In Part 1 of our WordPress Web Site 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 or blog is not the same thing as a professionally-configured WordPress website. An ”expertly configured” WordPress website or blog is a site 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 enormous power, ease-of-use and built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with other sites, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, 3rd-party site notification and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website, all you have to do to drive more traffic is publish great content regularly!)
Once your WordPress site has been expertly configured and fully set up, all you need to do is publish great content regularly to bring more web traffic.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of the automated traffic blueprint 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 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 Don’t Have A Website Yet
If you haven’t got a website 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 many 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: Useful Facts And Statistics
After choosing to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to choose which type of WordPress platform you will use to run your web presence on.
This step is important because there are 2 types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress – Self-Hosted vs Hosted
(WordPress – Hosted Or Self-Hosted?)
WordPress offers a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
WordPress.org lets you download the full-featured WordPress application for free and self-host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your site for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, a number of limitations on what you can and can’t do with your blog when it is hosted for free at WordPress.com.
If you plan 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 blog at WordPress.com. You 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 own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Site
If you already have an existing site, check if the site has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: How To Check If A Web Site Is Powered By WordPress
If your website runs on the WordPress CMS platform, 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 site is not a WP site, then you have some decisions to make.
Take a look at the simple diagram below. It will help you choose how to set up WordPress on your domain …
(Use this simple diagram to decide where to set up a WordPress website or blog on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website with a WordPress-driven website, or
- Keep your existing web site and add a WordPress-driven blog. This blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main site.
If you choose to keep your existing 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 design of your existing site using a suitable theme for WordPress.
To use WordPress for your main site, install the software in the “root” folder of your domain name (e.g. http://mydomainname.com).
If you already 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 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 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 Section Two
To read more, click here:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials designed to help small business owners learn how to grow their business online and drive traffic organically using a WordPress-powered website and proven web marketing strategies.
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