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Is your business information hidden in PDFs on your company website?

Use PDFs wisely

Published: 4th November 2009

Author: Andrew Hart

If you have a company website the chances are that one of the reasons it is there to attract you more business.

Chances are that at some point you have also published material to your website in PDF format thinking "job done".

5 good business reasons to reconsider how you use PDFs on your website

This is a scenario that we see all too often, with businesses paying for decent websites, only to "maintain them" by throwing up PDFs. So what is wrong with this? Well, plenty as it turns out:

  1. PDFs are not as well indexed by search engines - users will find it harder to locate the information (and please - don't use the argument that "well, once they get to my website it's right there…")
  2. Many users dislike PDFs. Why? They have to open additional software and wait for the file to download. Once finished with the PDF they then have to return to using their web browser to continue using the website, creating a disjointed user experience. With the emergence of broadband people expect information faster than ever - and this method of delivering content does not meet those expectations. A properly coded web page can be as little as around 5% of the file-size of the PDF.
  3. Why did you pay for a nicely designed website if you are not going to use it to display your information? You wouldn't run a shop where half the stock was hidden away in a box room that hasn't been decorated since the 1980s. Don't throw money away by putting your content outside that nice design you paid for.
  4. PDFs are for print? True, you can guarantee how a PDF will print out, but any web architect worth their salt can write a stylesheet so that any page of your website will print beautifully and without any need for a "print friendly" version.
  5. Accessibility (access for the disabled) is becoming an ever more important part of websites and the EU is currently considering introducing legislation for all member states to follow. This can increase the reach of your website by between 15% and 20%. Now, PDFs can be made to be accessible, but the time and effort involved is massive compared to website accessibility…the smart money is on avoiding PDFs for this reason.

PDFs have their place, but not in delivering quality website content. Not unless you want it to be: hard to find, time consuming to use, not in keeping with your current design, and most likely inaccessible. If you have important content then convert it fit properly within your website - your customers will thank you for it.

If your company uses PDFs on its website then take another look - are they really delivering the information to your customers?

If you need further advice on this subject please contact us today.