Accessibility has become (and rightly so) a huge issue in the web development world. We see making our website accessible as the right thing to do and in keeping with our college values of equity and inclusion. But accessibility also has growing legal, regulatory and financial implications. 

There are many components of website accessibility. This document addresses our use of PDFs.
 

Accessibility and PDFs

Adobe created its Portable Document Format (PDF) in 1993 to solve a print problem. The format allowed users to share documents across platforms, download and print without losing format or design. PDFs do a great job at this, but they were never intended as a vehicle for digital communication.

Why are PDFs a Problem? 

While PDFs seem convenient for those of us developing content, they're not always the best choice for the end user.

  • PDF files are often large, resulting in slower download times. Those with slower Internet access are sometimes not able to download them at all.
  • PDFs often require more manipulation to view than a regular webpage. More scrolling and the need to enlarge or expand can be an issue for those with low mobility. 
  • While it's possible to make some PDFs technically accessible for screen readers, it's a multi-step, time-consuming process and the end product is often still problematic. 
  • PDFs created from scanned documents are just one large image — almost always inaccessible to screen readers. 
  • The interface between browsers and PDFs is inconsistent. Some browsers will open a PDF, others require you to download the file first. It can be confusing for those less familiar with technology.
  • PDFs are never mobile friendly. Last year, 1,077,159 visitors accessed our site using a mobile device. That's 33.1% of the total visits. For some areas of our site, mobile users account for 60% of the traffic. 

PDFs on the AACC Website

Before submitting a PDF to the Website 

Ask yourself if there is another means of delivering your content? Would your information be better as a regular webpage? An online form? Is it really for external audiences or should it be on the portal or in Canvas (it will still need to be accessible)?


Feel free to reach out to us for ideas of accessible and efficient ways to provide information.


The Web Content Team will only upload PDFs that fall into one of the following categories:

  • Application or form for prospective students where an online form was considered not feasible or inappropriate
  • Legal document that requires a visible signature or letterhead
  • Document containing secondary, complex information and/or charts that would be difficult to display on a webpage.

Submitted PDFs must be built using best practices and pass the Adobe Acrobat accessibility test (see our separate document with best practices for creating accessible documents). 


Lastly, when developing any document, remember:

  • Accessibility starts with your source document (for most of us, this is in Microsoft Word).
  • The website’s primary audience is prospective students, followed by current students.
  • Be sure to follow the college's editorial style and graphic standard guides (correct logo, letterhead, colors, ADA statement, etc.).
  • Make sure your primary information is also on a webpage. Our users shouldn’t have to wait for a download (that may or may not work for them) to find contact information, important dates or learn more about a program. 

We know moving away from PDFs is a big shift in our culture, but it's an important one for creating an inclusive and equitable college community.

Please contact the Web Content Team via this ticketing system with any questions or concerns.


February 2021