List table: avoid redundant Edit links and reduce noise for screen readers

[afercia]

Splitting this out from #32254.

In all the List Tables (except Comments) there are redundant adjacent "Edit" links. They have different text and they point to the same resource (the edit screen). For example, in the screenshot below "Scheduled" and "Edit" (the row actions one) serve the same purpose.

As pointed out in #32254 the row actions "Edit" link may represent some sort of feedback given to users about what they can do, specifically if they have permission to edit and I see the potential confusion in removing it.

On the other hand, that's completely redundant and confusing for screen reader users who will just hear the same information twice, multiplied for the default 20 items per page makes a total of 40 "Edit" links. Considering also the title attributes, screen readers will read out something like this:

Scheduled link  Edit “Scheduled”
Edit link  Edit this item

We should try to find a way to hide the redundant link just for assistive technologies. Would be a bit tricky since aria-hidden would silence screen readers but wouldn't remove the tab stop. Any thoughts more than welcome.

[rianrietveld]

#31370 was marked as a duplicate.

[iworks]

Patched link title and added a aria-hidden (true). [Contributor Day WC Poland]

[afercia]

Thanks very much Contributor Day WC Poland people and welcome :) Tested a bit the patch and unfortunately aria-hidden=true on links does silence screen readers (the link text is not read out) but the link itself is still a tab stop so it will be read out as "blank" when focused. Tested with Firefox + NVDA:

Hello world! visited  link  Edit “Hello world!”  <-- the post title
out of table blank                               <-- the row actions "Edit" link

Notice also NVDA lose the context and announces "out of table". We can't use tabindex=-1 cause keyboard users need to get to that link. We should strive to find a better solution, not so simple I guess. Also, this should be done in all the relevant screens, not just the Posts screen.

[joedolson]

We discussed this ticket in the #a11y meeting, and concluded that there is no way to hide a link only to screen reader users that's a) complete and b) avoiding confusion for sighted keyboard users.

As such, what we recommend is addressing this in a UI redesign that would eliminate the edit link and add a visual indicator (perhaps an icon) that clearly indicates that the post title is a link to edit the post.

[joedolson]

The texts used for these links have changed since this was originally posted, currently:

"Scheduled" (Edit)
"Edit Scheduled"

One thing I question is whether the main link should have an aria-label that modifies it from the visible text at all. While that gives screen readers added context for what this link will do, it also gives them *different* information than any other user gets. If we don't feel that sighted users need to be notified that the title is linked to the edit screen, then I don't think we should do that for any users.

In my opinion, that aria-label simply makes things more verbose. The fact that this is an edit link is readily learnable, and if somebody does not learn that, it only costs them one extra tab. This is no different from the added effort cost from a sighted user who has not learned that the main title goes to edit, and goes to the work to hover and select the smaller 'Edit' link instead.

Additionally, if a plugin were to rewrite the URL for this cell so that it did something else - e.g., changed it to a view link, the aria-label would now be explicitly wrong.

[muddassirnasim]

This looks like a good accessibility improvement. Removing the duplicate “Edit” link should reduce noise for screen-reader users. Happy to see this moving forward.

• Make sure the final implementation preserves keyboard focus order and gives clear context (e.g., via link text or aria-label) so users know the table title is linked.

[joedolson]

I'm going to prioritize this. Based on my work on voice command during this cycle, cleaning up the post title to remove the redundant 'Edit' string is a priority; it'll reduce verbosity for screen readers and also make these links possible to trigger by text for voice command.

Prevents mismatch between accessible name and visible text, allows voice command to trigger links by name.

Trac ticket: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/33002

## Use of AI Tools
none

[joedolson]

Since this is only removing accessibility-specific features, which has been discussed and agree on in the accessibility team, I'm going to go ahead and commit. There's nothing meaningful to test here, and no code is being added.

[joedolson]

In 61738:

Administration: Remove aria-label on post titles.

The aria-label on post titles in list tables changes the accessible name from {post_title} to "{post_title}" (Edit). This change increases verbosity for screen readers and creates a mismatch between the visual text and the accessible name for voice command.

Remove the extraneous aria-label.

Props afercia, rianrietveld, iworks, muddassirnasim, joedolson.
Fixes #33002.

[joedolson]

Reopening to update tests.

Handle missed case in terms lists and update e2e tests.

Trac ticket: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/33002

## Use of AI Tools

[joedolson]

In 61740:

Administration: Fix e2e tests after removing aria-label.

Follow-up to [61738]. Updates e2e tests to use new link name. Applies change to omitted case in term list tables.

Props joedolson.
Fixes #33002.