Developer Guide

JavaScript API

The plugin exposes a global window.mdccConsent object with the following methods:

Get Current Consent State

var state = mdccConsent.current();
// Returns: { analytics: true/false, ads: true/false }

Accept All

mdccConsent.acceptAll();
// Sets analytics: true, ads: true
// Updates GCM v2 and dispatches change event

Accept Analytics Only

mdccConsent.acceptAnalyticsOnly();
// Sets analytics: true, ads: false
// Updates GCM v2 and dispatches change event

Decline All

mdccConsent.declineAll();
// Sets analytics: false, ads: false
// Updates GCM v2 and dispatches change event

Reset Consent

mdccConsent.reset();
// Removes consent from localStorage
// User will see popup again on next page load

JavaScript Events

Listen for consent changes anywhere in your code:

document.addEventListener('mdcc:changed', function(event) {
    var state = event.detail;
    console.log('Analytics:', state.analytics);
    console.log('Ads:', state.ads);

    // Example: load a third-party script after consent
    if (state.analytics) {
        loadHotjar();
    }
});

The event bubbles from the document and includes the full consent state in event.detail.

localStorage Schema

Consent state is stored at the key mdcc_consent:

{
    "analytics": true,
    "ads": false
}

Both fields are booleans. If the key doesn't exist or is malformed, the plugin defaults to { analytics: false, ads: false }.

Google Consent Mode Integration

The plugin calls gtag('consent', 'update', {...}) whenever consent changes:

gtag('consent', 'update', {
    'analytics_storage': state.analytics ? 'granted' : 'denied',
    'ad_storage': state.ads ? 'granted' : 'denied',
    'ad_user_data': state.ads ? 'granted' : 'denied',
    'ad_personalization': state.ads ? 'granted' : 'denied'
});

If gtag is not available (no tracking code installed), the update is silently skipped.

Default Consent Injection

On wp_head at priority 1, the plugin injects:

<script>
window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
gtag('consent', 'default', {
    'analytics_storage': 'denied',
    'ad_storage': 'denied',
    'ad_user_data': 'denied',
    'ad_personalization': 'denied',
    'wait_for_update': 500
});
</script>

This runs before GTM, GA4, or any other tracking script. The wait_for_update: 500 parameter tells Google tags to wait 500ms for a consent update before proceeding with the denied state.

PHP Architecture

Class Structure

Constants

MDCC_VERSION          // Current plugin version (1.7.3)
MDCC_PLUGIN_FILE      // Main plugin file path
MDCC_PLUGIN_DIR       // Plugin directory path
MDCC_PLUGIN_URL       // Plugin URL
MDCC_PLUGIN_BASENAME  // Plugin basename for hooks
MDCC_TEXT_DOMAIN      // 'maxtdesign-cookie-consent'

Asset Loading

WordPress loads minified assets (.min.css, .min.js) by default. When SCRIPT_DEBUG is true in wp-config.php, unminified source files are loaded instead.

Asset handles:

Uninstall Behavior

When the plugin is deleted (not deactivated), all data is cleaned:

Client-side localStorage data is not affected by uninstall.

Debug Mode

Enable WordPress debug mode to see console output:

// wp-config.php
define('WP_DEBUG', true);

The plugin outputs [MDCC] prefixed messages to the browser console showing: