How to Link a PDF File in HTML Code
2023-04-13 17:06:35 • Filed to: Knowledge of PDF Files • Proven solutions
If you want to know how to link a PDF in HTML, you're in the right place. PDF documents are wonderful for disseminating a large amount of information to a wide audience, but leveraging the power of a web page gives it even greater reach. As for how to link to a PDF in HTML, it's all about understanding the process and the best way to execute it. Essentially, it's a two-step job that requires the PDF file to first be uploaded to a location accessible to a web browser, after which a download link can be inserted into the HTML code wherever desired.
How to Link PDF File in HTML Code
There are a couple of ways to do this, and the difference is mainly in the first part, which is uploading the PDF to where it can be fetched by the HTML code and force a download. This can either be a direct import to the corresponding web server as an FTP upload or Wordpress interface; alternatively, it can be a shared location where special privileges are required to access the file.
Step 1: Upload the PDF to FTP or WordPress
This step can be done as a media upload from within Wordpress or using the FTP program bundled with your web hosting package. Either way, the idea is to have the PDF reside in a web-accessible location so the next step can be carried out.
Step 2: Copy the PDF Link
Depending on where you uploaded the PDF, your PDF link should look something like this:
https://pdf.wondershare.com/pdf-knowledge/insert-pdf-in-html.html
It could also be an inner page on your site, so it might have /media/linkpdfhtml.pdf at the end. That doesn't matter. What matters is that you copy the link and then go to the HTML code of your target web page.
Step 3: Insert the PDF Link into HTML Code
In this final step, you'll use the tag, also known as the href attribute. This is essentially a tag to create a hyperlink in the web page that points to the viewing or download location of the linked PDF file. Using the same link example above, your HTML code insertion should look something like this:
Now you know how to link PDF in HTML, you should also be aware that it's possible to convert the PDF file into the HTML equivalent, then copy the converted code and insert it directly into the appropriate portion of your main web page code. This makes the content dynamic and interactive since it's basically native HTML after the conversion.
The Best PDF Software for You
That being said, not all tools that convert PDF to HTML are able to maintain the exact layout and flow of the original. For that, you'll need something like Wondershare PDFelement - PDF Editor, a comprehensive PDF editor with robust PDF to HTML conversion capabilities. This ensures that your previously static PDF content is now responsive and essentially device-agnostic.

It is a relatively new PDF management application compared to the decades-old Adobe suite of PDF products but it is rapidly gaining traction due to its design simplicity, superior functionality, and compelling pricing strategy. With several major awards to its credit, PDFelement represents the very best in document management software. Let's look at some of the core features:
- Edit any PDF text, image, link, object, media, or background element.
- Create PDFs from a wide range of import options, including combine-and-create-PDF from dissimilar source files.
- Annotate, markup, comment, and review PDFs with tools such as highlighting, text boxes, stamps, comment attachments (even to attach videos), and freehand drawing.
- Protect the confidentiality of PDFs with password security and restrictions management tools.
- Conveniently create or fill interactive forms, or convert non-interactive forms to editable and fillable PDF forms.
- Accurately extract the text parts of an image-based PDF with the help of OCR technology.
- Optimize file sizes and conveniently share PDFs online or upload to cloud services.
The standout feature of PDFelement, surprisingly, is not its extensive feature list, its affordable pricing or its simple design. The secret sauce is in how user-friendly the interface really is. If you're a long-time Acrobat user, the uncluttered UI will be a welcome change from the hodge-podge layout of older versions of Adobe Acrobat. Moreover, there's no risk in trying it out for free. The free trial is perpetual but certain features are restricted and a watermark is applied to saved documents. Nevertheless, it gives you the opportunity to do a risk-free trial run to really feel the power of the software and experience for yourself how thoughtfully the UI has been designed for each of the four major OS platforms: Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android.
Free Download or Buy PDFelement right now!
Free Download or Buy PDFelement right now!
Buy PDFelement right now!
Buy PDFelement right now!
Shudeep C
contributor Editor