The following section is about including documents on your website.
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NOTE: It is recommended that you use the PDF format when including documents to the website. Other document types such as .docs, .ppt, .xls can cause display and accessibility issues that make the file inaccessible to some viewers. |
7.1) PDFs vs Web Pages
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NOTE: Before adding PDFs to your website, you first need to determine if content would be better served as an actual webpage rather than as a PDF. |
While simply converting your source files (Google docs or Word docs) to PDFS can be a convenient way to share information online, it is not always the best option for several reasons:
PDFs frequently present accessibility issues if not formatted correctly. This makes the PDF unreadable to people using screen readers. Departments that share PDFs online are responsible for ensuring the the file meets all of Swarthmore’s accessibility standards. Inaccessible PDFs are subject to removal.
PDFs are harder to update than an HTML page. Updating a PDF involves multiple steps including fixing the original issue in the source file, ; re-running an accessibility check, ; re-uploading the PDF, ; and then updating the link(s) that point to the new file. Updating a webpage has none of these issues.
Old PDFs will often appear in search results even they may no appear on the website. This can become problematic when multiple out-dated versions of a document appear in a user’s search results. A published webpage has ONLY have the current version.
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All documents hosted on Swarthmore.edu must meetthe College’s accessibility policy requirements. Departments are responsible for ensuring that ALL documents shared online are accessible. Please contact the Accessibility office if you need assistance with creating accessible PDFs.
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NOTE: Correcting accessibility issues is the responsibility of the department that shared the document. Inaccessible documents are subject to removal. |
7.3) Hosting Options
When it comes to hosting your PDFs online, you have two options: Drupal or Google Drive. Each offers its own pros and cons. Which option you choose depends on the specific needs of your department:
Drupal - PDFs can be uploaded directly into the Drupal.
PROS: Quick and easy to use. Will appear in Google search results.
CONS: Drupal provides only with a single folder for hosting documents. Creating sub-folders is not possible. Drupal does not offer any access/permissions settings.
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NOTE: Because all Drupal documents are located in a single folder, it is important that you pay close attention to how you name your files as file management ‘best practices’ will be essential in helping keep yourself organized. |
Google Drive - Documents can also be uploaded in your department’s Google Drive Folder. Every department has a Google Drive folder (setup by ITS) that you can also use to share documents on your website.
PROS: Google Drive allows you create as many sub-folders as you wish to help you organize your content. You can also use Google Drive’s built-in permissions settings to control access to files or folders such as making the PDF on your website only accessible to “Swarthmore-only” users.
CONS: Requires that you login to Google Drive, upload the PDF to the folder and create a Share link.
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The text that you originally highlighted will now appear as red and underlined (indicating that it is a link).
Save the page in DRAFT mode and then check your work.
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NOTE: You cannot actually test the link from the editor console. You must first save the page (in Draft mode) or (in Published mode) and test from there. Clicking on the link from within the editor is only open an editing window to allow you to change or remove the link.  |
7.5) Uploading a Document to Google Drive
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