Introduction to PDF alternatives
To say that PDFs have been around for a while is an understatement. In fact, you’ve probably got colleagues who are actually younger than the PDF (yep, horrifying). Short for ‘portable document format,’ PDFs have been a staple for businesses since their launch in 1993 and have been used for every kind of document under the sun, from invoices to sales proposals to newsletters. But when it comes to creating, distributing, and measuring content in the digital age, the PDF format has more than its fair share of drawbacks.
Discover: 6 Types of PDFs — Do They Cater to Your Content Needs?
Because of this, businesses with more complex content needs are searching for scalable PDF alternatives. Sounds familiar? You’re in the right place.
The problem with PDFs: Why look for a PDF alternative?
There are numerous reasons why organizations are switching to PDF alternatives. Here are just a few of them:
No real engagement metrics
Perhaps the biggest drawback of using a PDF format is that they give you zero insights into your readers’ behavior, what they found interesting, or whether they even read your doc at all. With PDFs, the vanity metric of downloads is all you’ve got to work with. Not ideal for teams that want to optimize their content based on data.
Can’t be updated after publication
Another reason to opt for a PDF alternative is that once a PDF has been distributed, it’s out of your control. That embarrassing typo in your sales brochure? It’s not going anywhere. The out-of-date information in your brochure? Set in stone.
In situations like these, you’ve no choice but to send out an updated version of the PDF doc, which takes extra manual effort (and just looks plain unprofessional).
Difficult to design
Most of the time, creating a high-quality PDF takes a lot of time, resources, and design expertise. Usually, this looks like briefing a designer, who then creates the doc in a traditional tool like InDesign, and sends it over for review. And then, if you want to make any edits? Forget about tweaking the doc yourself. You’ve got to send it right back to the designer for another round of revisions. Hardly a seamless content creation process.
Non-responsive
Today’s audiences live on mobile. But have you ever tried reading a PDF on your phone? No matter how great your content is, all that pinching, zooming, and panning is going to seriously hurt your readers’ experience.
Discover: Web Publications or Responsive PDF: Which Is Better for Content Engagement?
Static and boring
PDFs may be digital, but they’re only one step up from print. PDF documents can contain text, images, and hyperlinks — that's about it. Forget about embedding video, audio, or cool animation effects. Today’s readers expect brands to deliver engaging, immersive experiences as a standard. So, even the most beautifully designed PDF is going to feel dated.
What makes a great PDF alternative?
Now that we’ve covered all the reasons why you might want to invest in a PDF alternative let’s have a look at some criteria to consider in your search for a new solution:
Built-in analytics
Look for a solution that provides you with in-depth analytics and reader engagement metrics. So, you can see who is reading your documents and which sections they find useful. Investing in a solution that gives you insights at a contact level allows you to see precisely how, where, and when an individual contact interacts with your documents. Bonus points if you can connect your CRM to trigger events like sales follow-up automatically.
Easily updated on the fly
Put an end to the nightmare of outdated content with a web-based PDF alternative that can be updated on the fly. No more countless versions and last-minute panicked calls to your design team.
Easy for everyone to use — even non-designers
Being dependent on design teams alone creates unnecessary bottlenecks and slows down your production process. Opt for a PDF alternative that anyone can use, regardless of their design skills or technical background.
Controlled content delegation
Enabling everyone to create content can be a wonderful thing — but to do it well, you need to set some boundaries. If you have multiple teams or business units working on content, it’s worth selecting a solution where you can set parameters and adjust user permissions based on roles. Otherwise, you could end up letting off-brand content slip through the cracks. Not a good look.
Automatically responsive
We’ve said it once, and we’ll say it again: In the world of content, mobile is king. That’s why it’s worth choosing a PDF alternative that’s automatically responsive so your docs look great on all devices.
A format built for modern readers
It’s time to leave flat, static content where it belongs — in the 1990s. When searching for PDF alternatives, consider a solution that allows you to create dynamic content that will keep your audience engaged. Look for formats that let you embed different kinds of media, like video or audio, to give your audience a truly immersive content experience.
5 PDF alternatives to consider
There are plenty of great alternatives to creating PDF content out there. And choosing the right solution for your organization means thinking critically about your specific content needs. We’ve rounded up a few of the best PDF alternatives for teams of all shapes and sizes:
Turtl
Turtl is a content automation tool that allows companies to create interactive, personalized content.
Best for: Smaller teams looking to create personalized lead gen content.Not ideal if: You’re a large business or enterprise looking to create truly dynamic, interactive assets at scale.
Pros:
- Personalization features.
- Straightforward to use without design or technical skills.
- Creative output is quite static — not too far off a flippable PDF.
- Limited design flexibility.
- Advanced features beyond basic content creation may require technical expertise or extra training.
- Collaboration features are limited.
Flipbooks
There are a number of solutions like Flipsnack, FlippingBook, or Issuu that allow you to convert an existing PDF into a flipbook, by adding page-turning animations.Best for: Small teams or solo creators looking for an easy way to enhance static PDFs with basic interactivity.
Not ideal if: You’re a larger team or business looking to create dynamic content experiences that go beyond the limitations of a flippable PDF.
Pros:
- Easy to use.
- Quick turnaround.
- Cheaper alternative to an advanced content creation platform.
- Limited analytics capabilities.
- Not a true PDF alternative since you’re adding animations to an existing PDF.
- No design flexibility. The quality of the output entirely depends on the quality of the original PDF.
Ceros
Ceros is a design tool that allows you to create interactive, web-based content.
Best for: Experienced designers looking to make their docs more interactive.Not ideal if: You’re struggling with limited design capacity or you want to create a large volume of content across teams and business units.
Pros:
- Creative freedom and design flexibility.
- Advanced storytelling features like animations, hover effects, and transitions to increase engagement.
- Ceros is built with designers in mind — and it shows in their platform.
- Steep learning curve for those without a technical or design background.
- No real variation between types of users, making it hard to adjust permissions to specific roles.
- Ceros is another design tool — it doesn’t solve the issue of being dependent on designers.
- Limited analytics.
Tiled
Tiled is an online solution that allows you to add an interactive layer or “tile” onto a static content piece.
Best for: Creative teams who want to add some interactivity to pre-designed docs.Not ideal if: You want to transform your creation process and produce uniquely engaging content that goes beyond the limitations of an interactive layer.
Pros:
- Easy to use with minimal technical expertise required.
- Built-in analytics.
- Requires an additional design tool, which adds another step to the process.
- Not automatically responsive — you have to create a separate version of your content for mobile.
- Not truly interactive, since Tiled adds an interactive layer on top of static content.
- Limited design possibilities once content is in Tiled.
- Tiled creates "micro-apps" that aren't accessible and add extra loading time.
Foleon
Foleon is a content creation platform that allows business users to create interactive, on-brand content at scale.
Best for: Enterprise or mid-sized businesses with complex content needs, looking for a versatile and scalable solution for creating interactive content.Not ideal if: You’re only producing low volumes of content or you’re looking for a fully custom website experience.
Pros:
- Easy to use, so everyday business users can create stunning interactive content themselves — no coding or design skills required.
- Suitable for a range of use cases, from sales to marketing to employee communications.
- Collaboration and governance features like workspace, brand controls, and role-based permissions.
- Dedicated workspaces and tools for governance and security-focused teams like IT.
- Advanced features to enhance engagement like full-screen background videos, animated data visualizations, and parallax effects.
- In-depth built-in analytics and CRM integration.
- Best for digital experiences — not the perfect solution for companies creating mainly static or offline content.
- No-code platform doesn’t offer the same level of customization as a website or CMS.
Final thoughts
With so many better alternatives to PDFs out there, it’s no wonder that content-driven organizations are stepping away from this static, outdated format. Selecting the ideal PDF alternative really depends on your organization and your specific content goals, so it’s worth taking the time to consider all of the options. And remember: when you invest in a new solution, you’re investing in not only the final output but the process behind it. Is creative capacity not an issue? Then, a design-focused solution like Ceros could be the right choice. But if you’re looking for a solution that speeds up production and makes it easier to collaborate? Then, a more enterprise-focused solution like Foleon is the way to go.
Still wondering how Foleon actually compares to a PDF? Check out our side-by-side comparison.