Cookie Banner? No Thanks! Why We Have Completely Ditched Cookies on Our Website
Nowadays, it's almost impossible to browse a website without encountering cookie banners. The moment you open a new page, another consent window pops up – sometimes subtly, sometimes not. Usually, these are not even about ensuring the functionality of the site; they are for tracking, marketing, and transmitting data to third countries. It's as if the web has become nothing more than a data collection machine. For us, the decision was clear: we didn't want that.
No Cookies? Yes, It's Possible!
Many are surprised when we say: Our website doesn't use cookies. "How is that possible? Doesn't every site use cookies?" No – not every site! While cookies do have a sensible technical origin – storing information in the user's browser, such as keeping a session open or securing a login – the reality in 2025 is different: tracking cookies, analytics, ad networks, chat widgets, external scripts... the madness never ends.
Our Decision: Only Use Cookies When Absolutely Necessary
That's why we designed our website from the ground up to work entirely without cookies. The only exceptions are our customer portal and contact forms – there, we use session cookies that automatically delete when the browser closes. They ensure, for instance, that users receive appropriate confirmation after submitting a form – technically necessary, GDPR-compliant, and temporary.
And What About Statistics and Analysis?
Marketing experts might ask: "But how do you analyze your website's visits? What about Google Analytics, conversion tracking, BI systems?" Our answer: What truly matters? We want to know how often an article is read, what devices visitors use, which pages are particularly well-received – but we don't need to send data to the USA or create comprehensive user profiles to find that out.
Our Solution: Matomo with Server Log Tracking
We analyze our access data with Matomo – completely independently, on our own server. The foundation: server logs, anonymized and evaluated in a privacy-friendly manner. No cookies, no personalized IDs, no fingerprinting. We only store the User Agent, the first 16 bits of the IP address, and the page path. Known bots and crawlers are automatically filtered out.
This way, we gain valuable insights into user behavior without compromising our visitors' privacy.
Less is Sometimes More
Of course: You can do much more with tracking tools. But often, we see that companies collect masses of data they never analyze or use. And let's be honest: Much can be measured server-side or with simple means – without complex scripts or foreign cloud services.
Another advantage: speed. External trackers, chat widgets, and scripts can drastically worsen loading times – especially on mobile devices or in weak networks. We've experienced it: On the ICE, a well-known hosting site preferred to load its chat rather than its actual homepage.
Our Site? Fast. Simple. Cookie-Free.
Our website is consistently optimized for performance and privacy. No trackers, no external scripts, no banner confusion. Instead: complete server caching via NGINX on an ultra-fast RAM disk – for maximum speed and minimum latency. Whether bot, mobile device, or desktop – our site loads in milliseconds.
And yes, we use modern technology: Vue.js in the frontend, combined with our backend – even for small features like displaying our consumed coffees on the homepage. Technically modern, but in terms of privacy, quite traditional: as much as necessary, as little as possible.