Fix #3621 broken X/Twitter avatars & links in testimonials by adding fallback image handling

[anchalsahani]

Summary

This PR improves the resilience of the testimonials section ("What our community thinks") by fixing broken X/Twitter avatars and restoring consistent linking behavior. The work contributes toward resolving [#3621], where several profile links were broken and some tweets did not render properly.

Issue Reference

• Related: [#3621] — “Some links in ‘What our community thinks’ section are not working”

Changes

• Added fallback avatar for missing or invalid external URLs
• Updated broken X/Twitter profile and tweet links
• Applied proxy-based image handling for external avatars
• Added lazy loading for non-critical images to reduce layout impact
• Reduced layout shift by fixing dimensions for avatars in testimonial cards
• Improved UX for degraded network scenarios

Motivation

Remote assets from X/Twitter frequently return redirects, HTML payloads, or CDN error codes (e.g., 403). These failures result in blank avatar spaces, broken links, and layout shifts that degrade Lighthouse metrics (CLS, INP) and visual clarity. The modifications in this PR aim to achieve graceful degradation and reduce dependency on network conditions and external CDNs for critical rendering.

Testing & Observations

Local verification was performed under the following cases:

Scenario	Expected	Observed
Valid avatar URLs	Avatar displays	Success
Invalid avatar URLs	Fallback avatar renders	Success
Offline / throttled network	No visual breakage	Success
Broken profile links	Redirects fixed	Success
Lighthouse (local)	No perceptible regression	Stable

No changes were made to backend, routing logic, or build pipeline.

Visual Comparison (Before / After)

Before (broken avatars / URLs)

After (fallback + corrected links)

Notes

The outcome contributes to the fix for [#3621], but does not modify testimonial source content or editorial selection. Feedback from maintainers is welcome regarding alternative approaches (e.g., caching avatars, sanitizing URLs at build time, or fully decoupling external testimonials from CDN behavior).

[amaan-bhati]

Hey @anchalsahani THanks for raising this pr, can you please take a look at the build failures before i try and review this pr locally?

[anchalsahani]

Hi @amaan-bhati, thanks for checking!

I’ve fixed the build issue and updated the PR. Please let me know if you still see any failures on your end.