Extremely Slow Site

Hi Everyone.

I’ve got site in beta mode currently and it’s extremely slow.

I have an obscene amount of plugins (24) and it’s on shared hosting. So I understand these may be two important factors.

I’m looking into moving the site over to dedicated hosting however there isn’t a way I can reduce the amount of plugins as every one has an integral part to play for the site.

So I’m after any information you’re willing to give, such as; Is there a way I can code plugins directly in to speed the site up. Do you know how many users I can accommodate online at the same time on certain dedicated servers. Do you know of links or have tips to help me speed up the site dramatically? (which is wp, and buddypress).

Any advice on site speed, hosting servers etc will be helpful as I’m walking in the dark currently.

Thanks guys