How Do You Convert a PDF to HTML?
You convert a PDF to HTML by adding it to QuickCatPDF's PDF to HTML converter, choosing a Layout, and clicking Convert to HTML. Clean HTML gives you semantic, editable markup for a website or CMS; Keep page layout gives you a web page that looks like the PDF, with every line in place and the text still selectable.
The PDF is converted in your browser and never uploaded. It's free, with no sign-up and no watermark.
How to Convert a PDF to a Web Page With QuickCatPDF
Converting to HTML takes four steps.
- Click Select PDF files or drop your PDFs on the page (up to 20).
- Choose the Layout: Clean HTML for a website, or Keep page layout.
- Type a range in Pages if you only need part of the PDF.
- Click Convert to HTML, then download the file.
Clean HTML or Keep Page Layout?
The two layouts suit different jobs.
| Clean HTML | Keep page layout | |
|---|---|---|
| Looks like | A simple article | The PDF's pages |
| Markup | h1–h3, p, ul, ol, table, a, img | Positioned lines inside page boxes |
| Editable | Easily, in any editor or CMS | Hard: every line has a fixed position |
| Mobile friendly | Yes, it reflows | No, pages keep their size |
| Best for | Blogs, CMS pages, accessibility | Showing a PDF faithfully in a browser |
In our test, a 4-page report became clean HTML in about half a second, with the title as h1, sections as h2, both lists as real ul and ol lists, the table with a header row, the link kept and the logo embedded, in a 27 KB file. With Keep page layout, the same report became four page boxes with the text and picture where they were in the PDF.
What Happens to Pictures?
Embed in the file puts pictures inside the HTML, so one file has everything. Separate files (ZIP) saves them in an images folder linked from the HTML, which is better for websites. Leave out drops them.
Is the HTML Ready for a CMS?
Clean HTML uses plain tags without classes or positioning, so it can be pasted into most editors' HTML view. It has a small stylesheet in the head for reading the file on its own; your site's styles take over when you paste the body.
For a page you'll edit in a word processor instead, use PDF to Word, and for plain words without any formatting, use PDF to Text.
Frequently asked questions
Is PDF to HTML free?
Yes, free with no sign-up, no watermark and no limit on the number of files.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No, the HTML is created in your browser and nothing is sent to a server.
Will fonts match the PDF?
Clean HTML uses your website's or the browser's fonts. Keep page layout names the PDF's fonts and falls back to similar ones when they aren't installed.
Can it convert scanned PDFs?
Yes, scanned pages are read with text recognition (OCR) first, and the recognised text is written as HTML.
Can I turn HTML into a PDF?
Yes, use HTML to PDF. For Markdown, try PDF to Markdown, and every other format is on the PDF Converter.
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