In Part 1 of our WordPress Web Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to turning your website into an automated traffic generation machine is to use an “expertly configured” WordPress website.
As we also explained, an expertly configured WordPress website or blog is not the same thing as a professionally-configured WordPress website or blog. An ”expertly configured” WordPress web site is a web site that is not only driven by the WordPress CMS, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take full advantage of the enormous power, features and functionality of WordPress and the way it integrates with various sites, specifically in areas like SEO, 3rd-party site syndication and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website, all you have to do is add great content on a regular basis to generate web traffic!)
Once your WordPress site has been fully set up and expertly configured, all you then need to do to automatically start driving web traffic is publish great content on a regular basis.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of this automated website traffic blueprint are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of this process. The focus of this section is to help you understand the best way to start if you don’t have a web presence yet, or if you already have an existing site that may or may not have been built using WordPress.
WordPress Traffic System – Setup
If You Haven’t Got A Website Yet
If you haven’t got a website yet, it’s quite simple … get WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system on the planet. We provide loads of articles, tips, and tutorials on this site about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress to grow your business online.
For example, to see just how popular WordPress has become, see this article: How Popular Is WordPress? Facts And Figures About WordPress Usage
After choosing to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will use to build your web presence on.
This is important as there are two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress.org Or WordPress.com?
(Hosted Or Self-Hosted WordPress Site?)
WordPress provides users with a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option means you can download the full-featured WordPress CMS application at no cost from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress will host your site for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some limitations on what you can and can’t do with your site when WordPress.com hosts it for free.
If you are planning to build a professional web presence and you want to set up the traffic system described here, then choose the “self-hosted” WordPress version. The benefits of choosing the “self-hosted” option (WordPress.org) far outweigh those of hosting a free blog at WordPress.com. You get to have full control over your web presence and avoid the limitations of the hosted option. Keep in mind that you can overcome the limitations of the free hosting platform by upgrading to a paid option, but then why not start off with a WordPress site hosted on your domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Site
If you already own an existing website, check to see if the web site has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Web Site And WordPress-Checking Tools
If your existing web site is powered by WordPress, move to the next step, and make sure that your site’s internal settings have been properly configured. We cover this step in more detail in another tutorial.
If your existing web site is not powered by WordPress, you will need to make some decisions.
Take a look at the simple flowchart below …
(Use the above diagram to decide how to set up a WordPress website on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site with a WordPress site, or
- Keep your existing web site and add a WordPress blog. This blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main site.
If you choose to keep your existing site and add a WordPress-powered blog, make sure to use the self-hosted version of WordPress, which requires your own domain name and webhosting, but allows you to fully configure your blog’s settings and customize the look and feel of your existing site using an appropriate theme for WordPress.
To use WordPress as your main site, install it in the “root” folder of your domain name (e.g. mydomainname.com).
If you have a website, then you will want to install WordPress in a subfolder of your domain, e.g. www.mydomainname.com/blog (you can name your subdirectory anything you like).
If you have an existing website that you don’t want to delete or replace with a WordPress site, you can choose to set up your WordPress site or blog on an entirely different domain.
This way:
- mydomainname.com – goes to your existing website
- myotherdomain.com – goes to your WordPress blog
Once you have set up your WordPress site, the next step is to configure it. This step is addressed in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Section 2
To keep reading this article, click on the link below:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive tutorial series designed to help you learn how to grow your business online cost-effectively and drive traffic sustainably with a WordPress website and proven marketing methods that are easy and quick to implement.
Get Notified When New WordPress Tutorials Are Published – Subscribe To WPCompendium.org!
***
"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)
***