Web pages can link to documents in a similar way that web pages link to other pages or websites. Common types of documents that web pages link to include Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDFs. Although uploading and linking to a document is an option, it's not always the best practice.
Before linking to a document, ask the following questions.
• Does the document already exist on another site?
• Is the document web accessible?
• Is the audience for the document internal or external?
• How will the document be kept up-to-date?
• Can the document contents be put on a web page, instead of linking to the document?
▶ Watch video “Inserting a link to a document” (0:49)
-Check if the document exists on another site
If you didn't create the document, do a Google search to see if the document already exists on a trusted site (.gov, .edu). It's best to link to the original source-- instead of uploading and linking to a copy of the document on your site.
-Check web accessibility
Word docs, PDFs and PowerPoints all need to be web accessible, regardless of whether they're on your site or being linked to on another site. Acrobat has an "Accessibility" tool that will check a PDF for web accessibility, identify issues and allow you to fix them in the program. Word and PowerPoint have a "Check Accessibility" option on the "Review" tab. Read more about making accessible documents in Word and Acrobat.
-Determine the audience
Not all documents belong on your website. In general, if you want the public to read a document and it's relevant to the goal of your website, then linking to it is a great idea. If you're just needing a place to store or archive documents for internal use, using Box is a better solution.
-Keep documents up-to-date
Sometimes the person uploading a document to the website isn't the person who created the document. When changes are made to the original document, it has to be reuploaded to the website. Make sure your workflow process involves those who create and provide documents and determine how you'll be notified when there's an updated version.
-Convert a document to a webpage
Documents that can be easily converted to a webpage are better off being a webpage. Though PDFs can display in search engine results, users are more likely to click a link to an HTML page than a PDF. Plus, when users click to view a PDF, it opens in a window with no site navigation, which means they don't have a way to easily browse other pages on your site.
Google will use the path and document name to help it understand what a document is, so be sure to organize your website’s documents in a way that makes sense. When naming documents use short descriptive names, all lowercase letters or numbers, don't include spaces and separate words with hyphens.
If you have ideas for videos or articles you would like to see, please email Keith McGuffey at kmcguffey2@unl.edu. More video tutorials can be found on the Nebraska Extension County Websites Media Hub channel.
###
Site Bytes is a regular column in Nebraska Extension – Keeping UP that provides quick tips for enhancing your county website. Written by Keith McGuffey, IANR Media Web Specialist.