In Part 1 of our WordPress Web Site Traffic Blueprint article series, we explained that the key to turning your site into an automated web traffic generation machine is to use an “expertly configured” WordPress website.
As we also explained, an expertly configured WordPress website or blog is different than a professionally-configured WordPress website or blog. An expertly configured WordPress website is a web site that is not only built with WordPress, 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 its integration with other services, specifically in areas like SEO, content syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website, all you have to do is add content on a regular basis to automatically bring traffic!)
Once you have your WordPress site expertly configured and fully set up, all you need to do then is publish content regularly to automatically generate traffic organically.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of this automated online traffic machine are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we look at the “Setup” phase of the blueprint. You will learn 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 Traffic System – Setup
If You Haven’t Got A Website Yet
If you don’t have a web presence yet, it’s quite simple … build a web presence with WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system on the planet. We provide loads of articles, tutorials, and tips 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 as a web content management system, see this article: WordPress: Statistics And Market Share
After making the choice to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will build your web presence on.
This step is very important because there are two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
Hosted Or Self-Hosted WordPress Site?
(WordPress Self-Hosted vs WordPress Hosted)
WordPress offers a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
With the “self-hosted” option you can download the full-featured WordPress CMS application for free from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your blog 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 blog at WordPress.com. You can fully customize your web presence and avoid the limitations of the hosted option. Keep in mind that You can overcome the limitations of the free hosting options by upgrading to a paid option, but then why not just start off with a WordPress site hosted 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 site, 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 Free WP-Checking Tools
If your website was built with 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 site uses a platform technology other than WordPress, then you have some choices to make.
Take a look at the flowchart below. It will help you choose how to set up a WordPress site on your domain …
(Use this simple diagram to choose how to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site so that your main website is built with WordPress, or
- Keep your existing site and add a WordPress blog. This blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main website.
If you choose to keep your existing website 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 look and feel of your existing site using a suitable theme.
To use WordPress for your main website, install the platform in the “root” folder of your domain name (e.g. www.mydomainname.com).
If you have a 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 want).
If you already have a 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 site
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 WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Section 2
To read more, click on the link below:
This tutorial is part of an tutorial series aimed at helping you learn how to grow your business online cost-effectively and drive traffic organically using a WordPress-powered website or blog and proven web marketing methods.
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