No, it doesn’t need to be accessible.
As always, know what you're getting yourself into. Do you operate in a high risk industry, like finance or healthcare? Do you want to sell to the government? Are you okay with excluding something like 25% of the global population?
That's what I thought.
What about internal company tools?
At the surface level, this is a tricky one. But only until you realise that disabilities aren’t just something your customers have. Your employees have them too.
By ignoring accessibility of that internal tool you talk about, you're fostering a workplace culture that values some people more than others.
And if that’s the culture you want to build, then no, no need to be accessible.
Do personal blogs need to be accessible?
No, your personal blog doesn’t need to be accessible, if you’re okay with limiting your audience and contributing to a web that’s inherently unequal.
I mean...come on! One of the biggest hurdles of accessibility is getting stakeholder buy-in. But it's your blog! You're the only stakeholder! Ignoring accessibility for your personal space on the internet just makes you part of the problem.
Do prototypes or MVPs (Minimum Viable Products) need to be accessible?
No, your MVP doesn’t need to be accessible.
I completely realise that an MVP needs to make a case for a specific user. You need to launch fast and pivot fast if need be. Unfortunately, I've seen and built too many MVPs that turned into products to know that the mistakes you make in the beginning will haunt you well after you properly launch.
Accessibility isn’t something you can just bolt on later. If you ignore it in your MVP, you’re setting yourself up for a mountain of technical debt.
So, no, your website, internal tool, personal blog or MVP doesn’t need to be accessible. But if you want to be on the right side of history, it absolutely should be.
Real talk: the idea that accessibility is optional is outdated and, frankly, selfish.