Ensure Accessible Files

All electronic documents on your website are expected to comply with Stanford’s digital accessibility policy. This is especially important for PDFs, but also includes Microsoft Word documents, PowerPoint Presentations, etc. 

The Office of Digital Accessibility has guidance for making accessible documents.

Strategy for remediating documents

1. Identify a date by which all documents associated with the website will be accessible.
2. Develop an inventory of all documents associated with your site
3. Prioritize your inventory. Use Google Analytics or Siteimprove to see which documents are your top most accessed documents. Address these first.
4. Remove little used or unneeded documents: For example:
   1. Remove or archive documents that do not get much traffic. If a document needs to be available for “historical purposes” then be ready to make it accessible upon request.
   2. Instead of uploading or linking to CVs and resumes for students, which can get out of date, use links to their LinkedIn, Google Scholar, or other "evergreen" profile.
5. For documents to keep:
   1. Can you move the content into a webpage? If so, this is likely the easiest and most accessible way to provide this content.
   2. Remediate each PDF for accessibility. See ODA guidance for making accessible documents.

Which is preferable: PDF or HTML page?

A PDF is a Portable Document File. It's a standardized, versatile file format that is easy for presenting and exchanging documents. An HTML page uses hypertext markup language tags to define page structure and formatting. Most websites use HTML for their web pages. Although both formats are used to communicate information, their benefits differ:

• A PDF is self-contained with all images and graphs. The image and graphs on an HTML page are stored and loaded separately.
• A PDF is easy to print. An HTML page may need extra CSS code in order to print accurately.
• An HTML page is easy for search to find, index, and search. The contents of a PDF are not necessarily  available to site search.
• An HTML page is easily viewed through a browser. A PDF requires additional steps such as downloading and software such as Adobe Reader before it can be viewed.
•   Making an HTML page accessible to assistive technology such as a screen reader is easily accomplished with a standard WYSIWYG editor. Making a PDF accessible to assistive technology is a complex process and requires Adobe Acrobat Pro or similar software.

Because HTML pages are best for SEO and accessibility, we encourage the use of HTML pages for content display whenever possible. When a PDF or other document type is required or the better choice, ODA has guidance on making these documents accessible.

What about a Google or Word Doc?

The goal is to provide the best, most accessible experience. The concern with Google Docs is that it does not contain an accessibility checker and it does not provide a way to set the header row when making tables. Also, decorative images cannot be hidden. 

Converting inaccessible PDFs to web content or accessible Microsoft Word Documents and running the Accessibility Checker are some of the best options. As well, an accessible Word Document can be shared using Google Drive.

Here are some resources from the Stanford Office of Digital Accessibility

• Accessible Google Documents Guide
• Accessible Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Accessibility Checker