From e19d6fcb6c2d79c90413e3558f68475ac75c7fad Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Huzaifa Al Mesbah <huzaifah4m@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 2026 01:57:17 +0600
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] Add table caption validation check for core/table block

- Register check_table_caption under core/table in Core_Block_Validation_Rules at warning level.
- Implement validation in core-block-rules/table.ts to check for non-empty caption text (WCAG 1.3.1).

Closes #28
---
 .../Features/Core_Block_Validation_Rules.php  | 12 ++++++
 src/editor/core-block-rules/table.ts          | 37 +++++++++++++------
 2 files changed, 37 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-)

diff --git a/includes/Modules/Features/Core_Block_Validation_Rules.php b/includes/Modules/Features/Core_Block_Validation_Rules.php
index bb23b35..d1212df 100644
--- a/includes/Modules/Features/Core_Block_Validation_Rules.php
+++ b/includes/Modules/Features/Core_Block_Validation_Rules.php
@@ -269,6 +269,18 @@ private function register_table_checks(): void {
 				'warning_msg' => __( 'Consider adding table headers.', 'accessibility-lab' ),
 			)
 		);
+		validation_api_register_block_check(
+			'core/table',
+			array(
+				'namespace'   => self::NS,
+				'name'        => 'check_table_caption',
+				'title'       => __( 'Table caption recommended', 'accessibility-lab' ),
+				'level'       => 'warning',
+				'description' => __( 'Tables should have a caption to describe their purpose or content to screen reader users.', 'accessibility-lab' ),
+				'error_msg'   => __( 'This table is missing a caption.', 'accessibility-lab' ),
+				'warning_msg' => __( 'Consider adding a caption to this table.', 'accessibility-lab' ),
+			)
+		);
 	}
 
 	/**
diff --git a/src/editor/core-block-rules/table.ts b/src/editor/core-block-rules/table.ts
index 60478c8..63161a9 100644
--- a/src/editor/core-block-rules/table.ts
+++ b/src/editor/core-block-rules/table.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@ type TableAttributes = {
 	caption?: string;
 };
 
+function stripHtml( html: string ): string {
+	return html.replace( /<[^>]*>/g, '' ).trim();
+}
+
 addFilter(
 	'editor.validateBlock',
 	'accessibility-lab-core-blocks/table',
@@ -25,19 +29,28 @@ addFilter(
 			return isValid;
 		}
 
-		if ( checkName !== 'check_table_headers' ) {
-			return isValid;
-		}
+		switch ( checkName ) {
+			case 'check_table_headers': {
+				const hasHead =
+					Array.isArray( attributes.head ) &&
+					attributes.head.length > 0;
+				if ( hasHead ) {
+					return true;
+				}
+				const firstRow = attributes.body?.[ 0 ];
+				if ( firstRow?.cells?.every( ( c ) => c.tag === 'th' ) ) {
+					return true;
+				}
+				return false;
+			}
 
-		const hasHead =
-			Array.isArray( attributes.head ) && attributes.head.length > 0;
-		if ( hasHead ) {
-			return true;
-		}
-		const firstRow = attributes.body?.[ 0 ];
-		if ( firstRow?.cells?.every( ( c ) => c.tag === 'th' ) ) {
-			return true;
+			case 'check_table_caption': {
+				const caption = stripHtml( String( attributes.caption ?? '' ) );
+				return caption.length > 0;
+			}
+
+			default:
+				return isValid;
 		}
-		return false;
 	}
 );

From a257d82c2d8587377504a944cb0803a48e14067f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Huzaifa Al Mesbah <huzaifah4m@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 2026 10:15:25 +0600
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Default table caption check to none and ignore
 non-breaking spaces

Table captions are a sufficient technique (H39) for WCAG 1.3.1 rather
than a requirement, so leave the check disabled by default and let site
owners enable it in Validation settings. Also treat captions containing
only non-breaking spaces as empty.
---
 includes/Modules/Features/Core_Block_Validation_Rules.php | 2 +-
 src/editor/core-block-rules/table.ts                      | 5 ++++-
 2 files changed, 5 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/includes/Modules/Features/Core_Block_Validation_Rules.php b/includes/Modules/Features/Core_Block_Validation_Rules.php
index d1212df..0dabd55 100644
--- a/includes/Modules/Features/Core_Block_Validation_Rules.php
+++ b/includes/Modules/Features/Core_Block_Validation_Rules.php
@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ private function register_table_checks(): void {
 				'namespace'   => self::NS,
 				'name'        => 'check_table_caption',
 				'title'       => __( 'Table caption recommended', 'accessibility-lab' ),
-				'level'       => 'warning',
+				'level'       => 'none',
 				'description' => __( 'Tables should have a caption to describe their purpose or content to screen reader users.', 'accessibility-lab' ),
 				'error_msg'   => __( 'This table is missing a caption.', 'accessibility-lab' ),
 				'warning_msg' => __( 'Consider adding a caption to this table.', 'accessibility-lab' ),
diff --git a/src/editor/core-block-rules/table.ts b/src/editor/core-block-rules/table.ts
index 63161a9..e9ffa55 100644
--- a/src/editor/core-block-rules/table.ts
+++ b/src/editor/core-block-rules/table.ts
@@ -13,7 +13,10 @@ type TableAttributes = {
 };
 
 function stripHtml( html: string ): string {
-	return html.replace( /<[^>]*>/g, '' ).trim();
+	return html
+		.replace( /<[^>]*>/g, '' )
+		.replace( /&nbsp;|\u00a0/g, ' ' )
+		.trim();
 }
 
 addFilter(