Ensuring Comprehensive Access: Fixing PDFs and Document Accessibility
Many organizations rely on uploading important documents—such as brochures, menus, reports, contracts, or forms—directly to their websites in PDF format. However, the critical issue is that most PDFs are not accessible by default.
While they may appear visually organized, for a visitor utilizing a screen reader, these files are often completely unreadable, acting as invisible barriers to crucial information.
Adacertify’s Manual Remediation Service includes a dedicated process to ensure all your documents are usable, accessible, and compliant with ADA and Section 508 standards.
The Document Accessibility Remediation Process
Our team applies specialized manual techniques to transform inaccessible PDFs and documents into usable digital assets:
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Audit & Detection: We begin by using our system to identify all existing PDFs and documents on your site that are missing necessary accessibility tags or proper structural information, flagging them as high-priority issues.
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Tagging & Structuring: This is the core fix. We manually add the correct logical structure, including proper headings, reading order, and labels. This work is vital so that screen readers can interpret the content correctly, ensuring the document flows logically for a user consuming it line-by-line.
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Alt Text for Images: Just as on web pages, charts, diagrams, and other visuals embedded within PDFs need descriptive alt text. We ensure these images are fully described so that no visual information is lost to a screen reader user.
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Form Accessibility: If your PDFs contain interactive forms (like applications or registrations), we ensure that the fields are properly labeled and have a correct keyboard-accessible tab order, allowing users with motor impairments to complete and submit the forms.
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Testing & Verification: The final step involves rigorously testing the remediated documents with screen reader software to confirm they are truly usable and fully compliant.
Why Document Accessibility is Crucial for Your Business
Fixing document accessibility is non-negotiable for holistic compliance and user trust. It is the only way to ensure that all users, regardless of visual or cognitive disabilities, can access your entire body of content.
This effort directly meets the ADA and Section 508 standards for digital documents, protecting your organization from legal risk tied to inaccessible downloads. By making your documents usable and compliant, you create a far more professional and inclusive experience for every customer who interacts with your brand.
With Adacertify, your documents don’t just “sit on your site”—they become active, accessible, usable, and compliant extensions of your digital presence.