Did you know that many PDFs are not accessible? Unless you've taken special care when creating your document, your PDF could be missing proper document structure, missing alt text for images, using inaccessible form or interactive elements, or using inaccessible design choices such as poor color contrast.
Scanned PDFs are the worst offenders, but even PDFs created in Word, PowerPoint, Canva, and professional design software like InDesign can cause problems.
PDFs can still be the right choice in some cases, but if you'd like users to access your content more easily, we recommend recreating basic documents in your virtual career center with the Block Editor. There are a variety of special blocks that you can add to your page to create a more visually-compelling layout that "just works" for more people, and it's fast and easy to design a page with our Pattern library.
Disadvantages of PDFs
More work to update: if you need to make changes, you have to open up your document/design software, make changes, save the PDF, and reupload the PDF
Limited ways to add rich media or interactive elements
Many PDFs are inaccessible unless you've made a point to structure them well
PDFs can be large files, which can be slow to load; if many are embedded on a page, users' browsers may lag or crash
Mobile and tablet users have to download PDFs and can't view them as easily
Mobile and tablet users also have to zoom in on PDFs to better view the content, which is typically set up for a letter-sized document and easier to view on desktop
Advantages of the Block Editor
Content is easier to maintain: just edit the page and save changes!
Easily embed rich media, such as forms or videos
Blocks help you automatically structure your page in a hierarchical, accessible way
Blocks are native web content, so they are faster to load
No extra files to download; the content is all there and ready to read or watch
Blocks have responsive layout options that work well on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices
Learn More
Master the Block Editor with a collection of articles from the uConnect team.
Visit the Block Editor Training Academy for step-by-step tutorials.
Explore Patterns and how to edit them in our sponsorship template tutorial, a great example of an exciting, responsive, and accessible Block-designed page.
For more information on creating accessible PDFs, visit the following resources:
LinkedIn Learning, "Creating Accessible PDFs"
LinkedIn Learning, "Advanced Accessible PDFs"
Adobe, "Create and verify PDF accessibility" (requires Acrobat Pro)