A rant to suggest designers stop using PDF files at web sites
I really wish folks would stop using PDF files as web pages on web sites.
I know that some folks don’t like having to look at a rant, so if you want to see it, you will have to open the next pain pane.
Technorati Tags: Portable Document Format
I know why you want to use those Portable Document Format (pdf) files.
You have worked hard to produce a fabulous looking document in UnbelievableCreativity™. It combines unusual fonts and graphics with the perfect layout. And you know that if other people could see it they would just love it; so you want to post it at your web site. The trouble is, if you re-create the document in the language of the web, HTML, you would lose those fab fonts and clever design juxtapositions. You are afraid that if folks don’t see it exactly the way you see it now, printed out on your desk, they won’t grasp the concepts and truly value your work.
No problem. A feature of UnbelievableCreativity™ is that it easily saves your masterpiece to PDF. Poof, it is done.
And now you can upload that lovely file to your web site. Easy-peasy. The job is done, and you are free to go and spend some quality time with your loved ones.
The trouble happens later, when someone — like me — is mistakenly attracted to your site.
You do want to attract people to your your site, don’t you? That’s usually why you put stuff on the web in the first place. And I know you care that people come to your site because you check the number of hits almost every day and your spirits rise and fall with your PageRank™.
Well, you have some success, and for whatever reason, I’ve found my way to your site.
About me: I pride myself on finding stuff that is out there, and quickly. Back when I was writing planetarium shows (long before the World Wide Web), I loved to uncover morsels that would make the program sparkle. There is a lot of information out there and most of it is devoid of sparkle. The trick was to scan FAST and to have ways to select only the good stuff. Like panning for gold. Lots of sand, but the tiny flashes make the process worthwhile.
The web is wonderful, and the search engines are so sophisticated that there is a very high ratio of gold to sand.
But I am still moving through the data as fast as I can.
Until I come to your wretched site. I clicked your file because the topic looked vaguely interesting. I won’t know until I see your page. If it is as wonderful for me as you hope, we will both be delighted; but the odds are it is just more sand in my pan and I probably won’t even spend whole seconds with one page.
Suddenly my whole process is frozen and this appears…
So, I am stuck trying to figure out how to stop this download and get on with my life. A valuable moment of mine is lost while I deal with killing your file.
Now, sometimes I really want a PDF file. They have their place. Say you are designing something that is to be printed. PDF helps to ensure that the company that does the printing produces something fairly close to your intentions. So, I do need to have the capacity to save those pages.
But, PDF should not be there on your web site without big warnings to keep people like me from accidently downloading just because I was fascinated by the title.
And if you want a browser merely to view the document on your web site, please learn how to create lean, fast, engaging web pages… and don’t post it as PDF.
Do you think that by slowing me down with this teeth-grinding PDF process I an going to settle in and study your masterpiece? Not likely. I’m annoyed and your file is trashed before it is completely downloaded.
Of course, I can set my browser so I can view, and not download the PDF files there. That PDF file will still load slowly, and I will not wait!
Since you have shown so little regard for me as an invited visitor to your site, the only way that I can punish you is to ignore you and your site forever. I am gone, and if I do remember you and your site, I will not be back.
I find that I agree with most of what Jakob Neilsen has to say about how to manage an effective web site. His comments on PDF are here: PDF: Unfit for Human Consumption.
The title overstates his case. The article is useful reading.
5 Responses to “A rant to suggest designers stop using PDF files at web sites”
April 1st, 2008 at 7:03 pm
I couldnt agree more. Opening an unknown pdf file is like setting off a bomb…
To me, pdf is second on the most annoying website related issue (first is by far flash).
It takes a matter of 15 seconds to copy an pdf file, and paste it in html. If you insist on having a ‘pretty’ pdf, also include a basic html file and clearly label them.
If im looking for information, and i have only a choice of a pdf file, ill keep googling. its simply not worth the load time.
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:23 am
Thanks andy. How did this happen? Adobe created an excellent product (PDF) and the mis-use of the format has morphed into all of this annoying content on the web. Actually, I know some of the answer. Nowadays word processors and other programs can easily save the content to a PDF file. And that can easily be posted at a web site. Anyone can do that. Those same anyones either don’t know how, or cannot be bothered, to take the same material and create real web pages. And the boss probably said that the information should be posted at the web site.
July 27th, 2008 at 7:40 am
Having said all of this… I am now planning to post a series of PDF files at my web site.
Wait… hear me out.
I have materials that I’ve developed as part of my consulting practice. It includes advice and practices for organizations that I’ve found to be very effective in achieving desired results. Until now, I have provided them to clients as a value added feature to my consulting. In other words, the people receiving this information are only those who are paying me.
The decision to publish these articles (some are quite long) and offer them for free on the web represents a change in my business plan. I am concluding that the real value added is me being there and showing how folks can accomplish their goals — or set them higher than they thought possible. The articles, then, are a demonstration that I really know what I am talking about, and they will be there to use as a reference after I have talked to them. Also, there is the matter of legacy. I’m 65 (and healthy). This is good stuff, and the truth is that I want people to have and use what took me so long to learn or discover.
Okay, but why PDF? First let me say that it will be clear to the browser that they are downloading a PDF. Second, most of these articles are not meant to be a quick-scan at a web site. They are techniques that need to be studied.
So, I want the reader to download and print out the articles. Then I hope that the articles will be shared among those who are trying to achieve something. I like those printed documents to look like someone cared about the content. I also insist that the information about me is retained with the article. The value to me is that, after seeing this material, people will call me to come and talk to their organization, their convention, or their community.
These articles are meant to be printed. Using PDF means that the reader will see exactly what I intended.
September 3rd, 2008 at 11:54 pm
I guess they use it to force people to get have their site on their pc one way or another.
I don’t mind pdf files as long as its by choice not by force.
September 10th, 2009 at 10:50 am
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.
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