WooCommerce Performance Expert – Independent Audit, PHP 7.4 Upgrade & Speed Optimisation

Project Overview: We run an established, high-traffic UK e-commerce gift site built on WordPress and WooCommerce. A recent hosting review flagged several performance and security bottlenecks (such as an end-of-life PHP 7.4 environment, heavy render-blocking tracking pixels, and outdated plugins). Before we execute any fixes, we want an independent, senior WooCommerce performance engineer to run a fresh deep-dive audit, validate the existing recommendations, and identify any hidden architectural or database issues affecting our Core Web Vitals. Scope of Work: Phase 1: Deep-Dive Audit & Roadmap Validation * Perform an independent performance and database audit of the WooCommerce site. * Analyze our current Google PageSpeed Insights data (where mobile Time to First Byte and Render-Blocking requests are heavily flagged). * Review the hosting provider's recommendations (PHP upgrade, NitroPack tuning, tracking pixel removal) and provide your own expert, prioritized roadmap of what will give us the biggest speed gains. Phase 2: Execution & Safe Deployment * PHP Environment Upgrade: Safely migrate the environment from legacy PHP 7.4 to PHP 8.2+. You must ensure all existing custom theme elements and plugins are fully compatible. * Tracking Script/Pixel Clean-up: Audit WooCommerce Pixel Manager to isolate and remove dead or duplicate third-party scripts holding up the mobile main thread. * Speed Tuning: Fine-tune our existing NitroPack configuration to aggressively resolve remaining render-blocking CSS/JS and optimize mobile image delivery. * Security Verification: Review 5 specific modified core system files flagged by Wordfence to confirm integrity. Project Requirements: * Deep, demonstrable background in WooCommerce database optimization, object caching, and Core Web Vitals resolution. * Safe deployment practices: All major work, especially the PHP shift and plugin testing, MUST be executed on a staging/development server and fully tested across the cart, product personalization options, and checkout before going live. * No automated agency pitches. Please start your reply with the word "Speed" so I know you've read the full brief. Please provide a brief summary of your optimization process, examples of WooCommerce stores you have successfully accelerated, and your quote for Phase 1 (Audit) vs Phase 2 (Implementation).