I'm not technically adept by any means, but I can parrot what I've heard people suggest:
What to do when AW is running slowly or getting hung up, some pages timing out:
One option is to limit the amount of data the server has to deliver to your computer. Less data means greater speed. So unless you need to see images, you can limit data by clicking User CP and Edit Options, and turning off the images and avatars in Thread Display Options. This is just a temporary improvement, not a fix, but it can minimize frustration when pages aren't loading.
Many people find AW's responsiveness is worse on one browser than another. If you have more than one installed, try viewing AW with Firefox instead of Internet Explorer, or Chrome instead of Firefox... You get the idea.
The advertising AW needs for its revenue stream may slow display pages. They're served by Google, so we can't really do anything about this except give so generously AW no longer needs ads.
Apparently a buttload of bookmarks slows down all browsers, because the browser checks the URL of the page you're on, in this case AW, against all your bookmarks, and if it finds it, checks whether it's in your computer's cache, and if so, how old that cache is. So closing AW (leaving it completely, not just going to another window or tab while it's open) then deleting your browser's cache may be helpful. So is bookmark management. (Ugh. I bookmark way too much.)
Clearing the cookies on your browser (which will include a lot of automatic log-ins at places where you're a member, so know your user names and passwords) while logged out of AW helps some people.
If you are connecting to AW using an iOS, an iPhone, or an iPad, apparently Chrome runs AW best.
What's working best for me when page after page hangs up without opening is going away and doing something else for a short time. Usually on my return everything is just fine again.
Maryn, depending on the know-how of others