Improving Core Web Vitals doesn't require paid software. The most useful tools in this space are free, and most of them come from Google or are open source. The challenge is knowing which tool to reach for at each stage of the process, since each one measures slightly different things and answers different questions. This roundup covers the seven free tools worth having in your workflow, what each one is best for, and where each falls short. Used together in the right order, they cover everything from identifying which pages are failing to diagnosing the root cause and verifying the fix. 1. Google Search Console (Core Web Vitals Report) Google Search Console is the starting point for any Core Web Vitals project. The Core Web Vitals report shows field data from the Chrome User Experience Report, grouped by URL pattern, and categorized into poor, needs improvement, and good. It's the only place to see how your site is actually performing for real visitors using real devices.…