PDF is generally not a good format for content on any website, as it results in a variety of issues that we outline below.

In some cases PDFs are useful, but even then they should be massaged first.

It has the following disadvantages:

• Slow to load
• Data remains frozen in time and is hard to update, which means it tends to get old
• Requires an extra program to open
• Not searchable within the site as easily as text / html

Sometimes using PDFs is necessary in order to ensure that a form or page is printed exactly the same way as it was created. This is most often used in official forms, liability waivers, contracts, etc. Should you disseminate such information, please take advantage of the forms builder features of PDF generator products to include the fields where people can type their information! Example (try typing on form)

Otherwise they will have to print the entire item out and then fil lit in by hand, which means sloppy information returned to you.

Links to PDF tools