In Part One of our Website Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to creating an automated web traffic generation machine is to use an “expertly configured” WordPress website.
As we also explained, an expertly configured WordPress website is not the same thing as a professionally-configured WordPress site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress website or blog is a website that is not only driven 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, ease-of-use and functionality of WordPress and its integration with various sites, specifically in areas like SEO, content syndication and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do to generate more traffic is add content regularly!)
Once you have your WordPress site fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do to drive more web traffic is add 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 the blueprint. We will 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 System – Setup Phase
If You Don’t Have A Website
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, then it’s really quite simple … build a WordPress website!
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 learn just how popular WordPress is around the world, see this article: WordPress Statistics
After making the choice to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to decide which type of WordPress platform you will run your web presence on.
This step is very important because there are 2 types of WordPress platforms available …
WordPress.org Or WordPress.com?
(WordPress – Hosted Or Self-Hosted?)
WordPress offers users a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option allows you to download the full-featured WordPress CMS application for free from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name.
In 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 WordPress.com hosts it at no cost.
If you plan to build a professional business presence online 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 get to have full control over your web presence and avoid the limitations of the hosted option. Keep in mind that the free hosting limitations can be overcome by upgrading to a paid option, but then why not just start off by hosting a WordPress site on your domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You 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 Site And WP-Checking Tools
If your existing website 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 was built using something other than WordPress, you will need to make some choices.
Take a look at the flowchart below. It will help you decide where to set up WordPress on your domain …
(Use the above flowchart to choose how to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website so that your main website is built with WordPress, or
- Keep your existing web site and add a WordPress-powered blog. Your WordPress blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main website.
If you choose to keep your existing web site and add a WordPress-driven 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 of your existing web site using a closely-matching theme for WordPress.
To use WordPress for your main site, install the software in the “root” folder of your domain name (e.g. 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 the subfolder anything you like).
If you have an existing site that you don’t want to delete or replace with a WordPress site, the other option you have is 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 its internal settings. This step is covered in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Section 2
To continue reading about this topic, click on the link below:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials designed to help you learn how to grow your business and drive traffic automatically with a WordPress-driven website and proven online marketing methods.
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