Playbook: fix Core Web Vitals in priority order

Playbook: fix Core Web Vitals in priority order

Stop chasing a 100 score. Fix what real users feel:
— Pull field data (CrUX), not lab — lab Lighthouse lies about LCP under real load
— Fix the LCP element first: usually a hero image, so preload it and serve WebP
— Kill CLS by setting width/height on every image and reserving ad slots
— INP last: defer non-critical JS, break long tasks; it's the hardest, do it once the rest is green

PageSpeed Insights
👍 free, shows field + lab, exact element callouts
👎 single URL, no monitoring, advice can be generic

DebugBear
👍 continuous monitoring, alerts on regressions, filmstrip
👎 $39/mo, another dashboard to check

Verdict: PSI to fix it once, DebugBear if regressions keep sneaking back.

Best for: sites that pass today and fail after the next deploy.

No affiliate link — we just use this stuff.