The cookie bar that eats your mobile traffic
A legally required element that quietly destroys the first impression — and the owner never sees it, because they look at their own site on a desktop.
The cookie notice is mandatory. Where you put it is not.
Most systems default to the top of the page, because on a desktop it looks fine there: a thin strip above the header, a few words, one button. Then the same strip lands on a phone and stops being thin. The text wraps to four lines, the button drops below it, and the whole block suddenly occupies a third to a half of the screen.
What disappears because of it
On a 390-pixel-wide phone screen you have roughly 650 pixels above the fold. If a cookie bar takes 300 of them, the first thing a visitor sees is the legal text and the top third of your hero image.
What they do not see: the logo, the menu button, the phone number, and the one sentence that would tell them whether they are in the right place. Their first impression of your business is a legal disclaimer.
On one Hungarian agency site we analysed, the bar occupied the top 330 pixels of the screen, completely covering the logo and the hamburger menu button — only the bottom edge of the button was visible.
Why nobody notices
- The owner looks on a desktop. There the bar really is thin.
- They click it once and never see it again. The choice is stored, and from then on their own browser shows a clean page.
- Visitors do not complain. They just leave.
How to fix it
- Move it to the bottom.
position: fixed; bottom: 0;— pinned to the bottom it can never cover your header. - Cap its height. Two lines of text maximum on mobile. The full notice belongs behind a "Details" link.
- Shorten the text. "We use cookies for functionality and advertising." That is enough for the bar; the rest goes on the linked page.
- Check the z-index. If it stays at the top, keep it below the header, or it will clip your logo.
- Store the decision. A returning visitor should not see it again.
How to check your own
Open a private window on your phone and load your own home page. Do not scroll. What you see is what every new visitor sees. If not much fits besides the cookie bar, you have found the cheapest fix on your site.