MaxtDesign

<p>MaxtDesign PDF Viewer is a performance-focused PDF embedding solution for WordPress. Unlike other PDF plugins that load heavy JavaScript libraries upfront, this plugin uses a smart lazy-loading approach that keeps your pages fast.</p>
<h4>Key Features</h4>
<ul>
<li>Instant Preview – Server-generated WebP preview images display immediately</li>
<li>Zero Layout Shift – CSS aspect-ratio reserves exact space before content loads</li>
<li>Lazy Loading – Full PDF.js viewer loads only when needed</li>
<li>Gutenberg Block – Native block editor integration</li>
<li>Shortcode Support – Works in classic editor and widgets</li>
<li>Keyboard Navigation – Full keyboard and screen reader accessibility</li>
<li>Mobile Optimized – Touch gestures for page navigation and zoom</li>
</ul>
<h4>Performance</h4>
<ul>
<li>Initial page load: < 10KB JavaScript</li>
<li>First paint: < 200ms</li>
<li>Full viewer: Loads on-demand</li>
<li>Preview images: Optimized WebP format</li>
</ul>
<h4>How It Works</h4>
<ol>
<li>Upload a PDF to your media library</li>
<li>The plugin automatically extracts the first page as a WebP preview</li>
<li>Insert the PDF using the Gutenberg block or shortcode</li>
<li>Visitors see an instant preview image</li>
<li>Clicking “View Document” loads the interactive PDF.js viewer</li>
</ol>
<h4>Requirements</h4>
<p>For automatic preview generation, your server needs one of:</p>
<ul>
<li>ImageMagick with PDF support (recommended)</li>
<li>Ghostscript</li>
</ul>
<p>The plugin will detect available options and use the best method automatically.</p>
<h4>Shortcode Usage</h4>
<p>[pdf_viewer id=”123″]</p>
<p>Attributes:</p>
<ul>
<li>id (required) – Attachment ID of the PDF</li>
<li>width – CSS width value (default: 100%)</li>
<li>load – When to load viewer: click, visible, immediate (default: click)</li>
<li>toolbar – Show toolbar: true/false (default: true)</li>
</ul>
<h3>Privacy</h3>
<p>This plugin:</p>
<ul>
<li>Does not collect any personal data</li>
<li>Does not send data to external services</li>
<li>Stores preview images locally on your server</li>
<li>Uses PDF.js library loaded from your own server</li>
</ul>


MaxtDesign PDF Viewer

The fastest PDF viewer for WordPress. Sub-200ms load times, zero layout shift, and a beautiful reading experience.

Andy Fragen

Alex Kirk

Colin Stewart

<p>Embed a PDF from the Media Library or elsewhere via oEmbed or as a block into an <code>iframe</code> tag. The URL only has to be world reachable link. Chrome uses Google Doc Viewer as Chrome seems to automatically rendered embedded JS in PDFs automatically. Uses Google Doc Viewer with mobile.</p>
<p>Inspired by <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/dirtysuds-embed-pdf/" rel="ugc">Embed PDF</a> and <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/rv-embed-pdf/" rel="ugc">RV Embed PDF</a>.</p>
<p>Many thanks to <a href="https://github.com/akirk" rel="nofollow ugc">Alex Kirk</a> for making Embed PDF Viewer compatible with the new block editor.</p>
<p>Development on <a href="https://github.com/afragen/embed-pdf-viewer" rel="nofollow ugc">GitHub</a>. Pull requests are welcome against the <code>develop</code> branch.</p>
<h3>Known Issues</h3>
<p>Occasionally Google Doc Viewer will not correctly load the PDF. Reloading the page should correct the issue, though this may need to be done several times.</p>


Embed PDF Viewer

No settings, just add the link of the PDF on a page or use a block.

Had issue with the viewer width, but there's a simple solution for that as well, check this thread.

Thanks!

Works out of the box

Fantastic

Embed a PDF from the Media Library or elsewhere via oEmbed or as a block into an iframe tag.

MaxtDesign PDF Viewer vs Embed PDF Viewer