PDF and Other Documents

Generally you should try to avoid documents like PDFs, Word documents, or PowerPoint presentations unless they are absolutely necessary and instead provide all site content as web content. Work with the site developer or IT administrators if you’re unsure or would like help converting content from a document format to web content.

If you need to provide content in document format it’s your responsibility to guarantee the document meets accessibility standards. You should keep these standards in mind during document creation. It’s always easier to make a document accessible from the beginning than to go back and fix problems.

Refer to the following resources for help creating accessible documents and assessing your existing documents:

• Creating an Accessible PDF, WSU Web Communications. Note: If you have the original non-PDF version (a Word document, for example) it is often easier to start with making that accessible first, then exporting to PDF.
• Creating an Accessible Microsoft Word Document, WSU Web Communications.
• NCDAE Accessibility Cheatsheets, National Center on Disability and Access to Education. Includes one-page accessibility guides for creating a variety of accessible documents in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Acrobat, and InDesign.
• Microsoft Publisher (Windows) Accessibility Tutorial, Michigan State University. Accessibility can be challenging to get right in Microsoft Publisher. If possible, consider using Adobe InDesign instead.