In the example above, Moore & Giles uses pop-ups with high-resolution photos, letting viewers examine products in detail. Paired with branding and an engaging page flip effect, the catalog not only drives sales but also boosts the company’s branding.
Interactive PDF Guide: Ideas, Examples, Ways to Create
PDFs are notorious for their clumsiness and dated look. Often treated (or mistreated) as raw pre-print files, they lack proper design, take ages to scroll through, and strain your eyes when you’re trying to read those tiny letters on your smartphone screen.
But there’s a way to transform your PDF file into a powerful and engaging online experience that will captivate readers and turn them into ardent fans of your content. The key? Making the PDF interactive.
So, let’s discuss what an Interactive PDF is, along with some ideas and ways to create one (preferably, without going anywhere near Adobe InDesign).
What Is an Interactive PDF?
At its core, an interactive PDF is a PDF document that incorporates a variety of rich media content: links, audio and video files, images, GIFs, clickable buttons, and fillable forms.
In other words, an interactive PDF combines all the benefits of the traditional format—like universality and security—with dynamic digital web experiences.
Why Interactive PDF Stands Out
Crafting a rich media document certainly takes time and effort. So why should you invest in it? Well, here are just a few reasons to make your PDFs interactive:
1. Interactivity makes people stay in your content longer
Incorporating various additional content, such as videos, links, GIF animations, and fillable forms makes your document up to 52.6% more engaging, drawing readers in and encouraging them to explore it further.
2. Interactive content is more accessible
With the right approach, you can make your PDF document easier to navigate and thus accessible to a wider audience. For example, adding audio to support your text will provide an alternative way to consume the content. And an interactive table of contents may improve navigation around a document and cater to people with motor challenges.
3. Interactive PDFs are easier to brand and design
In branding, consistency is key. Interactive PDFs, especially presented as flipbooks, give more opportunities to achieve it by letting you mark the content as your own with logos, colors, and other branding elements.
4. Interactive PDFs are more personalized
Some tools let your readers highlight texts and leave comments within your content. This can be helpful for students when working with textbooks, or for employees studying company guides.
5. Interactive PDFs are easy to share
These days, the most common way to make your PDF interactive is by converting it into an HTML document. A document like that is typically hosted in the cloud, making it available via a link rather than a downloadable file. No more email attachments, no more file transfers—you can just send the document link to your reader. Or post it on your social media, so everyone can instantly open it on their device. Isn’t it neat?
What is an interactive PDF?
An interactive PDF gives you more control than ever when it comes to crafting documents, product guides, employee manuals, and documents of all varieties. Your traditional (or flat) PDFs gain new life and dimension when you can incorporate video, audio, hyperlinks, and so much more! Our online interactive PDF maker adds a new element to business and personal communications, and makes creating interactive PDFs a breeze. Traditional PDFs can be overwhelming to some audiences because they appear impersonal. By making interactive PDFs you inject your documents with personal elements that make communication more approachable and engaging. An interactive PDF is also more likely to reduce response time and keep you organized by keeping everything you need within one document. The process of making interactive PDFs is just as simple as creating a normal PDF but with added features like links and embedded content. The flipbook feature makes turning the pages feel more like reading a book than scrolling on a screen.
How to make an interactive PDF:
- Upload your PDF document. Issuu’s online interactive PDF maker will then convert it into a flipbook.
- Embed videos, links, shopping options etc. directly in your new flipbook. This newly added content will make your interactive PDF more engaging.
- Our Article Stories feature allows you to pull stories from your newly created flipbook and turn them into their own articles, ready to be shared on mobile.
- With our Fullscreen feature you can make the reading-experience immersive and less distracting. With our Embed feature, your new flipbook can be easily embedded in your website to ensure no one in your network misses it!
Video
Next-level visual engagement.
Video is the ultimate visual engagement tool. Now you can enhance your interactive PDFs with embedded videos for a truly multimedia experience. Just post an embed link from YouTube or Vimeo and you’re on your way!
Links
Go beyond static.
A key feature of interactive PDFs is the ability to add links. With links, you can make your PDF shoppable, connect your content, and turn a static document into a deeply immersive and interactive experience. Links turn your PDF into a content hub, connected to your pages and blog posts.
