PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress

Upload PDF files and embed them directly into your site’s posts and pages, as simply as adding images. Each document displays right where you place it, at its natural size or a width you choose, and the responsive viewer adapts automatically whenever the browser dimensions change.

Out of the box, WordPress turns an uploaded PDF into a bare download link: visitors click it and leave your page, or the file opens in a viewer you don’t control. PDF Embedder keeps them reading on the page and keeps you in control of how your document looks.

PDF Embedder displays PDF documents on more than 300,000 websites. It differs from other PDF plugins in how the document becomes part of the page: rendered inline, sized to your layout, served entirely from your own site, and previewed live while you edit. There is no Google Docs Viewer or other third-party service involved, and the viewer loads its files only on pages that contain a PDF, so the rest of your site stays fast.

In the Block Editor, the PDF Embedder block shows a live preview of your document while you edit. Pick a PDF file from the block sidebar, change a setting, and the preview updates to match what visitors will see on the front end.

What can you embed?

Any PDF file, whether it lives in your Media Library or in another folder on your site. Embed unlimited PDFs across posts, pages, and custom post types. Site owners use PDF Embedder to display:

• Restaurant menus and price lists
• Ebooks, guides, whitepapers, and research reports
• Product catalogs, brochures, and lookbooks
• Newsletters, magazines, and annual reports
• User manuals and technical documentation
• Worksheets, lesson plans, and other course materials
• Sheet music, church bulletins, and event programs
• Real estate flyers, floor plans, and legal documents
• Resumes and portfolios

Visitors read the document right on the page: no new tab, no forced download, and no Adobe Acrobat or third-party account required.

How it works

1. Upload a PDF to your Media Library, or copy the URL of a PDF hosted anywhere else.
2. Add the PDF Embedder block and pick the file from the block sidebar. In the Classic Editor or a page builder, use the shortcode instead.
3. Publish. Visitors turn pages with the Next and Previous buttons and zoom in when part of a page is too small for their screen.

The shortcode works anywhere shortcodes do:

[pdf-embedder url="https://example.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Plan-Summary.pdf"]

Site-wide defaults, such as width and toolbar position, live under Settings -> PDF Embedder, and any single embed can override them with its own block settings or shortcode attributes. See the Plugin Instructions for sizing options and other ways to customize.

Works with membership, e-commerce, and course plugins

PDF Embedder renders through a regular shortcode and block, so the viewer works anywhere your post content does, including pages that other plugins restrict or sell access to.

• Sell access to premium PDF content, such as ebooks, reports, or research papers, by embedding it on pages protected with MemberPress, Paid Memberships Pro, Restrict Content Pro, or WooCommerce Memberships.
• Deliver handouts and workbooks inside courses built with LearnDash, LifterLMS, or Tutor LMS.
• Show a free sample chapter on a WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads product page, and deliver the full ebook after purchase.
• Embed several PDFs on one page to build a simple PDF document library for your team, school, or members.

On the Pro plan of PDF Embedder Premium, you can pair restricted pages with the secure viewer and watermarks, so members read documents online while the original file stays hard to download.

What users say

Site owners tend to stay with PDF Embedder for years. Here is what they say:

“One client wanted to display PDF newsletters in a way that was clean, user-friendly, and easy to scroll through. That’s when I discovered WP PDF Embedder. It does the job beautifully, making PDFs look professional and effortless to navigate. Since then, it has become my go-to recommendation for any client who needs to showcase PDF content on their website.” — Vera Schafer

“I have been using PDF Embedder for well over ten years. It’s just a great app. Can’t recommend it enough.” — Rich Calo

“I have been using this plugin (both the free version and the pro version) for a number of years on various clients’ websites. It is easy to set up, does what it needs to and just works the way a plugin should. I highly recommend it.” — DebsWebs

“I’ve been using PDF Embedder Secure for 3 years now, and it helped me sharing my paid content securely, preventing malicious people from buying my PDF files and then sharing them illegally everywhere. PDF files are chopped, digested, watermarked, unaccessible even if someone finds the direct link.” — Daniele Benedettelli

Go further with PDF Embedder Premium

In the free plugin, there is no download button and links inside the PDF are not clickable – the viewer is intentionally simple to fulfill the “read online” goal. PDF Embedder Premium adds those and more:

• Download button in the toolbar, so visitors can save your document for later.
• Working hyperlinks, both within the document and out to any other page.
• Continuous scroll – readers scroll through pages naturally instead of clicking through them.
• Mobile-friendly full screen mode – when the document renders narrower than a width you set, as it does on most phones, it displays as a thumbnail with a large “View in Full Screen” button. The document opens with the full focus of the mobile browser, and readers swipe between pages instead of clicking buttons.
• Jump to page – type a page number in the toolbar to go straight there.
• Full-text search – visitors search the text of your PDF documents from the toolbar and jump straight to matching pages.
• View and download tracking – see which documents people actually read.
• Elementor widget with the same options as the block and a live PDF preview in the Elementor editor.
• Secure viewing (Pro plan) – the PDF is encrypted during transmission, so it is difficult for a casual user to save or print the original file, and your document is far less likely to end up outside your site.
• Watermarks (Pro plan) – overlay any text, including the logged-in user’s name or email address, to discourage sharing of screenshots.
• Automatic PDF thumbnails (Elite plan) – every PDF in your Media Library gets an image thumbnail to use as a featured image, a clickable download link, or the file’s icon in the Media Library.

Every plan comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee: if Premium is not a fit, you get a refund, no questions asked.

Compare Premium plans on wp-pdf.com

Better than Google Drive embeds, Scribd, Issuu, and other PDF tools

The usual ways to embed a PDF without a plugin – an iframe snippet, the Google Drive or Google Docs viewer, or a service like Scribd, Issuu, FlippingBook, FlipHTML5, or DocDroid – hand your document to servers you don’t control. It loads at their speed, carries their branding, and can disappear or change terms at any time.

You may have also tried other WordPress PDF plugins, such as EmbedPress, Embed Any Document, PDF Poster, Wonder PDF Embed, PDF.js Viewer, or flipbook plugins like DearFlip and 3D FlipBook. Most rely on iframes or third-party viewers to display the document.

PDF Embedder keeps everything on your own site: your files, your server, your data. That is better for page speed, better for privacy, and more reliable for your visitors.

With thanks to the Mozilla team for developing the underlying pdf.js technology used by this PDF viewer plugin.

Branding guidelines

PDF Embedder is a product of wp-pdf.com. When writing about this WordPress PDF plugin, please use the correct branding:

• PDF Embedder (correct)
• PDFEmbedder (incorrect)
• PDF Embeder (incorrect)
• PDF Imbedder (incorrect)

Easiest way:

1. Go to the “Plugins > Add New” page in your WordPress dashboard
2. Search for ‘PDF Embedder’
3. Click Install
4. Click Activate

If you cannot install from the WordPress plugins directory for any reason, and need to install from ZIP file:

1. Upload directory and contents to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory, or upload the ZIP file directly in the Plugins section of your WordPress admin
2. Click Activate on the “Plugins” screen.