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The benefits of HTML
HTML documents are more accessible better for users because they:
- are more accessible in terms of font, tagging and metadata
- searchability HTML documents are easier to search and find online
- adaptability HTML documents reformat for different devices
- are optimised for swipe screen
- accessibility HTML documents adjust to fit specification of assistive technologies, and the functionality of GOV.UK pages is maximised for accessibilitysuch as screen readers
- updatability HTML pages can be quickly updatedprintability HTML pages are easily printable
- create fewer problems when linked to (PDF links break when they are updated)
- comply with open standards principles
- get higher user engagement
The drawbacks of PDFs
While PDFs are a useful document type for sharing internally, we try not use PDFs to share information on the web because they:
- PDFs cannot be easily found through search engines
- PDFs adapt poorly to different screen sizes and devices
- PDFs are difficult to update
- are less likely to be compliant with accessibility legislation
- have lower user engagement
