A novel series of syn- and anti-ladder-type anilido-pyridine boron difluorides (APBDs) were synthesized by stepwise incorporation of boron into laddered ligands. The boron coordination-locked strategy endows the ladder-type APBDs with a stiff conformation, which results in a substantial bathochromic shift of their absorption spectra and a narrowed HOMO-LUMO energy gap, reinforcing the compounds for potential applications in organic electronics.