Converting PDFs for Accessibility

Do you use PDFs? If so, are you confident that they are accessible by everyone, including those who use screen readers?

If not, convert them into a better format, like a webpage (html).

Ask yourself, why am I using a PDF?

• It’s for Print – Printed documents are not accessible by those with sight impairments and, therefore, should not be used on the web.
• It’s for Formatting – Don’t allow formatting to get in the way of accessibility. Review the information and see how you can reorganize it for an accessible webpage.
• It’s a Form – There are many different ways you can create an accessible web form, for example Microsoft Forms, Gravity Forms and Docusign.

• It’s a Large Document – Microsoft Word documents can more easily be made accessible; if you don’t want to recreate the document on a website, consider using a Word doc. You can learn to do this by following the Formatting for Accessibility in the Digital Age tutorial.

If, after all this, you still feel like you need a PDF, then learn how to make them accessible. Take the LinkedIn Learning class, Creating Accessible PDFs.