Paridoc is not an accessibility overlay.
An overlay puts a widget on top of your page and leaves the content underneath as it was. Paridoc builds a new, structured HTML version of each PDF, with real headings, tables and image descriptions, and checks it against WCAG 2.2 AA before anyone reads it.
What overlays do
Accessibility overlays are scripts that add a toolbar or automatic "fixes" to a web page as it loads: bigger text, contrast switches, guessed labels. They're sold as one-line compliance. They have earned a bad reputation among disabled users and accessibility professionals, because the page underneath stays inaccessible, and the widget often gets in the way of the screen readers and magnifiers people already use.
What Paridoc does instead
Paridoc works on the document, not on top of it. Each PDF goes through a conversion on our servers that reads its layout and rebuilds its content as HTML:
- headings in their real order, so a screen reader can jump between sections
- tables with header cells tied to their rows and columns
- reading order that follows the content, not the order text was drawn on the page
- written descriptions for images, charts and signatures
- text recognized from scanned pages
The result is a separate document with its own address. It's checked in a real browser with axe-core against the WCAG 2.2 AA rules. Nothing is patched in the reader's browser, and Paridoc adds no toolbar to your pages. Residents use their own assistive technology, as they already do.
Side by side
| Overlay | Paridoc | |
|---|---|---|
| Works on | The web page, as it loads | Each PDF, before anyone reads it |
| Content underneath | Unchanged and still inaccessible | Rebuilt as structured HTML |
| Checked against WCAG | Rarely | Every document, WCAG 2.2 AA, with axe-core |
| Adds a widget to your site | Yes | No |
| Human corrections | Not usually possible | Our team fixes anything you flag, every fix recorded |
What automation can't do alone
No automated checker catches every accessibility problem, and we don't claim otherwise. That's why people check the work too: flag a problem in any document and our team reviews it against the original and fixes it, with a record of every fix. How it works.
Questions
What is an accessibility overlay?
A script that adds a toolbar or automatic adjustments on top of an existing web page, such as font size controls, contrast switches or automated repairs made in the visitor's browser. The page underneath is left as it was.
Why are overlays criticized?
Because the content underneath stays inaccessible. Many disabled users and accessibility professionals say overlays get in the way of the assistive technology people already use, and overlays have not kept organizations from being sued.
Paridoc also uses a script. Isn't that the same thing?
No. Paridoc's script only decides where a document link goes. The accessibility is in the document it leads to: a separate HTML document with real headings, tables and descriptions, built on our servers and checked against WCAG 2.2 AA before anyone reads it.
Updated September 2026
Send us your website's address and we'll count your PDFs and send you a price: paridoc@efile.systems