User consent is a key challenge for websites, whether you’re an advertiser or a publisher. Once obtained, it unlocks crucial digital marketing strategies like personalized product recommendations, optimized ad targeting, and audience monetization. To make the most of these opportunities, achieving a high opt-in rate is essential— something that heavily depends on how users interact with your Consent Management Platform (CMP).
That’s why Axeptio’s CMP includes a powerful yet often overlooked feature: the Consent Wall. What is it exactly? How does it fit with regulations? What are its strengths? How can you implement it? The first edition of our Product Lab editorial series breaks it all down for you—no jargon, just clear and actionable insights!
What is a Consent Wall?
A Consent Wall is a configuration that places the consent widget at the center of the screen, visually standing out with a subtle shadow effect. It usually pauses navigation until the user makes a choice. The idea is simple: by making the consent interface more prominent, you increase the likelihood of user interaction. However, unlike a Cookie Wall—a dark pattern that forces users to consent before accessing the site—Axeptio’s Consent Wall never pressures users into saying "yes." They always retain the ability to accept, refuse, or customize their consent settings according to the type of cookies, ensuring full compliance with GDPR and other privacy laws.
The Axeptio Consent Wall is designed to improve widget visibility. This feature is particularly valuable for publishers and businesses looking to improve their CMP’s interaction rate.
Since there’s nothing better than a real-world example to illustrate what we mean, let’s take a look at how La Voix de l’Ain leveraged Axeptio’s Consent Wall in a content monetization strategy. They paired it with Opper (formerly Qiota) to offer an alternative experience for users who declined cookies. Curious to see the full case study? Check out our deep dive with Sogemedia.
What’s the Impact of a Consent Wall on Your Performance and Audience?
Deploying a Consent Wall can directly affect several key performance indicators (KPIs), for better or worse. Let’s break it down:
- Higher interaction rates with the CMP – Placing the widget front and center significantly increases the chances of users making an active choice—whether accepting or refusing cookies.
- More opt-ins – Greater visibility leads to more interactions, which can ultimately drive up the number of users consenting to cookie usage.
- Potential friction in user experience – Some users may find the interruption frustrating, leading to higher bounce rates.
- Impact on web performance – Since the Consent Wall appears as a priority element during the loading page, it can affect Core Web Vitals, particularly Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)—which measures how quickly key page elements are displayed. A bad LCP could, in turn, influence your SEO rankings. If you want to dive deeper, check out our dedicated guide on web performance.
Ultimately, enabling a Consent Wall is a strategic decision that requires balancing compliance, opt-in rates, user experience, and technical performance.
How to Set Up a Consent Wall in Axeptio
Axeptio’s CMP allows you to activate a Consent Wall by adjusting the display settings in your back office. The process depends on whether you’re using Axeptio for Brands or Axeptio for Publishers. Here’s how it works:
1 – Axeptio for Brands (Your website or mobile app does not sell ad space.)
With Axeptio for Brands, the Contextual Consent Wall feature allows you to trigger the widget display based on different conditions:
- Click activation – The widget appears when a user clicks on a specific site element.
- Time delay – The Consent Wall is displayed after a predefined waiting period.
- Scroll activation – The widget appears once the user scrolls a certain distance down the page.
To implement a Consent Wall, simply set the minimum delay value for your Contextual Consent Wall.
2 – Axeptio for Publishers
Your website or mobile app sells ad space and you’ve chosen Axeptio to ensure compliance with TCF v2.2 and Google certification.
With Axeptio for Publishers, setup is managed directly in the back office:
- Go to "Customize the widget look”
- Select "Centered" as the widget position.
Need Help? We’ve Got You Covered! Whether you’re an advertiser or a publisher, if you have any questions about setting up this feature, feel free to reach out to your Customer Success Manager. Just reach out, and we’ll handle the rest!
Stay tuned for the next edition of Product Lab!
You are not yet connected to Axeptio and would like to benefit from the Consent Wall feature?
