Website cookies » The data protection guide for tradespeople & industry
Published: 17.04.2024 | Reading time: 10 minutes
This text is machine translated.
Cookies are clever mini-files on the internet that are exchanged between a website accessed by a visitor and the visitor's computer, smartphone, tablet or internet-enabled TV. Cookies give websites a memory and are now a natural part of the internet. They are used for various applications, quite classically to better tailor the content offered to the visitor. Cookies can make the use of websites particularly convenient, for example by saving preferred product categories. The user is then automatically shown the appropriate category when they visit the site again.
The saving and reading of cookies when surfing the web normally takes place unnoticed in the background. However, on many websites you are asked to allow the use of cookies by a pop-up. The reason for this is the European Union's ePrivacy Directive, which aims to improve data protection for internet users. The background to this is that cookies can be used to track which websites a user visits - including the creation of visitor profiles for advertising purposes.
In this guide, we inform you about what you, as a craftsman, technical service provider or industrial company, should pay attention to when using cookies on your website.
What are cookies and where are they used?
Cookies are small text files that websites and online stores store on the visitor's computer via their browser when they access the page. Cookies can be created as soon as you enter the desired URL or address in a browser such as Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari or Edge and the page opens.
Cookies usually contain a user ID that serves as a kind of fingerprint. When you visit the website again, the web server checks whether its cookie is present in your browser and reads it. Based on the stored ID, the server recognizes you and can assign your user preferences, such as your preferred language or your personalized page settings. This is convenient for automatically displaying information relevant to you, but also allows website operators to collect statistical data and track clicks over several sessions.
Which data is collected depends on the type, content and structure of the respective online offer. By transmitting back the stored cookie information, news services, for example, can preferentially display messages that are relevant to visitors. Sites with a login function can greet you personally when you enter them without you having to enter your user name and password again. Online stores can use a cookie to remember the contents of your shopping cart.
How do cookies work?
Cookies for the browser (HTTP cookies) contain pure text information. They can only be stored on the user's computer, smartphone or tablet if the browser used allows this. In your browser settings, you can specify the conditions under which the browser accepts cookies and whether permitted cookies are automatically deleted by the browser when you close it, for example.
Only the website you are currently visiting may write cookies and read its own cookies from the user. Access to other browser cookies or computer files is not possible. In addition, a cookie file is bound to the browser in which it was saved. A cookie stored in Firefox can only be evaluated in Firefox itself and not in Google Chrome or Edge.
If you switch browsers, use an incognito tab, use a different device, block or delete cookies, the website will not be able to read any cookies. You will then have to log in again.
Session cookies
Session cookies are intended for the short-term storage of information and as a session ID. Their validity is limited to the duration of a browser session.
Persistent cookies
Persistent cookies are session-independent and do not expire automatically. They remain on the user's computer or mobile device for a longer period of time, for example to restore individual user preferences.
Tracking cookies
Tracking cookies are persistent cookies that do not originate from the website you are visiting, but from an ad server linked to the website of an advertising provider or a tracking tool for website analysis that acts as a third-party provider. Tracking cookies are therefore also called third-party cookies. They enable tracking of surfing behavior via various homepages that contain advertising, links to social networks or special areas for subscription services.
Why are cookies so important for websites and stores?
Cookies help users of websites reach their destination faster and ensure convenience. They save you from having to repeatedly enter search criteria, select categories and enter login details on subsequent visits. If the browser crashes, you can continue after reopening the page and do not need to click on everything again or place goods in the shopping cart again.
Another advantage of cookies is the traceability of website use. The website operator can use them to find out in retrospect how his website is being used. The best-known tracking tool for web analysis is Google Analytics.
The targeted delivery of online advertising is also based on cookies. Usage-based online advertising is about showing visitors to websites and social networks banner ads that are tailored to their interests. Such advertising is derived from the previous surfing behavior of Internet users. You may have already noticed personalized advertising if you have searched for certain tools, for example. You will then be shown product advertisements on other sites that match the tool you are looking for.
What opportunities does the use of cookies open up?
If you operate a website, you are faced with a large number of competing companies on the Internet, especially in search engines such as Google. That's why you should stay on the ball with the structure and content of your online presence and offer topics that meet the interests of your customers. Page optimization allows you to address your target group more specifically. You will then receive better search engine rankings and consequently more visitors to your website.
Site optimization
For site optimization and search engine optimization, it is important to know as much as possible about your visitors. As a website operator, cookies give you the opportunity to find out more about visitors and customers. This starts with a simple counting function. It tells you when and how often someone visits your site. The user statistics obtained from cookies also reveal which sections and subpages are read particularly frequently. Even the parts of your website that are hardly relevant can be tracked down. By optimizing high-traffic content, you can improve the overall relevance of your site.
One finding for an installer's website could be, for example, that information on the use of renewable energy sources, photovoltaics and solar thermal energy is clicked on particularly often. The online presence of a facility management service provider could record the most clicks for building services for industry, for example, and information and data sheets on smart home systems could be particularly popular on the website of an electrical installation company.
Personalization
Cookies allow you to personalize your website. Once settings such as topic selection, page elements, search terms and login data have been made, they can be clearly assigned to a user via a cookie. They are automatically activated as default settings and do not need to be re-entered each time.
Services
Cookies can be crucial for some functions of a website, for example when processing form data. When uploading files, cookies allow the documents to be assigned to the respective user. Cookies are usually essential for the proper operation of online shopping functions. In the store environment, cookies can be helpful for tracking advertising measures and measuring reach.
Security
Cookies make it possible to prove when and where a user last logged in, which options they agreed to and which content they accessed. This information is relevant, for example, as proof of the use of paid content or in the event of suspected identity misuse and damage to reputation. Cookies can also be used for spam protection. In the store environment, the tracking of advertising measures and reach measurements via cookies can be helpful.
How long is cookie data stored?
The storage period on the user's device depends on the function of the cookie. Session cookies expire automatically and are deleted after a session. Persistent cookies are stored long-term and are only deleted when the corresponding website overwrites the cookie data or the browser removes a cookie.
Every modern browser offers the option of deleting individual or all cookies, for example via a menu command or automatically when the browser is closed. Additional programs for browsers and add-ons can also delete cookies according to desired criteria.
Cookies: Everything you need to know about data protection
As the operator of a website, you must ensure that all requirements of the European ePrivacy Directive and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are met when processing personal data. The aim of the GDPR is to inform data subjects about the collection, processing and use of personal data and to offer them the opportunity to object. In many cases, it is also necessary to obtain consent before setting cookies.
ECJ cookie ruling
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that the use of cookies that are not technically necessary requires active consent. This generally includes all tracking cookies, regardless of whether they are suitable for uniquely identifying users.
Active consent means explicit consent given by ticking or clicking, the so-called opt-in. Pre-ticked consent, which was common practice for a long time, is invalid according to the ECJ.
Privacy policy for website
The use of all cookies must also be described in the privacy policy. This must describe the collection, use, transfer, storage and protection of personal data.
How does active consent to the use of cookies work?
Without genuine consent, technically non-essential cookies are taboo according to the ECJ. The requirements formulated by the European Court of Justice for the consent of cookies are strict. A simple cookie notice that can be clicked away or that users must object to (opt-out) does not constitute sufficient consent.
If you use cookies on your website, it is advisable to display a prominent and conspicuous notice for your own security. It should inform the visitor in advance, even before a cookie is written, about the use of cookies. It is advisable to provide information on what data is collected and what happens to it. The user is asked to consent to the cookies. The website can only be used as intended once consent has been given.
Every website operator must ensure the correct use of cookies. The obligation to provide information on the use of cookies applies in principle to every operator who uses cookies. This does not only apply to online stores, which typically rely on the use of cookie files and cannot do without them.
Even purely informative websites of companies, craftsmen and service providers are subject to the cookie regulation if their online presence itself uses cookies, integrates third-party content or uses cookie-supported software modules, such as web analytics tools like Google Analytics, Piwik, eAnalytics, Open Web Analytics, Adobe Digital Marketing Suite, IBM Marketing Center or Webtrends Analytics.
The web analysis tools check the visitor behavior of a website. They help the operator to evaluate page views and the way in which visitors use the website.
Danger of warnings due to cookies?
Yes. Competition associations, competitors and consumer associations can issue warning letters to website operators for non-compliant websites. Make sure that your website is legally compliant with regard to the ECJ ruling on cookies and the requirements of the GDPR. Consult with the agency or web designer who manages your website.
Cookies: Tips on use for tradespeople and companies
- Homepage check: Check and modify existing cookie banners so that explicit consent must be given with genuine, free choice. Refrain from displaying information without consent.
- Negative option: Check how your website behaves when visitors object to the use of cookies.
- GDPR compliance: Regularly check that the privacy policy on your website complies with the requirements of the GDPR.
- No active social networks on the website: Refrain from using Facebook's Like button and elements of other social networks and social media plug-ins in favor of legal certainty.
- Inform users: Integrate help texts with instructions on how to delete cookies on your website.