Codeigniter Project - tidy up slow code

We've got a Codeigniter site that's been coded by various developers. The site speed is slower than we'd like and the Codeigniter debug info gives some areas where the code isn't as efficient as it should be (classes loaded more than once, that kind of thing) Chrome's Page Load Time plugin reports around 4 seconds to fully load the main page and we think it should be a lot faster than that. There are also areas where queries have been hard coded rather than using the built-in CodeIgniter core. The site is database driven and the main database query has already been tweaked for speed so that's not an issue. It's the surrounding code that is causing a bottleneck. I need a coder who can test the project on their own development machine and identify the areas where speed is being affected & then fix them. This is likely to be a project where just a handful of changes will make all the difference - very much the 80/20 Rule (or more likely 95/5) The project would be in two stages: * Identify the main speed bottlenecks. Before the code changing part of the project starts, you should let me know a summary of the issues including their role in the slow speed of the site * Fix them in priority order (biggest bottleneck first) checking site speed after each fix & checking that nothing else on the site has broken in the process. We'll agree a sensible level of fixes to go down to - it wouldn't surprise me if there were just a handful of areas causing the majority of the speed issues so my best guess is that this would involve maybe 3 to 5 main areas to fix. During the project you should report back after each speed tweak so that we're both in the loop. You'll have access to a test area of the site & the main database (including local access for you) Please don't just send a boilerplate proposal - I need to know that you've actually read and understood this project request. Initial contact should be via the site - please don't just add me on LinkedIn or Skype (the winning bid will get Skype access) - more details including url of site available via the Freelancer messaging system.