MaxtDesign

Installation

Requirements

  • WordPress 6.4 or higher
  • PHP 8.1 or higher (strict types required)
  • ImageMagick PHP extension (for automatic preview generation)

    • Note: PHP 8.1 is required — the plugin uses strict typing and will not activate on older PHP versions.

    Automatic Installation

  • 1.Go to Plugins → Add New in your WordPress admin
  • 2.Search for "MaxtDesign PDF Viewer"
  • 3.Click Install Now then Activate
  • 4.Go to Settings → PDF Viewer to configure

    • Manual Installation

  • 1.Download the plugin ZIP from WordPress.org
  • 2.Go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin
  • 3.Select the ZIP file and click Install Now
  • 4.Activate the plugin

    • Verify Server Capabilities

    After activation, go to Settings → PDF Viewer → Server Info to check:

  • ImageMagick PHP extension — Required for automatic WebP preview generation. Most managed hosts (SiteGround, Kinsta, WP Engine) have this pre-installed.

    • If ImageMagick is not available, the plugin will still work but won't generate preview images. PDFs will show a generic placeholder until the full viewer loads.

    First PDF

  • 1.Upload a PDF to your Media Library
  • 2.The plugin automatically extracts the first page as a WebP preview
  • 3.Create a new post or page
  • 4.Add the PDF Viewer block (search for "PDF" in the block inserter)
  • 5.Select your uploaded PDF
  • 6.Publish — visitors see the preview image instantly, click to load the full viewer

    • Shortcode Alternative

    For the classic editor or page builders, use:

    [pdf_viewer id="123"]

    Replace 123 with the attachment ID of your PDF.

    Configuration