Converting PDF documents to HTML format for web publishing

Converting PDF documents to HTML format — whether making document content searchable, embedding it in webpages, or improving accessibility for screen readers — opens up numerous possibilities for content distribution and accessibility.

How Nutrient helps you achieve this

Nutrient Python SDK handles PDF-to-HTML conversion. With the SDK, you don’t need to worry about:

  • Parsing PDF document structures
  • Managing HTML layout generation
  • Handling font and style conversion
  • Complex rendering logic

Instead, Nutrient provides an API that handles all the complexity behind the scenes, letting you focus on your business logic.

Complete implementation

Below is a complete working example that demonstrates PDF-to-HTML conversion. These lines set up the Python application. The import statements bring in all necessary classes from the Nutrient SDK:

from nutrient_sdk import Document
from nutrient_sdk import NutrientException

This line opens the PDF file. The context manager(opens in a new tab) syntax ensures the document is automatically closed when you’re done, preventing resource leaks:

def main():
    try:
        with Document.open("input.pdf") as document:

This block exports the PDF content to HTML and saves it as output.html. The try-except block handles potential errors using NutrientException:

            document.export_as_html("output.html")
            print("Successfully converted to output.html")
    except NutrientException as e:
        print(f"Error: {e}")


if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Conclusion

The conversion logic consists of two steps:

  1. Open the document.
  2. Export as HTML.

Nutrient handles PDF parsing and HTML generation so you don’t need to understand PDF internals or manage layout conversion manually.

You can download this ready-to-use sample package that’s fully configured to help you get started with the Python SDK.