- Sharing your ACR as a hosted link means the recipient always sees the current version, with no stale PDF copies floating around.
- A stable URL lets procurement teams reach the document without digging through email threads or asking for a resend.
- Host the ACR at a permanent address and make sure a buyer finds a dated, readable report there.
Sharing your VPAT/ACR as a link means you host the completed report at a stable URL and send that address instead of attaching a PDF. The recipient opens the same page you control, and when you update the report, they see the update. No new email, no re-send, no confusion over which file is current.
Why a link beats a PDF attachment
A PDF is a snapshot frozen at the moment you sent it. The instant your product changes or you fix an accessibility issue, that attachment is out of date, and there’s no way to correct the copy already sitting in someone’s inbox.
A link points at one living document. You edit the source, and everyone who holds the URL is looking at the current version.
Here’s what a hosted link fixes that a PDF cannot:
- Stale copies stop circulating, because there’s only one authoritative version at the URL.
- Procurement teams reach the document directly instead of hunting through old email threads.
- You avoid the back-and-forth of a buyer asking you to resend a file they misplaced.
- You control access and can update remarks the moment a fix ships.
Think of the link as the address of your report, not a photocopy of it. The address never changes, but what lives there can improve over time.
PDF versus hosted link at a glance
| Factor | PDF attachment | Hosted link |
|---|---|---|
| Version accuracy | Frozen at time of sending | Always the current version |
| Stale copies | Multiply across inboxes | One authoritative source |
| Buyer access | Must search email or request resend | Open the saved URL anytime |
| Updates after a fix | Require a fresh file and re-send | Edit the source once |
The mechanics of hosting an ACR at a stable URL
The goal is a permanent, predictable address that you don’t rename or move. If the URL changes, you’ve recreated the stale-copy problem you were trying to remove.
Setting up a hosted ACR takes a short sequence of steps:
- Finish the ACR so the remarks and explanations column is filled in, not blank.
- Publish it at a clean, permanent URL on your own domain or a hosting service.
- Date the report clearly so a reader knows when it was last reviewed.
- Send the link to buyers and procurement contacts in place of the attachment.
- Edit the hosted version whenever your accessibility work changes what the report should say.
Accessibility Tracker includes hosted ACRs that are shareable by URL, which is one way to keep the report at a fixed address without maintaining the hosting yourself.
What a buyer expects to find at the link
A procurement reviewer opening your URL isn’t looking for marketing. They want the report itself, readable and current, so they can confirm what they’re evaluating.
Here’s what a buyer expects when they open a hosted ACR:
- The product name and version the report covers.
- The WCAG conformance level and standard evaluated.
- A recent review date, so they can gauge how current the document is.
- Populated remarks and explanations, because a report with an empty remarks column tells them almost nothing.
If your ACR came out of a real audit, hosting it as a link makes that work easy to reference and easy to keep accurate. Buyers who care about accessibility also tend to care about tracking these documents over time, and a stable URL supports that.
If you need an ACR conducted or want help preparing one to host, reach out to us and we’ll respond quickly with your cost and timeline.
For a closer look at this, see our overview of ada compliance.
