# Turn a PDF into a website page Turn a PDF into a website page at its own address, where it opens in the browser page by page, with no download step in the way. Useful when the document is the content and you want people reading it rather than filing it. ## Can a PDF be a website? It can behave like one. Publishing a PDF at its own address means a visitor opens a URL and reads the document in their browser, scrolling through it the way they would scroll a page. What it does not do is convert your document into HTML: the pages are still PDF pages, laid out exactly as you designed them. That distinction decides whether this is the right tool. If the value of the document is its layout, a brochure, a menu, a report with charts, a zine, a set of plans, then keeping it as a PDF is the point, and the browser reader is a perfectly good reading surface. If the value is the text, and you want it to reflow on a phone, be selectable by a screen reader and be indexed properly, then the document should be rebuilt as HTML. Neither answer is universally right. There is a middle path worth knowing about. If you want an actual web page but do not want to hand-write one, the AI page builder writes and publishes a real HTML page from a description, and a hand-built page can be uploaded as a single HTML file. If you only want the address and do not care about the reading experience, PDF to link is the simpler page. ## How it works 1. **Upload the PDF.** Drop the file and pick a name. Nothing is converted, re-flowed or rebuilt: the document you uploaded is the document people read. 2. **It opens in the browser.** The address opens the document in the browser reader, so a visitor scrolls through it on the page instead of downloading and opening a separate application. 3. **Share one address.** Send the link, put it in a listing or behind a QR code. Replace the file later and the address keeps pointing at the current version. ## What you get ### Reading starts immediately The gap between a link and a read is where most documents are lost. Opening in place removes the download, the file manager and the second application. - Uses the browser built-in PDF reader, on desktop and mobile. - Zoom, search and page navigation are the ones the reader already knows. - A download is still one action away for anyone who wants the file. ### The layout survives Converting a designed document to HTML is where typography, columns and figure placement go wrong. Nothing is converted here. - Fonts, columns, tables and images are exactly as you exported them. - Nothing is re-flowed, re-compressed or reordered. - What you proofed is what a reader sees. ### Revisions do not break the link A published document is usually version two of something. The address belongs to the site, not to the file you first uploaded. - Upload a corrected PDF and it replaces what the address serves. - Existing links, printed references and QR codes keep working. - From Pro, returning to an earlier revision is one click. ### Decide who gets to read it Publishing does not have to mean publishing to everyone, and the controls are explicit rather than relying on an unguessable address. - Password protection from Starter, enforced before any file is served. - Expiring links from Starter for anything time-limited. - Free sites are noindex; search visibility starts on Starter. ## What the free plan includes The free plan publishes one document with no card. It is worth checking the upload limit before you start. - 1 live site on a real free plan, not a trial of a paid one, and no card to start. - Up to 25 MB per upload and 25 MB of storage across the account. - 5,000 visits and 5 GB of traffic a month. - HTTPS with a real certificate, issued and renewed for you. - Up to 15 publishes a day, so you can iterate without asking permission. - The deploy-time security check, which reads what you published and warns about a stray .env file, a .git folder, a private key or an API key left in your JavaScript. - A small Droply badge in the corner of the page. Removing it starts on Starter. - Free sites are served noindex, so search engines do not list them. Search visibility starts on Starter. - PDFs specifically are capped at 512 KB on the free plan, below the 25 MB limit that applies to everything else. - A downloadable QR code for the link, so it can go on something printed. ## Compared with Google Drive link The realistic alternative is pasting a drive link and hoping the recipient gets through to the document. These rows are about the reading experience rather than about price. - **What the reader sees first.** Droply: The document, in the browser reader. Google Drive link: The drive viewer and its interface around the document. - **Address.** Droply: A subdomain you choose, or your own domain from Pro. Google Drive link: An opaque file identifier. - **Risk of an access screen.** Droply: None. The link is public unless you add a password. Google Drive link: A restricted share shows a You need access screen with a Request access button instead of the file. - **Replacing the file.** Droply: Upload a new version; the address is unchanged. Google Drive link: Manage versions, then Upload new version, keeps the link. Uploading it as a new file does not. - **Password on the document.** Droply: From Starter, one shared password checked at the edge. Google Drive link: No shared password. Access is per Google account, so everyone you want in needs one. - **Search visibility if you want it.** Droply: Indexable from Starter; free sites are noindex. Google Drive link: Not designed to be indexed. - **QR code for print.** Droply: Generated for the address, included on every plan, including the free one. Google Drive link: Needs a separate QR tool pointed at the drive URL. - **Old versions.** Droply: Kept per upload; restoring one is a click from Pro. Google Drive link: Kept, but a version may be deleted after 30 days or once there are 100 newer ones unless you choose Keep forever. Google Drive rows checked 8 September 2026 against Google's own Drive help pages: managing versions (Manage versions, then Upload new version; a version may be deleted after 30 days or once there are 100 newer ones unless you choose Keep forever), sharing and expiration (an expiry date is set per person, under the options for work or school accounts, not on an anyone-with-the-link share), and the You need access screen a person sees without permission. The rows describe how each approach behaves rather than what anyone charges. Product behaviour can change. ## When Droply is the wrong choice A published PDF is a document at an address, and there are readers for whom that is the wrong format no matter how convenient it is to publish. - The content must reflow on a phone and be fully accessible to screen readers. Rebuild it as HTML instead; a PDF is a fixed layout by design. - You want the text to rank in search for its own keywords. An HTML page competes far better than a PDF does. - You need analytics on which pages of the document were read. Only whether the address was opened is measurable here, from Pro. - You need a database, a login system, or code that runs on the server. Droply serves files; it does not execute your application. - You want a build to run on every push to a repository. Droply has no Git integration and no CI: you build locally and upload the result. - You are running WordPress or another PHP application. A static export of it can be hosted here, but the application itself cannot. ## Frequently asked questions ### How does a PDF become a website? The file is published at its own address and opens in the browser when someone visits it. They read it page by page on the page itself, so it behaves like a website even though it is still a PDF. ### Is the PDF converted into HTML? No. The document is served as it is, which is why the layout, fonts and figures are preserved exactly. If you need reflowing text and full accessibility, the document should be rebuilt as HTML rather than published as a PDF. ### Do visitors have to download the file? No. It opens in the browser built-in reader, so reading starts immediately. Downloading is still available to anyone who wants a local copy. ### Does it work on phones? Yes. The link opens in any modern mobile browser and the document is readable with the usual pinch and scroll. Nothing is installed. ### Can I update the document without changing the link? Yes. Upload the new file and it is published at the same address, so existing links, printed references and QR codes keep pointing at the current version. ### How large can the PDF be? PDFs specifically are capped at 512 KB on the free plan, below the 25 MB limit that applies to everything else. Paid tiers raise every limit; the pricing page lists them. ### Can I use my own domain? Yes, from Pro at $15 a month. The document is then served from your address with the certificate handled for you. ### Will the PDF show up in search results? Not on the free plan, which is served noindex on purpose. Indexing is allowed from Starter, though an HTML page will generally rank better for the same content than a PDF will. ### Can I keep it private? Yes, from Starter. The password is checked at the edge before the file is served. You can also set the link to expire from Starter. ## Related - [PDF to Link](https://droply.host/pdf-to-link) - [Portfolio to Link](https://droply.host/portfolio-to-link) - [PDF to QR Code](https://droply.host/pdf-to-qr-code)