In Part 1 of our Web Site Traffic Blueprint article series, we explained that the key to turning a site into an automated traffic generation machine is to use an “expertly configured” WordPress website.
As we also explained, an expertly configured WordPress web site is different than a professionally-configured WordPress site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress website or blog is a web site that is not only powered 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, ease-of-use and built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with various sites, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, content syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do to automatically bring more web traffic is add content on a regular basis!)
Once you have your WordPress site expertly configured and fully set up, all you then need to do is add content regularly to drive more traffic.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of this automated website traffic system are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of the automation process. You will learn 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 System – Setup Phase
If You Have No Website Yet
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, it’s quite simple … build a website with WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system available. 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 see just how popular WordPress is as a content publishing platform, see this article: Statistics And Market Share About WordPress
After choosing to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will use to build your web presence on.
This step is important because there are 2 types of WordPress platforms available …
WordPress Hosted vs WordPress Self-Hosted
(WordPress – Hosted vs Self-Hosted)
WordPress offers a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option lets you download the full-featured WordPress application for free from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog under 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 blog 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 platform. The benefits of choosing the “self-hosted” option (WordPress.org) far outweigh those of hosting a free site at WordPress.com. You 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 just start off by hosting a WordPress site on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Site
If you already own an existing website, first, check if the website has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Blog Runs On WP Software
If your website is a WordPress 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 website was built using something other than WP software, you will need to make some decisions.
Take a look at the flowchart below …
(Use the above flowchart to help you choose how to set up a WordPress site 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 blog. Your WordPress blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main web site.
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 web hosting, but allows you to fully configure your site’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing web site using a closely-matching theme.
To use WordPress for your main site, install the software in the “root” directory of your domain name (i.e. 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 your subdirectory anything you want).
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 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 2
To read more, click on the link below:
This article is part of a comprehensive series of articles designed to help business owners learn how to grow their business online cost-effectively with a WordPress website and proven web marketing strategies.
Subscribe Using The Form Below And Get Notified When New WordPress Tutorials Get Published!
***
"This is an awesome training series. I have a pretty good understanding of WordPress already, but this is helping me to move somewhere from intermediate to advanced user!" - Kim Lednum
***