# How to add a cookie consent banner to a Joomla site

> In Joomla, create a child template of Cassiopeia under System, then Site Templates, give it its own index.php copied from the parent, and paste the snippet on the line after the opening head tag. Make the child style the default, clear the cache, mark the tags you paste with type="text/plain" and a data-cq-category, and remove any other cookie extension.

Source: https://cookiequiet.com/platforms/joomla
Published: 2026-10-21
Publisher: Cookiequiet

## Steps

1. **Copy your snippet** In the Cookiequiet dashboard, open your website and copy the install snippet: one script tag with your site key, data-consent-mode and data-auto-block set to 1, and defer.
2. **Create a child template** Go to System, then Site Templates, open Cassiopeia Details and Files and click Create Child Template. Child template files are not touched by Joomla updates.
3. **Give the child its own index.php** Open the parent's index.php and copy its content. In the child template, click New File, create index.php at the root and paste the copy. A file with the same name in the child replaces the parent's.
4. **Paste the snippet after the head tag** In the child's index.php, add the snippet on the line right after the opening head tag, above the jdoc:include tags for metas, styles and scripts. Save.
5. **Make the child style the default** Go to System, then Site Template Styles, and click the star next to the child's style so every page uses it. Then clear the cache under System, then Clear Cache.
6. **Mark your tags and remove other banners** Give every analytics or marketing script you added the type="text/plain" attribute and a data-cq-category. Disable or uninstall any other cookie consent extension.
7. **Add the link and test** Add a URL menu item pointing to #cq-preferences in the footer menu. Open the site in a private window, click Reject all and check that no _ga or _fbp cookie is set.

## Where to paste the snippet in Joomla

Joomla has no global field for head code, so the snippet goes in the template. Cassiopeia, the default site template of Joomla 4, 5 and 6, prints the head of every page from `index.php`:

```html
<head>
  <script src="https://cookiequiet.com/cq.js" data-site="YOUR_SITE_KEY" data-consent-mode="1" data-auto-block="1" defer></script>
  <jdoc:include type="metas" />
  <jdoc:include type="styles" />
  <jdoc:include type="scripts" />
</head>
```

Putting the snippet above the `jdoc:include` tags means it loads before every script that Joomla and your extensions register through the web asset manager.

Do not edit Cassiopeia's own `index.php`: a Joomla update replaces core template files. Use a child template instead:

1. Go to **System**, then **Site Templates**, open **Cassiopeia Details and Files** and click **Create Child Template**. Give it a name and leave the additional styles empty.
2. Still in the parent, open `index.php` and copy its whole content.
3. Open the child template, click **New File**, create `index.php` in the root folder and paste the copy. Joomla documents that a child uses its parent's files except those with the same name in the child.
4. Add the snippet on the line after `<head>` and save.
5. Go to **System**, then **Site Template Styles**, and click the star next to the child's style to make it the default.
6. Clear the cache under **System**, then **Clear Cache**, and purge any page cache or CDN in front of the site.

Joomla 6 also ships a ready-made child, Cassiopeia Extended, which has its own `index.php`; add the snippet there if you use it. Commercial template frameworks often have a field for code in the head in their template options; it works if it prints the snippet before the other tags, which you can check in the page source.

## Which cookies does Joomla set itself?

Joomla sets a session cookie with a hashed name for every visitor, guests included. It carries the session (login, form tokens, cart in shop extensions) and is strictly necessary, so it needs no consent. Joomla's privacy tools (the Privacy component and the Privacy Consent plugin) handle data requests and consent checkboxes on forms, not cookies: there is no cookie banner in core to turn off. Extensions add the rest, which is why the free [cookie scanner](/tools/cookie-scanner) is the quickest way to list what your site actually sets.

## How to handle the tags your extensions add

- **Tags you paste in the template.** Place them below the snippet and mark them. For the Google tag, both script tags change:

```html
<script type="text/plain" data-cq-category="analytics" src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXXX"></script>
<script type="text/plain" data-cq-category="analytics">
  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
  function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
  gtag('js', new Date());
  gtag('config', 'G-XXXXXXX');
</script>
```

  The Meta Pixel gets `data-cq-category="marketing"`. The [guide to blocking scripts until consent](/guides/block-scripts-until-consent) covers the other common tags.
- **Analytics extensions.** An extension that prints its own Google tag cannot be marked from outside. Either replace it with the marked tag above, or load Google through [Google Tag Manager](/platforms/google-tag-manager) with Consent Mode.
- **Widgets injected with JavaScript.** With `data-auto-block="1"`, Cookiequiet holds the scripts and iframes of about 80 known trackers (Hotjar, Clarity, chat widgets, pixels) until their category is granted.
- **Videos in articles.** The editor stores YouTube embeds as plain iframes that load at once. Replace `src` with `data-cq-src` in the article's code view; the player loads after consent. Some editor configurations strip unknown attributes, so check the saved HTML.

Disable or uninstall any other cookie consent extension after the switch, so there is one banner and one consent log.

## How to add the Cookie preferences link

Go to **Menus**, open the menu shown in your footer, click **New**, choose the menu item type **System Links**, then **URL**, enter `#cq-preferences` as the link and "Cookie preferences" as the title, and save. Cookiequiet opens the preferences centre from any link with that address. In a Custom module, an anchor with the same `href` does the same job.

## How to test

1. Open the site in a private window. The banner shows with Accept all and Reject all of the same size.
2. Click **Reject all** and check the cookies in the developer tools: `cq_consent`, Joomla's session cookie, and nothing from Google, Meta or Hotjar.
3. Clear the cookies, reload, click **Accept all**: the marked tags run and their cookies appear.
4. Check the consent log in the Cookiequiet dashboard.

If the banner is missing, search the page source for `cq.js`. Usually the child style is not the default, a menu item is assigned to another template style, or the cache was not cleared.

## What is specific to Joomla

- **Template styles per menu item.** A menu item can be assigned to a different template style. Pages that use another template need the snippet in that template too.
- **Multilingual sites.** One snippet covers every language: the banner picks its language from the visitor's browser, with every string editable per language in the dashboard.
- **Price.** Cookiequiet is free for one website with geo-targeting included; Starter costs €3 per website per month with no pageview limit, see [pricing](/pricing).

## Questions

### Is there a Joomla extension for Cookiequiet?

No. The snippet is one script tag that goes in the head of your template. A child template of Cassiopeia keeps it safe from Joomla updates, and nothing else needs to be installed.

### Will a Joomla update remove the snippet?

Not if it is in a child template. Joomla updates replace Cassiopeia's own files, but files in a child template are yours and stay as they are.

### Does Joomla have a built-in cookie banner I need to switch off?

No. Joomla's privacy tools cover data requests and consent checkboxes on forms, not cookies. If a cookie extension from the Joomla Extensions Directory shows a banner, disable it after installing Cookiequiet.

### Does Joomla's session cookie need consent?

No. It keeps the session for logins, form security and carts, which is strictly necessary. The scanner lists it under Necessary in your cookie table.

## Sources

- [Joomla User Manual: Child Templates](https://guide.joomla.org/user-manual/templates/templates-child-templates)
- [Joomla Documentation: J4.x Cassiopeia Template Folders and Files](https://docs.joomla.org/J4.x:Cassiopeia_Template_Folders_and_Files)
- [Joomla source: Cassiopeia index.php (head and jdoc:include tags)](https://github.com/joomla/joomla-cms/blob/5.4-dev/templates/cassiopeia/index.php)
- [Joomla Magazine: Cassiopeia's child learns to dress itself (Cassiopeia Extended in Joomla 6)](https://magazine.joomla.org/all-issues/october-2025/cassiopeia%E2%80%99s-child-learns-to-dress-itself-colors-and-font-sizes-in-joomla%E2%80%99s-core-template)