Why is there a Cookie settings link at the bottom of every page?

Because your site runs something optional - visit counting or an advertising pixel - and the law says withdrawing consent must be as easy as giving it. The link is the way back: a visitor who chose months ago can always reach the controls again. It only appears on sites where something optional actually runs.

Why can't Bernard just edit the line directly?

The link is added when each page is served, not written into your pages, so there's nothing in your files to edit. What your files do carry is your site's stylesheet, and a stylesheet rule restyles the line on every page at once. Like any other change, Bernard drafts it and it waits for your approval before going live.

Can it be removed entirely?

It can be hidden on pages that offer the same way back somewhere else - a Cookie settings link in your own footer's small print does the job, and usually looks much better. What can't happen is a page with optional cookies and no route back to the controls: that would break the promise the banner made.

Will restyling it affect the cookie banner or my visitors' choices?

No. The banner, the choices page and the link are separate pieces - the link is just a signpost to the controls. Restyle it, move it into your footer, or hide it where your footer already carries the link: nobody's saved choice changes, and the controls page stays where it was.

Can I change how the cookie link at the bottom of my pages looks?

If your site counts visits or runs an advertising pixel, every page carries a small Cookie settings link at the very bottom. It's the legally required way back to the cookie controls - a visitor who made their choice months ago must always be able to change their mind, from any page, as easily as they said yes in the first place.

Out of the box it's deliberately plain: a centred grey line in small type, linking to your site's cookies page. Plain travels well, but it doesn't always sit comfortably under a footer you've taken care over - and you don't have to leave it that way.

Where the line actually comes from

The link isn't written into your pages. It's added on the way out, each time a page is served, on every page of a site that runs something optional. That has two practical consequences:

You won't find it by searching your page content, and editing the page can't change it - there's nothing there to edit.
The way to change how it looks is your site's stylesheet, which every page loads. One rule there restyles the line everywhere at once.

For anyone doing the styling (including Bernard): the line is a paragraph marked data-b-cookie-footer, and it carries its default look inline - so a stylesheet rule needs !important to win. For example, to align it with a dark footer:

p[data-b-cookie-footer] {
  margin: 0 !important;
  padding: 12px 16px !important;
  background: #22332f;
  color: #e0e0db;
}

The link itself inherits its colour from the line, so recolouring the paragraph recolours the link with it.

The tidier move: fold it into your own footer

The nicest-looking sites don't restyle the floating line - they retire it. If your footer has a row of small print (privacy policy, terms, copyright), a Cookie settings link belongs in exactly that company, pointing at your /cookies/ page. Then the automatic line below it is saying the same thing twice, and it can be hidden with one stylesheet rule:

p[data-b-cookie-footer] { display: none !important; }

The one rule that must survive: every page that runs optional cookies must still offer a way back to the controls. Hide the automatic link only on pages where your own footer carries an equivalent link. If some of your pages use a different, slimmer footer - course and lesson pages often do - scope the hiding so those pages keep the automatic line.

Ask Bernard to do the whole move in one go: add the link to your footer's small print, hide the duplicate, and leave it in place on any page whose footer doesn't carry the link. It's a small change, and like everything else it lands as a draft for your approval before anyone sees it.

The same corner of the page usually carries the What's the 'made with bernard' line at the bottom of my site? credit - the two sit together, and both take styling from your site rather than fighting it.

What this doesn't touch

Styling is cosmetic. The banner still asks new visitors, the choices page still works, and saved choices are untouched. If your question is about the asking itself - what needs consent and what doesn't - start with the cookies explainer in the related articles below.

The prompt

“The cookie link at the bottom of my pages looks out of place - restyle it to match my footer, or move the link into my footer's own row of small print. My footer style is [describe your footer, or name a page to copy].”

Press Copy, then paste it into your AI and fill in the [bracketed] parts. First time? Connect your AI to bernard first - a one-time setup in bernard → your site → Use your own AI.

Questions people ask

Why is there a Cookie settings link at the bottom of every page?: Because your site runs something optional - visit counting or an advertising pixel - and the law says withdrawing consent must be as easy as giving it. The link is the way back: a visitor who chose months ago can always reach the controls again. It only appears on sites where something optional actually runs.
Why can't Bernard just edit the line directly?: The link is added when each page is served, not written into your pages, so there's nothing in your files to edit. What your files do carry is your site's stylesheet, and a stylesheet rule restyles the line on every page at once. Like any other change, Bernard drafts it and it waits for your approval before going live.
Can it be removed entirely?: It can be hidden on pages that offer the same way back somewhere else - a Cookie settings link in your own footer's small print does the job, and usually looks much better. What can't happen is a page with optional cookies and no route back to the controls: that would break the promise the banner made.
Will restyling it affect the cookie banner or my visitors' choices?: No. The banner, the choices page and the link are separate pieces - the link is just a signpost to the controls. Restyle it, move it into your footer, or hide it where your footer already carries the link: nobody's saved choice changes, and the controls page stays where it was.