships a bundled, local data file (includes/data/tracker-domains.json) listing known tracker domain names. It is used only to classify scripts and cookies already present on your own site, by string matching against those names. The plugin does not contact, load files from, or send data to any of those domains — they are reference data only. api.consently.net and app.consently.net above are the only external services the plugin actually connects to.

Installation

From your WordPress dashboard

  1. Go to Plugins > Add New and search for “Consently”
  2. Click Install Now, then Activate
  3. Go to Consently in the admin menu
  4. Enter your API key and click Connect

Your site is registered automatically and the consent banner goes live immediately – no theme edits or template changes needed.

Manual installation

  1. Download the plugin ZIP from this page
  2. Go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin, choose the ZIP, and click Install Now (or extract the consently folder into /wp-content/plugins/)
  3. Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu
  4. Follow steps 3-4 above

Where do I get an API key?

Sign up free at consently.net, then copy the API key from your Consently Dashboard. A free account is enough to connect your site, show the banner, and run cookie scans.

FAQ

Do I need a Consently account?

Yes. This plugin connects to the Consently platform where you configure your consent banner, manage cookies, and view consent analytics. Sign up at consently.net.

Is this plugin free?

Yes. The WordPress plugin is free, and a free Consently account is sufficient to use it – you can connect your site, display the consent banner, and run cookie scans on the free plan. Consently also offers paid plans with higher limits and additional platform features. See consently.net/pricing for details.

Does it work with caching plugins?

Yes. The plugin automatically detects and configures exclusion rules for WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, LiteSpeed Cache, WP Super Cache, Autoptimize, and SG Optimizer. For Kinsta and Cloudflare, manual instructions are provided.

Is it compatible with Google Consent Mode v2?

Yes. The plugin injects Google Consent Mode v2 defaults (deny-all) before any other script on the page, then updates consent state when visitors make their choice.

Does it support WordPress multisite?

Yes. Network activation makes the plugin available across all sites. Each subsite connects with its own API key and has its own banner, scan results, and consent logs. A network-wide default API key can be set by the super admin.

Reviews

There are no reviews for this plugin.

Contributors & Developers

“Consently – Cookie Consent & Compliance” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

Contributors

Changelog

1.0.10

  • Fixed the consent banner failing to load on sites with Google Consent Mode enabled.

1.0.9

  • Moved the local cookie-scanner tracker-domain reference list from a PHP file into a plain JSON data file, to make clear it is local reference data and not a set of external services.
  • Removed Consently’s own domains from that scanner reference list.

1.0.8

  • Corrected the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy links in the External Services section.
  • Updated plugin contributor metadata.

1.0.7

  • Enqueued the admin bar icon style instead of printing it inline.
  • The CDN reachability check now runs only after the site is connected, so no external request is made before setup.

1.0.6

  • Removed the duplicate Plugin URI header (it matched the Author URI).
  • Removed an unused languages folder and Domain Path header.

1.0.5

  • Updated plugin header and listing details for the WordPress.org directory.

1.0.4

  • Updated for compatibility with WordPress 7.0.
  • Improved code to fully comply with WordPress.org Plugin Directory standards (standard script enqueuing, output escaping, input sanitization, and translator comments).
  • Added a GPLv2 license file.

1.0.3

  • Removed the built-in auto-updater; the plugin now receives updates through WordPress.
  • The consent banner script is now loaded using WordPress’s standard script enqueue system.
  • Hardened security: consent cookie data is sanitized field-by-field, and the settings page enforces a proper capability check.
  • Scan-related admin notices now appear only on Consently screens instead of on every admin page.
  • Improved performance of the network admin page on large multisite networks.
  • Tested up to WordPress 6.9.

1.0.2

  • Added the Consently logo to the admin menu and settings header.

1.0.1

  • Fixed an issue with the display of cookie scan results.

1.0.0

  • Initial release.
  • Account connection with API key authentication.
  • Banner injection with Google Consent Mode v2 defaults.
  • Cache plugin compatibility (WP Rocket, LiteSpeed, W3 Total Cache, Autoptimize, SG Optimizer, WP Super Cache).
  • WP Consent API bridge with PHP-side and JS-side consent propagation.
  • Cookie scanner with local WordPress analysis and remote browser scan.
  • Tabbed settings page with local and remote configuration.
  • Diagnostics tab with copy-to-clipboard.
  • WordPress Site Health integration with six checks.
  • Multisite support with a network admin page.