How to Ensure your PDF Documents are Accessible
PDF documents are widely used across the internet for sharing information, forms, reports, and more. They are valued for their consistent formatting and the ability to be viewed on almost any device. However, without careful attention to accessibility, PDFs can present significant barriers to people with disabilities.
Whether it's for a business report, a form to fill in, or a downloadable guide, ensuring that your PDFs are accessible is essential. Accessible PDFs allow everyone, including people with visual, auditory, cognitive, or motor impairments, to access and engage with your content effectively.
In this blog post, we will explore what makes a PDF accessible and provide practical tips for creating documents that are inclusive and easy to use for all.
Why Accessible PDFs Matter
Imagine receiving an important government document as a PDF, but the text is locked inside an image, meaning that your screen reader can’t read it. Or consider trying to fill out a form online, but the fields are unlabelled, making it impossible for a person with visual impairments to complete. These situations happen all too often, making essential information and services inaccessible.
Accessible PDFs ensure that everyone can read and interact with the content, regardless of their abilities. In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 requires organisations to make reasonable adjustments to ensure their digital content, including PDFs, is accessible. Beyond legal compliance, it’s also simply the right thing to do to create an inclusive digital environment.
What Makes a PDF Accessible?
An accessible PDF goes beyond simply being readable. It must be structured in a way that works for everyone, including those using assistive technologies like screen readers. Here are some of the key features of an accessible PDF:
Text that can be selected and read – Text should be actual text, not part of an image. This ensures that screen readers can interpret the text, and users can search and copy text if needed.
Clear structure and reading order – The document should have a logical reading order and use proper headings to guide the reader through the content.
Alt text for images – All images should have alternative text (alt text) to describe what the image conveys for those who can’t see it.
Interactive elements – Forms and links must be clearly labelled and easily navigated with a keyboard.
Tagged content – Tags are invisible labels that tell assistive technologies how the document is organised, allowing for smooth navigation.
Practical Tips for Creating Accessible PDFs
Now that we understand the importance of accessible PDFs, let’s explore how to create them. Whether you’re designing a document from scratch or editing an existing one, here are some practical tips to ensure your PDFs are accessible:
1. Start with an Accessible Source Document
One of the easiest ways to create an accessible PDF is by ensuring that your original document, such as a Word file or PowerPoint presentation, is also accessible. Most document editing tools offer accessibility checkers that highlight issues like missing alt text or poor contrast.
For example, if you’re creating a report in Word. Before converting it to a PDF, use Word’s built-in accessibility checker. It will flag any potential issues, such as images without alt text or improper heading structures, giving you the chance to fix them before exporting to PDF.
2. Use Proper Heading Structures
Headings help to organise content and allow users of screen readers to navigate the document easily. Rather than increasing the font size or making text bold, use the built-in heading styles (e.g. Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.). This creates a logical structure that assistive technologies can recognise.
Think of a user skimming through a long report using a screen reader. With properly tagged headings, they can jump directly to the section they’re interested in, such as "Conclusion" or "Methodology," without having to listen to the entire document.
3. Add Alt Text to Images
Images in a PDF can convey important information, but for those who can’t see them, the meaning is lost unless there’s a description provided. Alt text provides a brief description of what the image is showing.
If you include a chart showing sales growth over the last year, add alt text that summarises the key trends: "A bar chart showing steady sales growth from January to December, with December having the highest sales figures."
4. Ensure Text is Searchable and Selectable
Text in your PDF must be real text, not an image. If you scan a document or convert a printout into a PDF, it’s often saved as an image, making it inaccessible to screen readers. Always use OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology to convert scanned images of text into actual text.
For example, if you’re scanning a form to send to a client, make sure the text is searchable and selectable. This ensures that someone using a screen reader can navigate the form and complete it independently.
5. Create Accessible Forms
If your PDF contains forms, it’s crucial that users can complete them without any issues. This means making form fields interactive and clearly labelling each field so that users know what information to provide.
For example, when creating an online application form, label each field, such as name or date of birth, so that screen readers can identify them correctly. This ensures that users with visual impairments can fill in the form without confusion.
6. Check Colour Contrast
For users with visual impairments, especially those with colour blindness, low-contrast text can be difficult to read. Make sure there is sufficient contrast between the text and background colours. Tools like colour contrast checkers can help ensure your document meets accessibility guidelines.
Colour contrast is often very logical. For example, you should avoid using light grey text on a white background, as it’s hard to read for many users. Instead, use high-contrast combinations like black text on a white background or dark blue text on a light grey background.
7. Add Document Tags for Better Navigation
Tags are like signposts for assistive technologies, helping users navigate your document. These tags identify the structure of the content, such as headings, lists, tables, and images. When you convert a document to PDF, ensure that it’s properly tagged, or use a PDF editing tool to add tags.
In a long document like a research paper, adding tags to each section allows screen reader users to skip to the sections that interest them most, such as the "Introduction" or "Conclusion", without having to read the entire document.
Test for Accessibility
Once you’ve created your PDF, it’s essential to test it for accessibility. Many PDF software tools, such as Adobe Acrobat, have built-in accessibility checkers that can scan your document for issues. These tools highlight any problems and offer suggestions for fixing them.
Additionally, it’s a good idea to test your document using a screen reader, like NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) or JAWS, to ensure it can be navigated smoothly.
Conclusion
Creating accessible PDF documents is not just about meeting legal requirements – it’s about making sure your content is inclusive and usable by everyone, regardless of their abilities. By following best practices such as using proper headings, adding alt text, ensuring readable text, and testing for accessibility, you can make your digital content more welcoming to all users.
As more of our lives shift online, accessible content becomes a critical part of building a fair and inclusive digital world. Whether you're sharing reports, forms, or guides, ensuring your PDFs are accessible allows everyone to access the information they need. By making small changes to your document creation process, you can help break down barriers and create content that truly works for everyone.
