Web Team blogPDFs vs web pages - which is better for our users?

Ah, the trusty old PDF (Portable Document Format), once the star of online documents. They offered consistency across different devices and operating systems, as well as high levels of security.

But as we all know, things move fast in the digital world, particularly as accessibility and usability standards are rightly becoming more of a priority to ensure everyone has equal access to online content. Read our blog about getting started with digital accessibility.

As a university, we have a legal obligation to comply with these accessibility standards and as it stands, we currently have around 3,000 PDFs on our website (gulp). It’s fair to assume that the majority of these will not be accessible to everyone.

Progress over perfection

We understand that learning how to create accessible content may seem like a daunting task but fear not! In this blog, we'll guide you on the path to progress, not perfection, as we explore how to make your information accessible and share some excellent resources to help you along the way.

The Big Question

Before we begin, the most important question to ask yourself is "Does this information have to be a PDF?".

It's worth noting that if you already have the information in PDF format, it's often very simple to convert that information into a web page and it's something that we would encourage you to consider. 

Limitations of PDF Documents

While PDFs can be a good option for sharing important content such as manuals, certificates or application forms, they do have some critical downsides:

  • overlook the correct formatting, and your documents will be as accessible as dial-up internet in the age of broadband – a frustrating blast from the past for users! 
  • scanned documents turned into PDFs? Nope, they're like ancient scrolls, inaccessible and impossible to decipher without using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software
  • accessing them on mobile? Sometimes you need a secret handshake, a file manager app, and a third-party PDF viewer
  • they are also very difficult to navigate on a mobile device due to the fixed layout. A bit like trying to read fine print on a postage stamp. This means lots of zooming, panning (and frustration) to view the content
  • want to track user engagement? Forget about it. Once that PDF is downloaded, it's as mysterious as a magician's disappearing act
  • Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)? Search engines often struggle to gather sufficient information from PDF files. So if the file name is not descriptive people won't click through to view your PDF from the search results.   

The magic of web pages

If you decide that a page on the website would work better for your users, our content types are very flexible and the web content team is always on hand to offer advice and guidance to ensure your page looks good across all devices while still meeting your user’s needs.   

Some key benefits of using a web page over a PDF include:   

  • they're easy to keep up to date. You can set content to expire or set up a reminder to update the page
  • version control is a breeze, unlike PDFs which are difficult to edit, often leading to multiple versions of the same document on the site
  • web pages are flexible and responsive, making them readable across a range of devices and browsers
  • they're more eco-friendly! Web pages are smaller in size, and reduce the energy needed for storage and transmission.

If you decide that a PDF is the best format for your content, read our guide to making your source document accessible. 

How to make your source document accessible

Accessible design is good design. It benefits people who don’t have disabilities as well as people who do.

- Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web

Conclusion 

While both web pages and PDFs have their benefits, web pages would always be our preferred choice. Their structural advantages and compatibility with assistive technologies make them the clear winner for accessibility. Moreover, HTML (the standard markup language for web pages) has a reduced carbon footprint making it the more sustainable option for hosting content. 

If you have any questions or would like to discuss any of the topics covered in this blog, please get in touch with us at webcontent@strath.ac.uk.