Simply put, it can be difficult to tell if a PDF is accessible or not just by looking at it. Inaccessible PDFs will often look the same as accessible PDFs to those who do not rely on accessible content.
The accessibility of a PDF depends on its:
- design
- content, and
- code.
If you want to find out if a PDF is accessible, you’ll need to check these three key areas.
Design
First, check the design of the PDF.
In particular, look at the use of:
- colour
- typography, and
- layout.
Use the accessibility communications guidance on the Nationwide Brand Hub to check if the PDF uses:
- colours with good contrast
- easy to read typography using Nationwide fonts and styles
- simple layouts and,
- imagery that conveys our visual identity.
Design mistakes
Look out for these design mistakes:
- Use of non-Nationwide fonts such as Times New Roman or Arial
- Headings or body copy that is centred rather than left-aligned
- Use of all capitals or italics for headings or body copy
- Sentences that are crammed close together
- Not enough whitespace around content
- Use of colours that are not in our brand or secondary colour palettes
- Incorrect use of our brand and secondary colours
- Use of colour alone without additional information to reference content, particularly in graphs or charts.
- Use of underlines for non-interactive content.
Content
Next, check the language and tone of voice used throughout the document.
We write in Plain English and aim for a reading age of 9. This lets everyone access our content and easily find the information they need.
To help check the accessibility of the PDF content, use:
- the voice guidelines on NEL
- the inclusive language guides on the Nationwide Brand Hub.
Content design mistakes
Look out for these content design mistakes:
- Poor titles or filenames for the PDF, e.g. 12345678.pdf
- Use of headings that don’t accurately describe the content below them
- Use of long headings written as a sentence
- Use of overly wordy sentences
- Use of link phrases without context, e.g. ‘Click Here’, ‘More Information’, ‘View Now’
- Writing links as a URL, e.g. http://www.fca.org.uk
- Use of acronyms or abbreviations without the full explanation, e.g. IPID
- Use of jargon or overly complex language
- Use of language that discriminates based on gender, race, sexuality, ability, religion or age
- Use of images and graphs without alternative text descriptions
- Including content that purely mitigates risk and satisfies legal requirements
- Including duplicate or repetitive content.
Code
Finally, check the PDF code. This tells you if the document is accessible for people using screen reading software.
Assessing the PDF code can be difficult without the correct software. However, there are several options available to you. Try these in the following order:
- Selecting or highlighting the text
- Use Adobe Acrobat DC
- Check with a screen reader.
Try selecting or highlighting the text
In the PDF document, select or highlight some of the text. If you can’t highlight or select any words or sentences, it could mean that the content isn’t coded to be accessible. You’ll then need to investigate further using one of the other options below.
However, if you can select words or sentences, it doesn’t mean the PDF code is accessible. It simply means that you need to do further checks.
Use Adobe Acrobat DC
If you have Adobe Acrobat DC, you can run an automated accessibility check on the PDF document.
The check will:
- highlight accessibility issues with the PDF code, and
- advise on any additional manual reviews required.
How to run an Adobe Acrobat DC accessibility check
- Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat DC.
- Choose, ‘Tools’.
- Under the ‘Protect and Standardise’ section, select ‘Accessibility’.
- An accessibility menu will appear. From it, select, ‘Accessibility Check’.
- In the ‘Report Options’ section, choose ‘Create accessibility report’.
- Select all the checks listed below:
- Accessibility permission flag is set
- Document is not image only PDF
- Document structure provides a logical reading order
- Text language is specified
- Document title is showing in title bar
- Bookmarks are present in large documents
- Document has appropriate colour contrast
- Select ‘Start checking’ to run the report.
Check with a screen reader
People using screen readers will likely download a PDF document. They’ll then use a program, like Adobe Reader, to read it (rather than reading it in a browser).
When you open Adobe Reader with a screen reader running, Adobe Reader will check whether the PDF has been ‘tagged’ for accessibility.
If the PDF isn’t tagged, Adobe Reader will:
- display a warning and
- offer different display options to help people read the PDF.
If this warning appears, it is a clear sign that the PDF is not accessible.
How to check a PDF with a screen reader
If you’re using Windows 10:
- Use the ‘Control’ + ‘Windows’ + ‘Enter’ keys to turn Narrator (Window’s built-in screen reader) on or off.
- Open the PDF in Adobe Reader.
If you’re using macOS:
- Use ‘Command’ + ‘F5’ to turn VoiceOver (macOS’s built-in screen reader) on or off.
- Open the PDF in Adobe Reader.
Get help and support
If you don’t have access to Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Reader or screen reading software, you’ll need some support. The best option is to ask an accessibility subject matter expert (SME) to review the PDF code.
For support, please get in touch with:
- Emily Coward (Accessibility Lead) (emily.coward@nationwide.co.uk), or
- Kay Morse (kay.morse@nationwide.co.uk) in the Studio team.
Next steps
If you’ve discovered a PDF document isn’t accessible, you’ll need to work out how to make it accessible from now on.
You may need to adjust the design, content or code to make it accessible to the broadest possible audience.
For more information, read our guides: