Convert a PDF into an HTML page

How to convert PDF to HTML

1. Add your PDF. Drag the file onto the drop zone. Pages are analysed locally and a preview of the HTML appears.
2. Choose a conversion mode. Layout mode reproduces the page as it looks. Reflow mode produces simpler, mobile-friendly HTML that ignores exact positioning.
3. Convert. The HTML is generated with fonts and images embedded, so the output is a single file with no external dependencies.
4. Download. Save the .html file. Open it in any browser or drop it straight into a website.

Layout mode versus reflow mode

These produce very different files and suit opposite purposes, so the choice matters more than it appears.

Layout mode positions every block of text exactly where it sits on the original page, using absolute positioning. The result looks essentially identical to the PDF and the text is selectable — good for archiving, for reference documents, and for anything where the visual arrangement carries meaning, like a form or an invoice. The downside is that it does not adapt: on a phone you get a scaled-down page rather than a responsive layout.

Reflow mode throws away exact positions and emits ordinary semantic HTML — headings, paragraphs, lists. It will not look like the original, but it reads properly on any screen size, works with screen readers, and is what you want if the content is going onto a website or into a CMS.

What carries over and what does not

Text, its reading order, images, and basic styling like bold, italic, size and colour all survive the conversion. Links inside the document remain clickable. Fonts are embedded so the output does not depend on what is installed on the viewer's machine.

Some things cannot be represented well in HTML and are approximated. Complex vector graphics are rasterised. Interactive form fields become static text. Exotic typographic features — ligature substitutions, tight kerning tables, some non-Latin shaping — may render slightly differently in a browser than in a PDF viewer.

If the PDF is a scan, there is no text to convert. You will get an HTML page containing page images and nothing selectable. Run OCR first if you need real text.

Why this one stays in the browser

PDF-to-HTML is one of the conversions where the browser is genuinely the right place to do the work, not a compromise. Your browser already contains a complete PDF rendering engine and a complete HTML engine. Converting between them locally avoids a round trip entirely, and the output is generated by the same engine that will display it.

Practically, that means a large document converts at local speed rather than upload speed, and confidential material — reports, filings, internal documentation being moved onto an intranet — never leaves your machine.

Frequently asked questions