This web standard is mandatory for all PDFs and other file types published on the public website.
Standards for producing accessible PDFs can be found on Our 妖精动漫.
Page contents
- Before you use a PDF
- File name (when you save your file)
- PDF title
- PDF descriptions
- Linking your PDF
- Other document types
- Reason for this web standard
Before you use a PDF
Content should always be added as web pages as they are the only fully accessible format. PDFs should only be considered under special circumstances (see 'Reasons why PDFs may be allowed' below).
Remember:
- the web page document template is designed for long documents - this is an example of a document template: 妖精动漫-Wide Immigration Strategy
- web pages can be printed
- do not link directly to third party PDFs, instead link to the external webpage they are attached to
- short PDF's should be a web page
- aim for your PDFs to be around 1 megabyte (MB) but no more than 2 MB.
Reasons why PDFs may be allowed:
- material meant for printing
- documents that can't be suitably converted to webpages.
File name (when you save your file)
Example: Early-Years-funded-dates-calendar-2025-to-2026
- Give it a meaningful name, so that others know what the document is about.
- Include the date for documents that are regularly updated. The format should be dd-mm-yy.
- The file name should be lower case with no special characters (except hyphens or underscore to replace spaces).
- Do not use full stops in your file name.
PDF title
Example: Early years funded dates calendar 2025 to 2026
- Make the PDF title grammatically correct and meaningful.
- Ideally it should be the full title of the document and not the file name.
- Do not use acronyms or reference numbers unless they are explained for example: Annual Review of Education, Health and Care Plan form and not ECHP.
- Do not use block capitals.
- Include the date for documents that are regularly updated.
- Format the date as follows:
- 13 April 2020 not 13.04.20
- 2020 to 2024 not 2020-24.
For full details, please see our web page: Web standards for page and file titles.
PDF descriptions
Example: A guide for providers on how to complete the Early Years Census Sufficiency Form including general setting data, staff details and detail on childcare places.
- Between 110 and 160 characters long, including spaces.
- Reflect the content of the file and be different to the PDF title.
- No jargon, abbreviations and acronyms.
For full details, please see our web page: Web standards for page and file descriptions.
Linking your PDF
Example link text: Early Years Census Sufficiency Form (PDF)
- Links to file assets should be via the ID number of the file and not the URL.
- Files should be attached in the metadata tab of the page, under 'File to download', using the ID number.
- If you refer to the file in the text of your page, you should be consistent. The link text for the file must be the same as the link text in the Files to download and end with (PDF).
- Do not link to external files, but rather the web page they are linked on.
For full details, please see our web page: Web standards for links.
Other document types
If the document that you want to add to the public website is not a PDF, such as Word, Excel or PowerPoint, please email us for advice at digital@surreycc.gov.uk.
Reason for this web standard
PDF web standards are mandatory for technical, usability and accessibility reasons.
- Following the PDF standards will make your PDF accessible and your information will be available to a wider audience.
- Illegal characters, such as \ / : * ? " < > | in a filename can prevent some users from opening the attachment. This is because some punctuation or symbols have a technical function.
- Use clear, meaningful filenames and descriptions for files. This helps people find what they need and understand if the content is useful. It also helps screen reader users understand titles and descriptions when they are read out to them.