PDF policy

The University is legally required to publish content that meets WCAG (Web Content Accessibility 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, for example, a brochure? If so, it should be physically distributed as a print document and not uploaded it 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, for example, a policy, meeting minutes? If so, it can be uploaded as an accessible Word document or PDF but, ideally, should also be available in HTML.
• Has the PDF passed WCAG 2.1 AA standards?

Word and PDF files can only be uploaded to the University website by the Digital Communications (web) team. Please raise a support call by emailing itservicedesk@st-andrews.ac.uk to request an upload. Please check your document for accessibility before approaching the web team with your request.

For further information see our PDF standards.