Optimizing PDFs for the web without sacrificing readability

Make PDFs lighter for email, dashboards, and websites

Large PDF files often slow down sharing, especially when they contain high-resolution scans or bulky fonts. The good news is that most documents can be improved with a few focused changes.

What to optimize first

• Downsample images to screen-friendly resolutions for online use.
• Use JPEG or WebP compression for photos and preserve a clean preview for screenshots.
• Subset fonts so your PDF does not carry unnecessary glyph data.

SmashPDF gives you a private way to test these changes before sharing the file with clients or collaborators.