PDF policy

The University is legally required to publish content that meets WCAG (Web Content Accessibilty Guidelines) standards. Content also needs to comply with the Equality Act 2010.

While a PDF file can be made accessible, there a number of checks that must be made before it can be published on the University website.

PDF checklist

Only consider publishing a PDF file if the following checks are passed:

• Is the PDF intended for print e.g. a brochure? If so, don't upload to the website.
• Is the content specific to the University of St Andrews, or is it generic advice that could be found elsewhere on the internet? Only publish content that is specific to the University.
• Does the content have a clear intended audience and function? Do you have evidence that this content is actually needed? Only publish content that meets a definitive user need.
• Does the content already exist on the University website? We should only have one source of truth.
• Does the content need to record what was said at a particular time e.g. policy, meeting minutes? If so, continue to publish in PDF, but ideally, it should also be available in HTML.
• Has the PDF passed WCAG 2.1 AA standards?

If you are in any doubt about whether to upload a PDF file to the website, please contact itservicedesk@st-andrews.ac.uk

For further information see PDF standards.