In Part 1 of our Web Site Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to turning a website into an automated web traffic generation machine is to use an “expertly configured” WordPress website.
As we also explained, an expertly configured WordPress website is different than a professionally-configured WordPress site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress website 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 enormous power, ease-of-use and functionality of WordPress and how it can be integrated with other services, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, content syndication and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress site, all you have to do to generate traffic is publish content regularly!)
Once you have your WordPress site fully set up and expertly configured, all you then need to do is add content regularly to automatically start driving traffic.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of this automated website traffic system are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of the automation process. The focus of this section is to help you understand the best way to get started if you don’t have a website yet, or if you already have an existing site that may or may not have been built using WordPress.
WordPress Web Traffic Automation System – Setup
If You Don’t Have A Website Yet
If you don’t have a web presence yet, it’s quite simple … build your web presence with WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system on the planet. 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 is as a web content management system, see this article: WordPress: Usage And Popularity
After making the choice to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to choose which WordPress platform you will use to run your web presence on.
This step is important as there are two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
Self-Hosted vs Hosted WordPress
(Hosted Or Self-Hosted WordPress?)
WordPress provides users with a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org allows you to download the full-featured WordPress application at no cost and self-host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress will host your site for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some limitations to what you can and can’t do with your site when it is hosted for free at WordPress.com.
If you are planning to build a professional web presence and you want to set up the traffic system described here, then you should 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 by hosting a WordPress site on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Web Site
If you already have an existing web site, first, check if it has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Blog And Free WordPress-Checking Tools
If your web site is a WP site, 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 web site was built using something other than WordPress, you have some decisions to make.
Take a look at the flowchart below. It will help you choose where to set up WordPress on your domain …
(Use this simple flowchart to decide how to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing site with a WordPress-driven site, 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 blog, make sure to use the self-hosted version of WordPress, which requires your own domain name and web hosting, but allows you to fully configure your blog’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing website using a suitable theme.
To use WordPress as your main website, install the software 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 subfolder of your domain, e.g. www.mydomainname.com/blog (you can name the subfolder anything you like).
If you have a site 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 keep reading, click on the link below:
This article is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials 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 to implement.
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)
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