Lab tools are a microscope. Field data is the patient. If you only ever look at Lighthouse, you are diagnosing the wrong person.
Where field data lives
The Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX) aggregates real visits from real Chrome users. That's the dataset Google ranks on. PageSpeed Insights surfaces it, but Search Console's Core Web Vitals report is where you should live.
The three numbers that matter
- LCP — when does your hero actually appear? Target under 2.5s at the p75.
- INP — does the page respond to a tap? Target under 200ms.
- CLS — does it move under their finger? Target under 0.1.
Fix the worst page first, ship it, then move to the next. Don't chase a perfect average across the site.