How to add a cookie consent banner to GoDaddy Websites (step by step)

Honesty first: GoDaddy’s Websites + Marketing builder is the tightest fit of the popular builders. Not every plan exposes a real head-code slot, and the builder’s HTML section, the reliable way in, is a per-page widget rather than a site-wide injection. It works, but you should know the shape of the trade before you start.

GoDaddy documents the HTML section approach; their help article shows the current flow if the editor has changed.

What you need

• A GoDaddy Websites + Marketing site on a paid plan. The free tier has no HTML section.
• Start with your Zest snippet out of the playground:

<script>
  window.ZestConfig = {
    position: "bottom",
    theme: "auto",
    policyUrl: "/privacy-policy"
  };
</script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@freshjuice/zest/dist/zest.min.js"></script>

Install, page by page

1. Open Edit Website in the GoDaddy editor.
2. Click Add Section, or the plus on an existing section’s grid.
3. Search for the HTML section type and select Add.
4. Paste the Zest snippet into the section’s custom code box.
5. Move the section to the very top of the page layout, or into the header area if your template allows, so the script runs as early as possible.
6. GoDaddy sections are per-page. On a multi-page site you add the section to every page, unless your plan exposes a custom head code field under Settings, which applies site-wide and is the better slot when available.
7. Publish, then check the live site in a private window.

The limitation, stated plainly

A per-page section loads later in the document than a true head placement, and a tracking script that fires immediately can slip out before Zest is ready. Ways to close the gap:

• Set tracking tools to deferred or on-interaction loading where the platform allows, and add their domains to Zest’s blocklist (the blockedDomains key in window.ZestConfig, details) so they wait for consent.
• If your plan has developer settings, look for the custom head code field under Settings. Site-wide, earlier, better.
• Heavy advertisers with neither option: move the tracking snippets into the same HTML section, after the Zest snippet, so at least the order within the section is guaranteed.

Verify

Private window, live domain:

• Every page where the section was added shows the banner on first visit.
• The choice carries across pages, because Zest stores consent in the visitor’s browser, not in the section.
• Tracking requests in the network tab appear only after consent to the matching category.

Troubleshooting

No HTML section in the editor. Plan-gated. GoDaddy ties it to paid builder tiers.

Banner on some pages only. Sections are per-page; add the section to the pages that lack it.

Code shows up as visible text. You pasted into a text block instead of the HTML section’s code editor. Undo, find the code area of the section, paste again.

Why not a paid CMP

GoDaddy’s marketplace stocks subscription consent tools, and given the builder’s constraints they are a defensible shortcut for some sites. The Zest route is free and open source: no monthly fee, no quota, same one-paste install, plus whatever patience per-page sections demand. On this builder, that is the entire cost difference.

The free policy generator covers the policy page, six questions and done.