[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #64365: Support for Videos and Galleries as Post Thumbnails (Featured Media)
WordPress Trac
noreply at wordpress.org
Fri Dec 5 20:02:46 UTC 2025
#64365: Support for Videos and Galleries as Post Thumbnails (Featured Media)
-----------------------------+------------------------------
Reporter: kaffeeringe | Owner: (none)
Type: feature request | Status: new
Priority: normal | Milestone: Awaiting Review
Component: General | Version:
Severity: normal | Resolution:
Keywords: close | Focuses: ui
-----------------------------+------------------------------
Changes (by westonruter):
* keywords: => close
Old description:
> WordPress is a powerful tool for content management, but its core
> functionality limits how media can be displayed as **post thumbnails**
> (or "featured images"). Currently, only single images are supported as
> featured media. This creates a gap for press offices, social media teams,
> and content creators who want to:
> - Use **videos** (e.g., short clips, teasers, or event highlights) as
> engaging entry points for their posts.
> - Display **galleries** (e.g., image carousels) directly in post
> previews, similar to Instagram or Pixelfed.
> - Leverage **ActivityPub** to seamlessly cross-post rich media to the
> Fediverse without losing visual appeal.
>
> As a result, many teams default to platforms like Instagram for
> simplicity—even though WordPress could serve as a central hub for their
> content if it offered comparable flexibility.
>
> ----
>
> == **Proposed Solution**
> Extend WordPress Core to support **videos and galleries as featured
> media**, with the following capabilities:
>
> === **1. Videos as Featured Media**
> - Allow users to set a **video** (e.g., MP4, WebM) as the featured media
> for a post.
> - Support an **optional custom thumbnail** for the video (falling back to
> a frame from the video if none is provided).
> - Ensure compatibility with:
> - **Embedded players** (e.g., YouTube, Vimeo) via oEmbed.
> - **Self-hosted videos** (with responsive playback).
> - **ActivityPub plugins**, so videos appear correctly when shared to
> the Fediverse.
>
> === **2. Galleries as Featured Media**
> - Enable **galleries** (e.g., image carousels) to be set as featured
> media.
> - Display galleries in a **swipeable format** (like Instagram or
> Pixelfed), showing one image at a time with navigation controls.
> - Support:
> - **Touch/swipe gestures** for mobile users.
> - **Keyboard navigation** (left/right arrows) for desktop users.
> - **Lazy loading** for performance.
>
> === **3. Backward Compatibility**
> - Retain the existing "featured image" functionality as the default.
> - Add a new **meta box** in the post editor to select the type of
> featured media (image, video, or gallery).
> - Ensure themes can opt into supporting these features via template tags
> (e.g., `the_post_video()`, `the_post_gallery()`).
>
> === **4. UI/UX Improvements**
> - Update the **Media Library** to allow bulk selection of images for
> galleries.
> - Add a **preview pane** in the post editor to see how the featured media
> will appear in archives, homepages, and ActivityPub shares.
> - Include **fallback options** for themes that don’t yet support these
> features (e.g., display the first image of a gallery or the video
> thumbnail).
>
> ----
>
> == **Use Cases**
> 1. **Press Offices**:
> - Share event highlights as **video thumbnails** on the homepage, with
> the full post containing a write-up and additional media.
> 2. **Social Media Teams**:
> - Post **image carousels** directly to WordPress and have them appear
> as swipeable galleries in Fediverse clients (via ActivityPub).
> 3. **Bloggers and Creators**:
> - Use **short video teasers** as featured media to increase engagement
> on archive pages.
>
> ----
>
> == **Technical Considerations**
> - **Performance**: Ensure videos and galleries are optimized for fast
> loading (e.g., lazy loading, responsive sizing).
> - **Accessibility**: Add ARIA labels for gallery navigation and video
> controls.
> - **Theme Support**: Provide hooks and filters for theme developers to
> customize the display of featured media.
> - **REST API**: Extend the REST API to include featured media type and
> associated data (e.g., video URL, gallery images).
>
> ----
>
> == **Mockup**
> Here’s a rough idea of how the post editor could look:
> ```
> Featured Media:
> [ ] Image [x] Video [ ] Gallery
>
> Video:
> [ Upload Video ] or [ Enter URL ]
> Thumbnail:
> [ Upload Thumbnail ] or [ Select from Video ]
>
> Gallery:
> [ Select Images ] (Bulk upload from Media Library)
> [ Reorder Images ] (Drag and drop)
> ```
>
> ----
>
> == **Why This Matters**
> - **Unifies workflows**: Teams can create content once and publish
> everywhere (WordPress + Fediverse) without sacrificing visual appeal.
> - **Reduces platform dependency**: Encourages users to centralize their
> content in WordPress instead of siloed platforms like Instagram.
> - **Future-proofs WordPress**: Aligns with modern content consumption
> trends (video, interactive media).
>
> ----
>
> == **Examples**
> You can see a bit what I would like to produce on these sites:
> - https://dotcomslave.de/
> - https://ulfdaude.de/
New description:
WordPress is a powerful tool for content management, but its core
functionality limits how media can be displayed as **post thumbnails** (or
"featured images"). Currently, only single images are supported as
featured media. This creates a gap for press offices, social media teams,
and content creators who want to:
- Use **videos** (e.g., short clips, teasers, or event highlights) as
engaging entry points for their posts.
- Display **galleries** (e.g., image carousels) directly in post previews,
similar to Instagram or Pixelfed.
- Leverage **ActivityPub** to seamlessly cross-post rich media to the
Fediverse without losing visual appeal.
As a result, many teams default to platforms like Instagram for
simplicity—even though WordPress could serve as a central hub for their
content if it offered comparable flexibility.
----
== **Proposed Solution**
Extend WordPress Core to support **videos and galleries as featured
media**, with the following capabilities:
=== **1. Videos as Featured Media**
- Allow users to set a **video** (e.g., MP4, WebM) as the featured media
for a post.
- Support an **optional custom thumbnail** for the video (falling back to
a frame from the video if none is provided).
- Ensure compatibility with:
- **Embedded players** (e.g., YouTube, Vimeo) via oEmbed.
- **Self-hosted videos** (with responsive playback).
- **ActivityPub plugins**, so videos appear correctly when shared to the
Fediverse.
=== **2. Galleries as Featured Media**
- Enable **galleries** (e.g., image carousels) to be set as featured
media.
- Display galleries in a **swipeable format** (like Instagram or
Pixelfed), showing one image at a time with navigation controls.
- Support:
- **Touch/swipe gestures** for mobile users.
- **Keyboard navigation** (left/right arrows) for desktop users.
- **Lazy loading** for performance.
=== **3. Backward Compatibility**
- Retain the existing "featured image" functionality as the default.
- Add a new **meta box** in the post editor to select the type of featured
media (image, video, or gallery).
- Ensure themes can opt into supporting these features via template tags
(e.g., `the_post_video()`, `the_post_gallery()`).
=== **4. UI/UX Improvements**
- Update the **Media Library** to allow bulk selection of images for
galleries.
- Add a **preview pane** in the post editor to see how the featured media
will appear in archives, homepages, and ActivityPub shares.
- Include **fallback options** for themes that don’t yet support these
features (e.g., display the first image of a gallery or the video
thumbnail).
----
== **Use Cases**
1. **Press Offices**:
- Share event highlights as **video thumbnails** on the homepage, with
the full post containing a write-up and additional media.
2. **Social Media Teams**:
- Post **image carousels** directly to WordPress and have them appear
as swipeable galleries in Fediverse clients (via ActivityPub).
3. **Bloggers and Creators**:
- Use **short video teasers** as featured media to increase engagement
on archive pages.
----
== **Technical Considerations**
- **Performance**: Ensure videos and galleries are optimized for fast
loading (e.g., lazy loading, responsive sizing).
- **Accessibility**: Add ARIA labels for gallery navigation and video
controls.
- **Theme Support**: Provide hooks and filters for theme developers to
customize the display of featured media.
- **REST API**: Extend the REST API to include featured media type and
associated data (e.g., video URL, gallery images).
----
== **Mockup**
Here’s a rough idea of how the post editor could look:
{{{
Featured Media:
[ ] Image [x] Video [ ] Gallery
Video:
[ Upload Video ] or [ Enter URL ]
Thumbnail:
[ Upload Thumbnail ] or [ Select from Video ]
Gallery:
[ Select Images ] (Bulk upload from Media Library)
[ Reorder Images ] (Drag and drop)
}}}
----
== **Why This Matters**
- **Unifies workflows**: Teams can create content once and publish
everywhere (WordPress + Fediverse) without sacrificing visual appeal.
- **Reduces platform dependency**: Encourages users to centralize their
content in WordPress instead of siloed platforms like Instagram.
- **Future-proofs WordPress**: Aligns with modern content consumption
trends (video, interactive media).
----
== **Examples**
You can see a bit what I would like to produce on these sites:
- https://dotcomslave.de/
- https://ulfdaude.de/
--
Comment:
Being able to use a video as a post's featured media was previously
discussed in #43117 and #41127. It was closed as `wontfix`.
I don't think the "featured media" is going to be the right solution here,
especially blocks. I would think that a site wanting this feature should
rather do something like designate a Group block as the featured container
(e.g. as the first block in the content), within which any block can be
added. This could then be extracted when listing out the posts, like an
excerpt.
--
Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/64365#comment:1>
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