Choosing the Right Format: When (and When Not) to Use PDFs
- Accessibility
Last modified: February 6, 2026
Choosing the right format is one of the simplest ways to improve accessibility. Use this decision guide to determine whether a PDF is necessary, or if a web-based or editable format would provide a better experience for students or other readers using assistive technologies or mobile devices.
PDFs are sometimes necessary but are often not the easiest or best option.
Option 1: Does it already exist in the format you need? For example, if you’ve been providing a pdf of a poem, journal article or other reading material in PDF, check if there is an already accessible version online.
You may be providing a PDF for something that others already created accessible HTML for! This poem by Langston Hughesis more accessible on a web page than in a pdf created from a journal or book.
Option 2: Can this material be found in or made into a web page, Google Doc, Google Form, or another editable online format (or can you link to existing content)? If yes then use that option. These formats are easier to make accessible, easier to update, and work better on mobile and assistive technologies.
If you need to provide a PDF for printing purposes, it is wise to provide both the PDF and an accessible version of it as a Google Doc, web page, or Word document.
In this case you can provide the PDF for printing alongside a web-based alternative.
In one good example you can see how Michelle Pacansky-Brock has provided both a printable poster and an online infographic.
Last resort: In some cases, it may be necessary to remediate an existing PDF in Foxit. Avoid this whenever possible, especially for new materials or content that is used frequently as it is time consuming and imperfect at best.
In many cases for this last option, you may also need to provide a “transcript” for the material to make it accessible to people (for example a historical manuscript may not be accessible to blind or low vision users without a plain text explanation that can be read aloud by a screen reader or zoomed in on).
The Library of Congress has examples of transcribed materials that would be otherwise difficult to access, for example this transcribed handwritten document.