Hi, I’m George Smith, founder of Klickify Agency. Every year I receive dozens of requests from clients who need their PDFs to be usable by blind or low‑vision readers. The good news? You don’t need a $500‑plus license to get it right. In this guide I’ll walk you through the exact steps I use, the free tools that actually work, and the pitfalls that trip up most people.

1. Understand What Makes a PDF Accessible

An accessible PDF is more than just readable text. It contains a logical structure (tags), meaningful alternative text for images, proper heading hierarchy, and a correctly set language attribute. Screen readers rely on these cues to announce content in the right order.

  • Tags – Think of them as the invisible outline that tells a reader “this is a heading, this is a paragraph, this is a table.”
  • Alt text – Descriptive text for every non‑text element (images, charts, decorative lines).
  • Reading order – The sequence in which content is presented to the user.
  • Language – Declaring the document language (e.g.,lang="en") helps screen readers apply the correct pronunciation rules.

2. Start with a Proper Source Document

The easiest way to guarantee a tagged PDF is to generate it from a well‑structured source file – Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or even plain HTML. Here’s what I do:

  1. Use built‑in heading styles. In Word, apply “Heading 1”, “Heading 2”, etc. This creates a heading hierarchy that carries over to the PDF.
  2. Add alt text while you insert images. Right‑click the image → “Edit Alt Text”. Keep it concise but descriptive.
  3. Set the document language. File → Options → Language → Set “English (United States)” as the default.

3. Export to PDF with Tags Enabled

In Word, choose File → Save As → PDF. Click “Options” and ensure “Create tags for accessibility” is checked. This alone produces a decent‑quality tagged PDF for most text‑heavy documents.

If you work in Google Docs, use the “Download → PDF Document” option. Google automatically adds tags for headings, but you’ll need to add alt text manually (right‑click the image → “Alt text”).

4. Clean Up with a Free PDF Editor (Smallpdf or iLovePDF)

Even after exporting, you might need to tweak a few things:

  • Check reading order. Upload the PDF to Smallpdf’s Accessibility Checker (free for files up to 15 MB). It highlights any mis‑ordered elements and lets you rearrange them with a drag‑and‑drop UI.
  • Add missing alt text. iLovePDF’s “Edit PDF” tool lets you click an image and type alt text directly into the properties panel.
  • Remove unnecessary decorations. Decorative lines or background images should be set to “artifact” so screen readers ignore them. Both tools expose a “Set as artifact” toggle.

5. Run an Automated Accessibility Audit

Before publishing, run a quick audit. I use two complementary methods:

  1. Adobe Acrobat Pro (free 7‑day trial). Open the PDF, go to Tools → Accessibility → Full Check. The report lists missing tags, low‑contrast text, and alt‑text issues.
  2. NVDA (Windows) or VoiceOver (macOS). Open the PDF and navigate with the screen reader. Listen for unexpected jumps or repeated headings – those are signs of a broken structure.

6. Fix Common Issues

Below are the three problems I see most often and how I resolve them:

Problem: Tables read as a wall of text
Ensure the table is marked as a <table> element with proper <th> headers. In Smallpdf, select the table and click “Mark as Table”. Add header rows if they’re missing.
Problem: Images have no alt text
Use iLovePDF’s edit panel to add concise alt descriptions. Remember: “Chart showing sales growth 2022‑2025” is better than “image1”.
Problem: Reading order is scrambled
Reorder layers in the Smallpdf UI or, for more control, open the PDF in a desktop editor with tag/structure controls (such as PDF-XChange Editor or Adobe Acrobat) and drag items in the "Content" pane.

7. Publish and Keep an Accessibility Statement

Once the PDF passes the audit, upload it to your site. Include an accessibility statement next to the download link, e.g.:

This PDF complies with WCAG 2.1 AA standards. If you encounter any accessibility barriers, please contact us at info@klickifyagency.com.

What TrulyFreeTools Can Help With Today

TrulyFreeTools does not currently offer a dedicated accessibility checker or auto-tagging tool — the steps above rely on Word, Google Docs, Smallpdf, and Adobe Acrobat for tagging and auditing. Once your accessible PDF is ready, our free tools can help with what comes next: compress it before publishing, or convert it to editable Word with our PDF to Word tool if you need to rebuild the structure from scratch.

George Smith
WRITTEN BY
George Smith
Founder, Klickify Agency — LinkedIn
George builds free web tools that respect user privacy. Creator of TrulyFreeTools.com — PDF utilities that process files locally in your browser, with no uploads, no accounts, and no paywalls.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need Adobe Acrobat Pro to create an accessible PDF?
No. Free tools like Smallpdf, iLovePDF, and the accessibility features built into Microsoft Word can produce compliant PDFs when you follow the steps above.
What is the difference between “tagged” and “untagged” PDFs?
Tagged PDFs contain a hidden structure tree that tells screen readers the order of headings, paragraphs, tables, and list items. Untagged PDFs are just flat images or text without any semantic information.
Can I make an existing scanned PDF accessible?
Yes, but you need OCR (optical character recognition) to extract the text first, then add tags and alt text. Tools like Adobe Acrobat Pro, ABBYY FineReader, and the free OCR in Smallpdf can help.
How do I test my PDF for accessibility?
Use the built‑in accessibility checker in Adobe Acrobat, the NVDA screen reader on Windows, or VoiceOver on macOS. The “Read Out Loud” feature in Acrobat also gives a quick sanity check.