Drupal generates pages dynamically, usually from a database, which is the exact opposite of what I just suggested. Static pages are the way to go for very high volume. (And as dynamic frameworks go, PHP didn't actually do that well in the techempower benchmarks, though Drupal wasn't one they tested.)

Certainly the design is the root of the problem. You have to "apply" before you get any information. When I say that the team screwed up, I definitely include the people who designed it, not just the programmers who implemented it.