PDF documents are very popular for turning printed material into digital files because they are easy to share and keep their original look on different devices. But it is important to make sure everyone, including people with disabilities, can use these documents. That's why PDF accessibility is very important.

Making PDFs accessible means organizing and tagging the document correctly so that people with disabilities can use assistive tools, like screen readers, to read the content. Just like websites and apps,  accessible PDF services must ensure that PDF documents follow accessibility standards, specifically WCAG 2.0 and WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines. 

Continue reading this blog to learn more about the importance of PDF accessibility and the features an accessible PDF has. 

Why Does PDF Accessibility Matter?

An accessible PDF is a document that fulfills all the accessibility standards and is easy to use. It allows easy viewing, reading, and interaction with your document. As your audience includes individuals with hearing, vision, cognitive, or mobility impairments, you must ensure PDF accessibility remediation, and your documents must support assistive technology, such as braille displays, text-to-speech programs, screen readers, and much more. 

The more you ensure PDF accessibility, the more it is easy to hear things on your mobile device. It must have accessibility features like a screen magnifier to view the content, or a fill it out without a keyboard aspect. These features are beneficial for everyone, irrespective of their different abilities. 

What Features Does an Accessible PDF Have?

 Firms that offer accessible PDF services ensure that a PDF has the following features to become accessible. 

  • Accessible text: PDF accessibility remediation is all about making the text accessible to everyone, regardless of the impairments, using techniques such as alt text for images and text recognition. 
  • Proper structure: Properly structure your PDF with paragraphs, headings, and tables to help screen readers understand the content flow to make it more accessible.
  • Easy navigation: Include descriptive hyperlinks, tables of contents, and bookmarks for easy and accessible navigation. 
  • Include interactive elements and forms: Have carefully labeled and accessible interactive elements and form fields. 
  • Proper color and contrast: PDF accessibility remediation prioritizes color contrast and offers alternatives for color-coded information. 
  • Specify language and metadata: Accessible PDF services specify document language and include correct and accurate metadata. 

5 Steps PDF Accessible Workflow Includes

The 5 steps that PDF accessibility has are as follows. 

  1. Evaluation

Evaluation of a PDF document is the first step to ensure accessibility. Here, the experts review the document for tags, structures, and other accessibility elements, along with industry-standard tools to ensure accessibility and compliance standards. 

  1. Tagging

Evaluation is followed by tagging to ensure proper structure and accessibility to screen readers. To ensure proper structure, appropriate tags for tables, headings, lists, paragraphs, and more are used. 

  1. Remediation

In this third stage, accessibility issues identified in the evaluation stage are addressed. It includes adjusting the reading order, adding missing tags, and other fixes to ensure complete document accessibility. 

  1. Alternative text

Every accessible PDF service must use graphs, images, and pictures in your document. It allows people using screen readers to understand the document's visual content. 

  1. Quality check

Checking the accessibility of PDFs is crucial to make sure people with disabilities can use them. A thorough quality-checking process ensures that PDF documents are accessible to everyone and comply with industry standards.

Final Words

PDF accessibility is not a one-time process but a continuous one that requires investment of more tools, time, and other applications to make testing more applications. Moreover, the more accessibility you want, the more you must invest in the knowledge to fix it. Anyone with an online presence should make sure all their digital content is accessible to everyone. This includes any PDFs on or off their website.

Making digital content accessible is essential in today's time. If you don't prioritize accessibility, you might lose customers and even face legal issues. When you are putting your content online, it is important to understand the legal rules about accessibility, particularly for PDFs, to ensure everyone can access your information equally.