In Part 1 of our Website Traffic Blueprint article series, 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 web site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress web site is a website or blog 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 its integration with other sites, specifically in areas like SEO, content syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website or blog, all you have to do to generate more traffic is add content on a regular basis!)
Once you have your WordPress site expertly configured and fully set up, all you 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 online traffic blueprint are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we look at the “Setup” phase of this process. You will learn 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 Blueprint – Setup Phase
If You Haven’t Got A Website
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, then it’s really quite simple … build a web presence with WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest to use content management system on the planet. We provide many articles, tutorials, and tips about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress to grow your business online.
For example, to learn just how popular WordPress is as a platform for web businesses, see this article: How Popular Is WordPress? Impressive Statistics About WordPress Usage
After making the choice to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will run your web presence on.
This is important as there are two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
Hosted vs Self-Hosted WordPress
(WordPress Hosted vs WordPress Self-Hosted)
WordPress offers a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org lets you download the full-featured WordPress software for free 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 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 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 platform. 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 complete 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 domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Site
If you already own an existing web site, first 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 Blog And Free WordPress-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 web site runs on something other than WP software, you have some decisions to make.
Take a look at the simple flowchart below. It will help you decide where to set up WordPress on your domain …
(Use the above diagram to decide where to set up a WordPress web site on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website with a WordPress site, or
- Keep your existing website and add a WordPress-driven blog. Your WordPress blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main website.
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 webhosting, but allows you to fully configure your blog’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing website using a closely-matching theme.
To use WordPress for your main website, install the software in the “root” directory of your domain (e.g. http://www.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 the subdirectory whatever you like).
If you already 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 site
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 2
To continue reading this article, click here:
This article is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials designed to help you learn how to grow your business 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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