> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cookiechimp.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How Long Does It Take to Set Up a CMP?

> Set up CookieChimp in as little as 10 minutes. The fastest, easiest consent management platform to configure and deploy.

Setting up a Consent Management Platform (CMP) is one of those tasks that most teams expect to take days or even weeks. Between reading through legal requirements, configuring consent categories, blocking scripts, and testing everything — it can feel overwhelming.

With CookieChimp, **it can take as little as 10 minutes** to go from zero to a fully compliant consent setup.

## Why are most CMPs slow to set up?

Traditional consent management platforms require you to:

* Manually audit every cookie and tracker on your site
* Write complex tag firing rules or modify tag manager configurations
* Build consent category mappings from scratch
* Configure consent mode integrations line by line
* Go through lengthy onboarding flows and sales calls

CookieChimp eliminates most of this by automating vendor detection, providing built-in Google Consent Mode support, and offering a straightforward script-based blocking system.

## How fast can I set up CookieChimp?

Here's a real-world example: a typical website running **Google Analytics, a Facebook Pixel, and a couple of marketing tags** through Google Tag Manager.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Install the CookieChimp script (2 minutes)">
    Add a single line of code to the `<head>` of your website:

    ```html theme={null}
    <script src="https://cookiechimp.com/widget/abc123.js"></script>
    ```

    Replace `abc123` with your website's unique CookieChimp ID from the [dashboard](https://cookiechimp.com/install). That's it — the consent banner is live.

    <Info>
      The script must be placed at the **top** of the `<head>` section so it runs before any other scripts. This ensures no cookies are set before consent is granted.
    </Info>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enable Google Consent Mode (1 minute) — optional">
    If you use any **Google tags** (Google Analytics, Google Ads, GTM, etc.), navigate to **Integrations** from the sidebar in your CookieChimp dashboard and enable the **Google Consent Mode** integration with a single click.

    CookieChimp automatically maps your consent categories to Google's consent types (`analytics_storage`, `ad_storage`, `ad_user_data`, `ad_personalization`, etc.), so Google Analytics and Google Ads tags will respect user consent out of the box.

    <Tip>Skip this step if you don't use any Google services on your website.</Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run a scan and add vendors (3 minutes)">
    From the **Website Scan** page in your dashboard, run a scan of your website. CookieChimp will automatically detect the vendors and storage items on your site.

    Once the scan completes, review the detected vendors and add them to your consent banner. CookieChimp identifies services like Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, Hotjar, and hundreds of other vendors automatically.

    **Here's where CookieChimp saves you serious admin time:** when vendors are detected, we automatically import everything we already know about them — their name, description, privacy policy URL, cookie descriptions, categories, and retention periods. For any vendor or storage item we don't already have in our database, CookieChimp goes out to the internet, researches the details, and autofills the information for you.

    With other CMPs, you'd be manually looking up and entering this information for every single vendor. CookieChimp does it in seconds.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Block non-essential tags (4 minutes)">
    If you're using **Google Tag Manager**, add consent checks to your tags in GTM's Advanced Settings under Consent Settings. Set the trigger to `cookiechimp_consent_update` and you're done. See our [GTM guide](/installation/google-tag-manager) for step-by-step instructions.

    If you have scripts directly in your HTML, add the `type="text/plain"` and `data-category` attributes:

    ```html theme={null}
    <!-- Before: runs immediately -->
    <script src="https://example.com/analytics.js"></script>

    <!-- After: only runs when user consents to analytics -->
    <script
      type="text/plain"
      data-src="https://example.com/analytics.js"
      data-category="analytics"
      data-service="Analytics Service"
    ></script>
    ```

    For full details, see our [script blocking guide](/block-scripts-cookies/script-attributes).
  </Step>
</Steps>

**Total time: \~10 minutes** for a typical setup with Google Analytics and a handful of marketing tags.

## What if I have a lot of tags to block?

The 10-minute estimate assumes a straightforward setup with a small number of tags. If your website has dozens or hundreds of inline scripts and third-party tags, the tag blocking step will naturally take longer — it depends on how many tags you have and how they're embedded.

### Using Google Tag Manager?

If your tags are managed through **Google Tag Manager**, blocking is fast regardless of how many tags you have. You configure consent checks once per tag type in GTM, and CookieChimp handles the rest through Google Consent Mode. Even with 50+ tags, this can be done in under 30 minutes.

### Tags hardcoded in your codebase?

If scripts are embedded directly in your HTML or application code, you'll need to add the `data-category` and `type="text/plain"` attributes to each one. For a large codebase, this can be time-consuming to do manually.

<Tip>
  **Use AI to speed things up.** Copy the script blocking pattern from our [script blocking guide](/block-scripts-cookies/script-attributes) and use an AI coding assistant (like Claude, Cursor, or GitHub Copilot) to automatically find and update all third-party scripts across your codebase. Give it a prompt like:

  *"Find all third-party script tags in this codebase and add `type="text/plain"` and the appropriate `data-category` attribute based on the service. Use `analytics` for analytics services, `marketing` for advertising/marketing scripts, and `personalization` for personalisation tools."*

  This can turn hours of manual work into minutes.
</Tip>

## What about ongoing compliance?

Setup is only half the story. Privacy regulations evolve, your website changes, and vendors update their scripts and cookies. Staying compliant is an ongoing effort — and CookieChimp handles that for you too.

* **Regular automatic scans** — CookieChimp continuously scans your website to detect new vendors, cookies, and storage items as they appear. When your dev team adds a new tool or a vendor updates their tracking code, CookieChimp catches it and alerts you.
* **Compliance reports** — Generate compliance reports directly from your dashboard to verify your consent setup meets regulatory requirements. Useful for audits, legal reviews, and demonstrating compliance to stakeholders.
* **Auto-populated vendor details** — Whenever a new vendor is detected in a scan, CookieChimp automatically fills in the vendor's details from our database or by researching the vendor online. No manual data entry required.
* **Consent records** — Every user consent decision is securely stored and retrievable, giving you a full audit trail if a regulator or user ever asks for proof of consent.

With traditional CMPs, each of these tasks requires manual effort or expensive add-on features. With CookieChimp, it's all built in — so compliance stays up to date without constant attention from your team.

## CookieChimp vs. other CMPs

|                         | CookieChimp                                  | Traditional CMPs                      |
| ----------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| **Setup time**          | \~10 minutes                                 | Hours to days                         |
| **Script installation** | Single line of code                          | Multiple scripts and plugins          |
| **Google Consent Mode** | One-click enable                             | Manual configuration                  |
| **Vendor detection**    | Automatic scanning                           | Manual auditing                       |
| **Vendor details**      | Auto-imported and AI-researched              | Manual data entry for each vendor     |
| **Tag blocking**        | Simple HTML attributes or GTM consent checks | Complex rule engines                  |
| **Ongoing scans**       | Automatic and continuous                     | Manual re-audits or expensive add-ons |
| **Compliance reports**  | Built-in                                     | Often a paid extra                    |
| **Onboarding**          | Self-serve, instant                          | Sales calls and onboarding sessions   |
| **Pricing**             | Transparent, free tier available             | Quote-based, often expensive          |

## Ready to get started?

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Install CookieChimp" icon="download" href="/installation/installation">Start with our installation guide and have your banner live in minutes.</Card>
  <Card title="Block Scripts" icon="traffic-cone" href="/block-scripts-cookies/script-attributes">Learn how to block scripts until consent is granted.</Card>
  <Card title="Google Tag Manager" icon="google" href="/installation/google-tag-manager">Set up consent-aware tags with GTM and Google Consent Mode.</Card>
  <Card title="Scan Your Site" icon="radar" href="/features/vendor-scanning">Automatically detect vendors and storage items on your website.</Card>
</CardGroup>
