There are some false myths about performance. One of the most famous is the idea about code optimization. That's wrong. Another myth is the client-side tuning for better results. Wrong too. I've seen many sites with a gnarly and messy code, absolutely lazy in their implementation and non-standard. Result? They weren't slow, even when I used to surf the web with a 800kbs/1Mb connection. What's more, these sites hosted forums, aggregators, and other database-driven applications. And they weren't slow. So what's the point? Bandwidth, server hardware like processor, memory, and other tweaks. In a nutshell: if you want an optimum performance, you should find some good server and a dedicated hosting. Forget all the stuff about shared hosting: that's poor, unsecure and limited. With a little more funds, you'll spare some additional issues.