[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #64365: Support for Videos and Galleries as Post Thumbnails (Featured Media)

[WordPress Trac]

#64365: Support for Videos and Galleries as Post Thumbnails (Featured Media)
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 Reporter:  kaffeeringe      |      Owner:  (none)
     Type:  feature request  |     Status:  new
 Priority:  normal           |  Milestone:  Awaiting Review
Component:  General          |    Version:
 Severity:  normal           |   Keywords:
  Focuses:  ui               |
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 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/

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/64365>
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