1. Introduction

At Canterbury Christ Church University, we are committed to ensuring that all digital content, including PDFs, is accessible to everyone.

These guidelines provide best practices for making PDFs accessible in accordance with the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2) and the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 in the UK.

2. Why PDF accessibility is important

Legal compliance: UK public sector bodies, including universities, must comply with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018, which require content to meet WCAG 2.2 AA standards.

Inclusivity: Accessible PDFs support users with visual impairments, cognitive disabilities, and motor limitations, ensuring equitable access to educational materials and university services.

Searchability and usability: Properly structured PDFs improve readability, search engine indexing, and usability across devices and assistive technologies.

3. When to use PDFs

Avoid PDFs where possible: We recommend you use webpages rather than PDFs for better accessibility and mobile responsiveness. If the content fits onto the webpage, then a PDF is not necessary. However, you must ensure you have a viable reason for creating webpages as having too many pages on the website will have negative effects for the University’s carbon emissions, website health, and overall user experience. Please speak to the Content team if you have any questions.

Use PDFs only when necessary, such as for printable forms, legal documents, or research papers.

4. Creating accessible PDFs

To ensure PDFs meet accessibility standards, follow these best practices:

4.1 Document structure and formatting

Use headings properly

Use sequential headings (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to create a clear document structure.

Ensure the document title is marked as an H1 heading. (This will be done automatically in the CMS).

Use real text, not images of text

Avoid scanned documents or images of text.

Use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) if converting scanned content. OCR is a tool that converts images to text. You can find free OCR tools online.

Set a document title

Ensure each PDF has a descriptive title set in the metadata. (Click ‘File > Properties’ to fill this in.)

Logical reading order

Use tags and reading order features in Adobe Acrobat to ensure correct flow for screen readers. This can be done automatically in Adobe but must be checked manually to ensure the order is correct.

4.2 Text and font accessibility

Use clear, sans-serif fonts (e.g., Arial, Verdana) in a minimum 12pt size.

Avoid text justification - use left-aligned text for readability.

4.3 Alternative text and non-text content

Provide alt text for all images, charts, and graphs.

Complex images (e.g., infographics) should include a detailed text description.

Avoid decorative images or mark them as artefacts to be ignored by screen readers.

4.4 Tables and lists

Use properly formatted tables with column and row headers tagged.

Avoid merging or splitting table cells as this can disrupt screen reader navigation.

Use built-in bulleted or numbered lists instead of manual dashes or tabs.

4.5 Hyperlinks and navigation

Contextually embed links (e.g., "Read the full guide" instead of "Click here").

Ensure hyperlinks are clearly distinguishable (e.g., underlined and in a contrasting colour).

Include bookmarks for longer PDFs to allow easy navigation.

4.6 Forms and interactive elements

Use fillable form fields instead of requiring printed documents.

Ensure all form fields have labels and proper tab order.

Include clear error messages and instructions for form completion.

5. Updating and remediating PDFs

Review older PDFs and replace them with HTML pages where possible.

Use Adobe Acrobat or third-party remediation tools to fix accessibility issues in existing PDFs.

Ensure regular audits of PDFs on the University website.

6. Further support and training

AbilityNet holds free training sessions throughout the year. You can sign up to their email subscription to stay informed.

The Content team will also share free training sessions on the Contensis User Teams chat if you are a part of this. Please regularly check this chat.

Future training sessions will be provided by the Content team. Please check StaffNet for future training.

7. Summary checklist

Use structured headings and logical reading order.
Provide alt text for images and graphs.
Ensure text is selectable and not an image.
Use accessible tables and avoid merged cells.
Check font style (sans-serif) and size (minimum 12 pt).
Provide descriptive link text.
Convert PDFs to HTML where appropriate.

By following these guidelines, Canterbury Christ Church University ensures digital content is inclusive, legally compliant, and accessible to all users.

Date of implementation: 02/07/2025
Review date: 02/07/2028

How-to guides - Web and social content