PDF format has evolved from the PostScript language, created by Adobe Systems. It allows you to save photos, vector graphics, texts of different layout complexity in one document. A PDF document is cross-platform while maintaining the accuracy of displaying content to the smallest detail. More about the convenience of PDF for webmasters read below.
Publishing and Indexing Opportunities
PDF is a convenient format for publishing articles and news on the Internet. It is perfectly indexed by search engines and can include multiple protection levels against copying, printing, changing, etc. Even if you use the Coolutils Outlook to PDF converter to arrange and store your files, this format will secure all the data from inappropriate usage.
Besides, with the help of PDF documents, it is convenient to distribute files for printing or reading from the screen. Unlike HTML pages, a PDF document looks similar in the viewer and any browser. Meanwhile, the HTML page view can vary due to the user’s browser settings — fonts, graphics loading, etc. These factors do not affect the view of the document.
With the help of the format, it is very profitable to distribute advertising texts, e-books, statistics, technical and reference documentation. It is quite versatile and can be read even on old smartphones with Java support. For authors of articles and scientific works, PDF offers a high protection level against text copying. At the same time, all documents are perfectly indexed by search engines and are available for reading.
One of the crucial advantages of the format is its indexing capacity and minimal load on computer resources. If you put very large text in an HTML document, then search engines may not index it. In some SE, the declared weight of an HTML page for indexing does not exceed 300Kb. Search engines will index PDF documents with ease.
Alternative Formats
The PDF format is more convenient than Microsoft Word. Word files are also well-indexed but poorly protected. In the Word file configurations, you can set protection for opening a file and modifying it. However, such protection will lead to the fact that a document will not be indexed by search engines. It should be recognized that the Word program is precisely a word processor and is not intended to create secure documents.
Several other formats may become alternatives — DJVU, CHM, and others. But they all have serious disadvantages compared to PDF if you want to create and distribute secure documents.
How to Create PDF Format?
An all-in-one tool for creating PDF documents is a software package from Adobe. For example, a dedicated creation program is Adobe Acrobat. Besides, many other solutions are available for users. For instance, various converters are in great demand. The created document can be converted to PDF at any time by specifying the necessary settings — rights, graphic resolution, and others.
Not all files on the site should be distributed in this format, but some will benefit from this type of online posting.
