In Part 1 of our Web Traffic Blueprint article series overview, 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 not the same as a professionally-configured WordPress web site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress site is a 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 advantage of the tremendous power, ease-of-use and built-in functionality of WordPress and the way it integrates with various sites, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, external site notification and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do to drive more traffic is publish content regularly!)
Once your WordPress site has been expertly configured and fully set up, all you need to do to automatically bring 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 look at the “Setup” phase of the blueprint. We will help you understand the best way to start 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 Automation System – Setup Phase
If You Don’t Have A Web Presence
If you don’t have a web presence yet, it’s quite simple … get 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 see just how popular WordPress is, see this article: How Popular Is WordPress? Facts And Figures About WordPress
After choosing to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to choose which WordPress platform you will run your web presence on.
This step is important as there are two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress – Self-Hosted Or Hosted?
(WordPress.org vs WordPress.com)
WordPress provides users with a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
WordPress.org allows you to download the full-featured WordPress software 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 hosts your blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some limitations on 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 get to 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 Site
If you already have an existing web site, first, check if the web site has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: How To Check If Your Web Site Was Built With WordPress
If your web site is a WP website, 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 website was built using something other than WordPress, you have to make some decisions.
Take a look at the simple diagram below. It will help you choose how to set up WordPress on your domain …
(Use this simple flowchart to decide where to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing site so that your main website is built with WordPress, or
- Keep your existing website and add a WordPress blog. Your WordPress 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-driven blog, make sure to use the self-hosted version of WordPress, which requires a domain name and webhosting, but allows you to fully configure your blog’s settings and customize the look and feel of your existing web site using an appropriate WP theme.
To use WordPress for your main website, install the platform in the “root” folder of your domain name (i.e. http://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 whatever you want).
If you have a 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 site
Once you have set up your WordPress site, the next step is to configure it. This step is addressed in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Part 2
To read the rest of this article, click on the link below:
This article is part of an tutorial series designed to help you learn how to grow your business online inexpensively and drive traffic organically with a WordPress-driven website or blog and proven web marketing methods.
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