#57893 Add 'Use empty alt text' option for Post Featured Image block

[dhananjaykuber]

Fixes #57893

What?

Adds the ability to set empty alt text (alt="") for decorative images in the Post Featured Image block by introducing a new toggle control in the block settings.

Why?

Currently, there is no way to set empty alt text (alt="") for the Featured Image block when the image is purely decorative. While it's possible to remove alt text in the media library, this is a global solution that affects the image everywhere it's used. This enhancement allows setting empty alt text specifically for the Featured Image block context, improving accessibility by properly indicating decorative images to screen readers.

How?

• Added a new useEmptyAlt attribute to the Featured Image block
• Implemented a new toggle control in the block settings panel that only appears for non-linked images
• Modified the block's render logic to output empty alt text (alt="") when the toggle is enabled
• Ensured linked images cannot have empty alt text since they function as link text
• Preserved existing alt text behavior when the decorative image option is not enabled

Testing Instructions

Testing Instructions for Keyboard

1. Open a new post or page in the editor
2. Upload or select an featured image for the post
3. Add a Post Featured Image block
4. Open the block settings sidebar (click the cog icon if not already open)
5. Verify that the "Use empty alt text (decorative image)" toggle appears under Settings
6. Enable the toggle and verify that the image's alt attribute is empty in the HTML output
7. Enable "Link to post" and verify that the empty alt text option is hidden
8. Disable "Link to post" and verify that the empty alt text option reappears
9. Verify that the setting persists after saving and reloading the post

Screenshots or screencast

screen-capture.3.mp4

[github-actions]

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Co-authored-by: dhananjaykuber <[email protected]>
Co-authored-by: carolinan <[email protected]>
Co-authored-by: fabiankaegy <[email protected]>
Co-authored-by: huubl <[email protected]>

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[carolinan]

I think this text is too long and that the parentheses should be removed.

[dhananjaykuber]

Done

[carolinan]

Thank you for working on this.

I want to make the following change request:
The alt text should also be removed from the block in the editor when the option is enabled.

The failing test needs to be solved, the test fixtures need to be regenerated. Try npm run fixtures:regenerate

[dhananjaykuber]

Hi @carolinan

I have updated the label and also tried to resolve the test using npm run fixtures:regenerate. Still 2 cases are failing and in E2E check its shows Timeout exceeded.

[fabiankaegy]

To be honest, I struggle a bit with this feature here 🤔

The issue that worries me is that the featured image block is almost never used in isolation on a single post. Instead the block gets used on single templates and inside query loops. So in both of these scenarios we are not talking about a single featured image for a specific block but rather the generalized concept of a featured image inside a template.

Any setting you apply to the featured image block will be applied to all posts / all featured images.

Knowing that I'm a little worried that the feature will get enabled by folks who want to set it for a single image only. But in doing so they have now removed the alt text from all featured images everywhere.