Downloadable documents
This guidance applies to the use of any PDFs and downloadable documents on the Knowsley Council website. This guidance does not apply to PDFs or downloadable documents created by other parties that we publish.
Problems with PDFs
Compared with HTML content, for example, on our web pages, information published in a PDF is harder to find, use and maintain. If PDFs are not created with sufficient care, they are often bad for accessibility, and rarely comply with the accessibility standards now required of us.
Reasons to move away from PDFs:
- They do not change size to fit the browser.
- They are not designed for reading on a screen.
- It is harder to track their use.
- They cause difficulties for navigation and orientation.
- They can be hard for some users to access.
- They are less likely to be kept up to date.
- They are hard to re-use.
Why we champion accessibility
In September 2019, the EU Web Accessibility Directive became law. By September 2020, we were required to make sure that our website and all the PDFs uploaded to it, comply with the WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards.
We are required to have an Accessibility Statement on our website, which outlines which parts of our website are not accessible and why, and what our plans to fix these elements are.
PDF alternatives
If you have a new document that you would like to upload to the website, consider creating it in another way. In most cases, PDFs can be converted into one of the following:
- A webpage or series of webpages
- An online form
- A website directory
- Social media posts
- An HTML email promotion