Test one example page of each template, then add the key flows and a few random pages. W3C's WCAG-EM 2.0 asks for the same shape, a structured sample plus a random sample of 10% of it, and sets no fixed page count.
- Plans
- Every plan can run it.
- Cost
- 2 credits for each tested page.
- Download
- CSV and Excel on Starter and up.
One page per template finds what repeats
A template is a layout that many pages share, such as every page under catalog.example/products/{slug}. A menu, a footer or a product card is written once and repeats on every page built from it. A problem in one of them is on all of those pages, so one example page shows it.
A sample of templates misses what belongs to a single page. Say an editor adds an image without alt text to one blog post. The example page of the blog template does not carry that image.
That is why the W3C method adds a second sample. WCAG-EM 2.0 is a W3C Group Note of 23 July 2026. It asks for a structured sample first. That sample reflects the common views of a site, its essential functionality and its types of samples, such as templates and coding styles (steps 2.3 and 3.1).
It then adds a random sample of 10% of the structured sample (step 3.2). It sets no minimum number of pages, and it says a site with only a few pages can be evaluated in full.
For your own site that comes to three steps:
- One example page of each template.
- The key flows: the pages a visitor must get through, such as search, sign-up or checkout.
- A few pages picked at random.
PerfBee's run covers the first step. The key flows and the random pages are yours to add.
PerfBee picks the pages from your crawls
PerfBee's Accessibility by template groups the pages of a site into templates, using your crawls. A run tests one example page of each of the 10 biggest templates, so it tests up to 10 pages. A site with no crawl has no templates yet: crawl it first.
Before anything is spent, the dashboard lists the pages and the credits for them. You confirm that number to start the run.
axe-core checks each page in Chromium
axe-core is an accessibility rule engine. PerfBeeBot opens each page in Chromium, the way a crawl renders a page, and runs the WCAG rules of axe-core on it once the page has settled.
It follows the pace your robots.txt asks for, and a page that robots.txt disallows is skipped. Nothing is clicked, typed or submitted. The run sends no sign-in, no PerfBee token and no staging login, so pages behind a login are not tested.
Results are grouped by rule and by template
A run lists two kinds of finding.
- Violations are elements that break a rule. Each shows the rule, how serious axe rates it (critical, serious, moderate or minor), how many elements break it, and the first element with a short piece of its code.
- Needs review is what axe could not decide by itself. A person has to look.
By rule shows each rule once, with the templates it appears on. By template shows each tested page with its findings. The newest completed run also appears in Fixes, as one fix for each rule found as a violation. Needs-review findings are not fixes.
The API, the assistant tools and webhooks do not carry accessibility results. You read them in the dashboard, and Starter and up can download a run as CSV or Excel.
| Template | Example page tested | Violations | Needs review |
|---|---|---|---|
| catalog.example/products/{slug} | catalog.example/products/example-product | 3 | 1 |
| catalog.example/blog/{slug} | catalog.example/blog/example-post | 1 | 0 |
| catalog.example/category/{name} | catalog.example/category/example-category | 2 | 2 |
Sample data with placeholder rows. It shows the columns of a result, not a real run.
Some problems need a person to find them
axe checks what a program can decide from a page: missing text alternatives, color contrast, form labels, button and link names, document structure and valid ARIA. It cannot tell:
- whether alt text describes the image;
- whether the page works with a screen reader;
- whether the reading order makes sense;
- whether every function works with a keyboard alone;
- whether the text is easy to understand.
It does not test states that need an action, such as a menu that opens on a click, a form after an error, or content behind a login. Passing every rule does not make a site accessible. For a legal or procurement need, ask an accessibility specialist for an audit.
A finding on a template's example page is very likely on the template's other pages. A page of the same template with different content can still have problems the example page does not.
Only pages that give a result cost credits
Each tested page costs 2 credits on every plan, the price of a performance test. A run of 10 pages costs at most 20 credits. A page that fails, or that robots.txt skips, costs nothing, and the run lists it with the reason.
- A site has one run at a time.
- PerfBee keeps the newest 3 runs of a site.
- Viewers in a team workspace can read results but cannot start a run.
The help article has the full steps.