Audit PDFs linked from a website by checking file sizes and response headers, the information returned by the server. Flag large downloads for compression review and suggest HTML versions when the content needs a searchable web page.
Use when auditing a site that publishes downloadable PDFs (reports, white papers, legal documents, manuals). Applies to any site where PDFs are linked as indexable content resources.
Review the instructions the agent will receive before you install.
PDFs larger than Googlebot's download threshold are partially crawled or skipped, meaning their content may not appear in search results even when linked from well-indexed pages.
Find all <a href='*.pdf'> links on the site. For each linked PDF, perform a HEAD request and check the Content-Length header. Flag any PDF exceeding 10 MB (recommend compression) or 15 MB (likely to be truncated by Googlebot).
Compress large PDFs using a PDF optimisation tool (Adobe Acrobat, Ghostscript, or Smallpdf). Remove embedded high-resolution images, fonts, and metadata not required for reading. If compression is insufficient, create an HTML page with the same content as the primary indexable version, and offer the PDF as a download.
Googlebot downloads and indexes the content of PDFs linked from your site. However, it has a file size limit for downloads — files beyond this limit are partially indexed or skipped. Large PDFs also slow down crawling and consume crawl budget. Keeping PDFs small ensures their full content appears in search results.
Find all <a href> links with .pdf extension. For each PDF URL, perform a HEAD request and check Content-Length header value. Flag PDFs exceeding 10,485,760 bytes (10 MB) for compression review. Flag PDFs exceeding 15,728,640 bytes (15 MB) as at-risk for partial indexing. Verify PDF URLs return 200 status and appropriate Content-Type: application/pdf header.
For full implementation details, code examples, and framework-specific guidance,
see references/rule.md.
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Create and review custom 404 pages that help visitors recover from broken or moved links through search and navigation. Check the rendered page and HTTP response so missing content returns a proper 404 status.
Audit or create a dedicated About page that explains a website’s purpose and identifies its people or organization. Review the rendered output and supporting information, including expertise and contact details, to find gaps.
Review and add automated accessibility checks for components, pages, and continuous integration workflows. Use axe-based tools to detect structural and attribute issues, while identifying checks that still need keyboard or screen reader testing.
Review sign-in, registration, multi-factor authentication, and account recovery for accessibility barriers. Find blocked paste, difficult code entry, and inaccessible backup methods, then suggest authentication paths that support password managers, autofill, or device approval.
Review form errors, success messages, and live updates so screen reader users receive important notifications. Check the HTML delivered to the browser, announcement settings, display duration, and dismissal controls, then identify specific elements that need changes.
Review HTML tables so screen reader users can understand how headers and data relate. Check header markup, table descriptions, and merged cells, then identify specific fixes and ways to verify them.