Norwich Website Design: Cookie Law Overview

When the Cookie Law was past many working in website design were worried that it was going to have a knock on effect on businesses working predominantly online. Norwich website designers have reported that fortunately, this has not been the case.

Norwich (I-Newswire) August 31, 2012 - When the deadline for complying with the Information Commissioner’s Office passed on the 26th May, website designers waited with baited breath to see what it would mean for the UK’s online industry and whether it would have a major effect on the performance of websites.

Bigfork, a website design company in Norwich have said they’re: “pleased by the way things have turned out. The ruling hasn’t resulted in damaging the UK web and hasn’t been expensive for businesses to comply with”. Let’s take a look at the facts and figures.

Initially it was worrying that there seemed to be a great deal of ‘grey areas’ in the law, which left room for debate. However, following a guide for users and website operators by the UK International Chamber of Commerce, downloadable here, everything seemed to be a whole lot clearer.

The main area was the ‘implied consent’ mentioned by the ICO which they have cleared up with a revised document. Rather than having to pause all cookies on your website before gaining consent from the visitor this ‘implied consent’ meant that as long as clear information was provided to users about analytical cookies, there would not be any measures taken against the web provider. Cookies of this nature are vital for the overall operation and performance of many websites, which is the reason why so many business owners were apprehensive about the law.

As you browse the internet, you’ve probably noticed that there have been a number of different approaches to complying with the cookie law. The BBC, for example, now features a box across the top of the screen notifying visitors that cookies are in use. This box gives you the option to click “continue” which will close the box, “find out more” which leads to an informational page about cookies and what they do and finally “change your cookie settings” which allows for a customised setting. This approach, or a similar one is the same as many high-profile companies have decided to take, some more extravagant than others.

At the other end of the scale many websites have chosen to simply add a link to an informational page, and with the addition of the ‘implied consent’ form, this is a much easier and simpler solution which will cover the ICO’s regulations.