PHP if(isset($_COOKIE['visitor']) not working with page refreshs - php

Question

I'm working on a simple cookie notice that appears on first visit only and again but only until 30 days has gone by.
The problem that I'm having is the page that is setting the cookie for the entire domain keeps receiving the notice once I go to a different page and then back again, unless I do a hard refresh (CTRL+F5) the notice just won't go away.
In my header.php I have:
$value = 'first_visit';
setcookie("visitor", $value);
setcookie("visitor", $value, time()+604800);
setcookie("visitor", $value, time()+604800, "/", ".example.com");
if(isset($_COOKIE['visitor']) && ($_COOKIE['visitor'] == true)){
// do nothing
} else {
echo '<div id="cookie">By continuing to use our Site, you are agreeing to the placement of cookies on your computer by us and our third party service providers.</div>';
}
So the idea of the code is that the user visits the site and then the page triggers a creation of a cookie, the value of this cookie is not important since the code will simply check to see if one exists, the first time the visitor visits the site, it does not exist therefore they it echo's else, going to other pages other than the page I just visited does // nothing as intended but if I go back to the page that triggered the creation, its still else, unless I do a hard page refresh.
I have also tried:
<?php
if(isset($_COOKIE['visitor']) && ($_COOKIE['visitor'] == true)){
// DO NOTHING
} else {
$value = 'first_visit';
setcookie("visitor", $value, time()+604800, "/");
echo '<div id="cookie">By continuing to use our Site, you are agreeing to the placement of cookies on your computer by us and our third party service providers</div>';
}
?>

Answer 1

I don't think there's anything wrong with your code - ie it's working as expected based on the code. I just don't think you see what the code is actually doing. You say the cookie is eventually set, but you are setting the cookie on a page, moving on, then using back button and getting to a page with that message again. This is likely browser cache, and likely confirmed as you say a hard refresh fixes this.
It seems odd the way you are doing all of this. All I can get from your question and code is you require:
First visit - user sees message and cookie is set
Consequent visits/pages after this - user doesn't see message because cookie is set
The only way you can avoid the browser back messing this up for you is to do a redirect after you set the cookie (eg $_SERVER['PHP_SELF']). but then you can't use the same file to show the message as by then the cookie will be set.
You should rethink this and handle the whole thing differently, but as it stands, with the code you have presented, all I can suggest setting a session.
header.php
session_start();
if (!isset($_COOKIE['visitor']) || ($_COOKIE['visitor'] != true)) {
$value = 'first_visit';
setcookie("visitor", $value, time() + 604800, "/", ".example.com");
$SESSION['displayMessage'] = true;
} else {
if (isset($SESSION['displayMessage'])) {
unset($SESSION['displayMessage']);
}
}
if (isset($SESSION['displayMessage'])) {
echo '<div id="cookie">By continuing to use our Site, you are agreeing to the placement of cookies on your computer by us and our third party service providers.</div>';
}
On the first visit the cookie won't be set so it's set and a session is set, as the session is set it'll show the message. Then on any other page load as the cookie is set the ELSE will kick in and session is unset, and therefore the message is not shown.
(I reverted your cookie checks so you don't have that awful pointless // do nothing ;) )
The above code is very clunky, and I cried a bit writing it. Again, I advise you step back and rethink how you are handling all of this to make it more robust. Separate out your requirements into different files, better use functions, and then call things as and when you need them based on other things being set :)