Publishing PDFs online
PDFs aren’t accessible to all users, and they’re difficult to keep updated. Find out why we avoid using PDFs, and what alternatives are available.
Avoid publishing PDFs and other documents online
Wherever possible, we’d always recommend publishing information as a HTML web page rather than publishing a PDF on our sites. Web pages are easier to keep updated and are more accessible to our users.
You should also avoid publishing forms as Word documents, and use an online form wherever possible.
Why PDFs aren't accessible
There are lots of reasons why PDFs aren’t accessible, including:
- PDFs often don’t work well with screen readers
- They don't change size to fit the browser – users have to zoom in and out and scroll, which is especially an issue on mobile phones
- They’re not designed for reading on screens – PDFs are designed for offline use, not online
- It’s hard to track how people are using them through analytics – for example, how long they spend reading it or which links they click. This makes it difficult to improve them
- They cause difficulties with navigation and orientation – users are taken away from the website when they download a PDF, so they lose the context of the website and its navigation
- They can be hard for some users to access – some users need to change browser settings, like colours or text size, to make content easier to read. It’s difficult to do this with a PDF
A web page is also easier to update when things change.
More accessible alternatives
If you’ve got a PDF that you'd like to publish on any of our websites as a HTML web page, speak to the content team. Bear in mind that it may not always be possible to publish your request, for example if it doesn't fit with the website strategy or there's no clear user need.
If you've got a paper form that you'd like to convert into a digital form, speak to the digital directorate. We're working on expanding form capabilities so we might not always be able to support your request.
- If you have a simple enquiry or expression of interest form, we may be able to adapt our existing enquiry form pattern
- If you have a more complex form that's part of a customer support service, we may be able to use the customer account to handle this
- For funding application forms, speak to the Online Grant System (OGS) project team
If you’re sure the document needs to be published as a PDF, or if you need to share a PDF or other document with colleagues, read our guidelines on creating accessible documents first.