In Part 1 of our Web Site Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to turning a website into an automated traffic generation machine is to use an “expertly configured” WordPress website.
As we also explained, an expertly configured WordPress site is not the same as a professionally-configured WordPress web site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress site is a website or blog that is not only powered by the WordPress CMS platform, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take full advantage of the tremendous power, features and built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with other sites, specifically in areas like SEO, content syndication and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do is add content regularly to automatically start driving traffic!)
Once your WordPress site has been expertly configured and fully set up, all you then need to do is publish content on a regular basis to drive more traffic organically.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of the automated traffic blueprint are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we look at the “Setup” phase of the automation process. You will learn the best way to get started 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 Web Traffic Blueprint – Setup
If You Haven’t Got A Web Presence
If you haven’t got a website yet, then it’s really quite simple … get WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest to use content management system available. We provide many 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: Statistics About WordPress Usage
After choosing to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to decide which type of WordPress platform you will use to run your web presence on.
This step is very important because there are two types of WordPress platforms available …
WordPress Self-Hosted vs WordPress Hosted
(Hosted vs Self-Hosted WordPress Site)
WordPress offers users a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
With the “self-hosted” option you can download the full-featured WordPress application at no cost from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your site for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some limitations to 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 business presence online 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 site at WordPress.com. You 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 own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Website
If you already own an existing website, check to see if it 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 Free WP-Checking Tools
If your web site was built using 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 runs on something other than WordPress software, you have some choices to make.
Take a look at the simple flowchart below …
(Use this simple flowchart to help you decide how to set up a WordPress web site on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site so that your main website is built using WordPress, or
- Keep your existing web site and add a WordPress blog. This blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main web site.
If you choose to keep your existing web 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 site’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing site using an appropriate WP theme.
To use WordPress as your main website, install the platform in the “root” folder of your domain name (i.e. mydomainname.com).
If you have an existing website, then you will want to install WordPress in a subdirectory of your domain, e.g. www.mydomainname.com/blog (you can name your subfolder anything you want).
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 explained in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Part Two
To read more, click here:
This article is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials designed to help you learn how to grow your business online and drive traffic organically using a WordPress-powered website and proven web marketing strategies.
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"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)
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