How and why to add PDFs to your Weebly website
PDF files are documents that have been exported from a word processing program like Microsoft Word. Other programs, such as presentation, spreadsheet, and image editing programs, can also be used to create PDFs. You need the Adobe Reader app to open and view them. They are popular as a document format that can be downloaded and viewed from websites and other online sources.
If you need to provide documents to visitors, customers, and clients, consider adding PDFs to your website. It’s an easy way to automate the distribution of documents, rather than dealing with requests individually by email.
There are lots of reasons to make PDFs available on your website. Consider whether any of these would be helpful to you and your business.
One important note: Embedded PDFs aren't indexable by search engines, so any text on PDFs won’t be found by search engines.
Freebie PDFs
Giveaway for signing up for a mailing list
How-to instruction sheets
Resource list of external organizations or products
Slideshows from presentations or events
PDFs about your services or products
Brochure
Product catalog
Event flyer
Frequently Asked Questions
Pre-appointment preparation checklist
Annual reports
PDFs available to paid members
Course materials
Membership resources, such as eBooks or articles
PDFs to highlight your experience
Certificates and awards
Resume/CV/References
Writing samples
Case studies
PDFs to request information from customers
Legal document to be filled out offline (blank contracts, service agreement)
Pre-consultation form to be filled out offline
Questionnaire or survey to be filled out offline
PDF products for purchase
eBook produced as a PDF
How to create a PDF
A PDF can be exported as a document format from most office applications, such as word processing, presentation, spreadsheet, and image editing programs. Create the source document first in the office application. It’s a good idea to add branding information to the document, so your business name and copyright information are visible. Save the document with a name that identifies its content and your business.
After creating the source document, use the program’s option for creating a PDF. You’ll find some more information here.
How to add a PDF to your Weebly site
Link to a PDF
Any place you can add a link on your Weebly website, you can add a file link and upload the PDF file:
Title and Text links
Buttons
Images
Images in a gallery block or slideshow
Block quote
For more information about using links for PDFs, see this Weebly Help article, “Upload and Link to Files.”
File element attached to a PDF
You can also add a File element directly to the page and attach a file to the page.
Embedding a PDF in a Document element
You can embed a scrollable version of your PDF directly on the website page using a Document element. To view a full-screen version of the PDF or to download it, visitors will need a subscription to Scribd, a digital library service. For more information about using the Document element, see this Weebly Help article, “Display Documents on Your Site.”
PDF as a product
PDFs for purchase are added to the website as you would add any digital products. They can be up to 3 GB and are added as digital products. For more information, see this Weebly help article, “Add a Digital Item.”
Limiting access to PDFs
If you don’t want all visitors to find a PDF, you can hide the page that contains the link to the PDF. If you place links to PDFs on pages that aren’t available from your website navigation links, those pages are harder to find. For even more protection, your links to PDFs can be placed on members-only or password-protected pages.
PDFs are a useful addition to your Weebly website if you want to provide information that isn’t for general use or is too lengthy to add to a website page. Visitors can also print the PDF documents for offline reading. You can always upload revised versions as the information changes so it stays up-to-date. Think of PDFs as an extension to the information that your website provides.
