[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #43837: Make the alt attribute a required field in the Media Library

[WordPress Trac]

#43837: Make the alt attribute a required field in the Media Library
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 Reporter:  thatdevgirl  |      Owner:  (none)
     Type:  enhancement  |     Status:  new
 Priority:  normal       |  Milestone:  Awaiting Review
Component:  Media        |    Version:
 Severity:  normal       |   Keywords:
  Focuses:               |
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 The "alt" attribute in the Media Library should be a required field. As of
 right now, the current workflow for adding an image to the Media Library
 is:

 1. Upload an image.
 2. Image is saved to the Media Library and automatically given a "title"
 attribute that is equal to the image's file name.  The "alt" attribute is
 blank on image upload.

 The "title" attribute listed in the media library ''could'' be used on the
 front-end as the value of an image's alt value, but "title" and "alt" are
 really two different things. While both supply descriptive information
 about an image, the "title" attribute is meant to be short and catchy
 (like a title should be), while the "alt" attribute is meant to give a
 full text description of the image to someone who is unable to see the
 image.

 A user can, but is not required, to click into the image to make changes
 to the image's information. However, in that edit screen, a user can leave
 both the "title" and "alt" attributes blank.

 This is an accessibility concern that violates WCAG 2.0 guideline 1.1.1 (a
 level A issue): ''"Non-text Content: All non-text content that is
 presented to the user has a text alternative that serves the equivalent
 purpose"''

 I would like to propose an enhancement to the workflow for uploading
 images to the Media Library:

 1. Upload an image.
 2. An edit screen appears for each image. Users may make changes to the
 image's information, including the opportunity to add "alt" text.
 3. User should not be able to save image information (or should be
 presented with an error) if the "alt" attribute is left blank.

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/43837>
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