Fix: Add names to external links in footer

[awtj8o81ryywg793]

Description

Add names (via the aria-label attribute) to external links in footer.

Related issues

Closes #3091.

Role

Individual not affiliated with any project relevant to this PR.

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[HarHarLinks]

WAVE is happy and I think this makes sense. Firefox a11y devtools day that icons should also have alt text which they don't. I don't know the best practices but my feeling here is since the link labels give the context already, the icons should probably be aria-hidden?

Let me know if you wanna tweak or merge as-is.

[awtj8o81ryywg793]

Quoted from a previous comment:

Firefox a11y devtools day that icons should also have alt text which they don't. I don't know the best practices but my feeling here is since the link labels give the context already, the icons should probably be aria-hidden?

Let me know if you wanna tweak

Let me tweak it. See 1c0aa85.

[HarHarLinks]

I think this makes sense. Do you happen to have any references that pointed to this being the best practice solution? It must be a common case, right?

[awtj8o81ryywg793]

Quoted from a previous comment:

Do you happen to have any references that pointed to this being the best practice solution?

I'm afraid I do not. I just agreed with your rationale. The SVGs are decorative, and since the link itself contains an aria-label attribute, there isn't really a need for anything else. Thinking about it, I think adding a title attribute would be a good idea too. As the A11y Collective states:

The key takeaway here is that aria-label is for assistive technology and title is for visual aids. Each serves its purpose, but they should never be swapped or relied upon interchangeably.

Source: https://www.a11y-collective.com/blog/aria-label-vs-title/

Whilst we’re at it, I wonder if the alt text should be changed to read as "Matrix.org on <platform>" or "The Matrix.org Foundation on <platform>" instead of "Matrix on <platform>." This is because the current text reads, "View the Matrix ecosystem on <platform>," which is inaccurate, as we only link to Matrix.org projects. In contrast, the improved text states, "View The Matrix.org Foundation on <platform>," accurately reflecting the destination of the link.