In Part One of our WordPress Web Traffic Blueprint article series, we explained that the key to turning a website into 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 as a professionally-configured WordPress site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress website or blog 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 enormous power, features and functionality of WordPress and how it integrates with other services, specifically in areas like SEO, external site notification and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website or blog, all you have to do to bring web 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 then is add great content on a regular basis to automatically drive traffic organically.
As outlined in Part 1 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. 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 Web Traffic Blueprint – Setup
If You Don’t Have A Web Presence
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 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 has become around the world, see this article: WordPress: Statistics And Market Share
After choosing to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to decide which type of WordPress platform you will run your web presence on.
This step is very important because there are 2 types of WordPress platforms available …
WordPress Hosted vs WordPress Self-Hosted
(WordPress Self-Hosted Or WordPress Hosted?)
WordPress provides users with a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option lets you download the full-featured WordPress application at no cost 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 site when WordPress.com hosts it at no cost.
If you plan to build a professional business presence online and you want to set up the traffic system described here, then 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 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 just start off by hosting a WordPress site on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Web Site
If you already have an existing web site, first, check if your web site has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Website Was Built Using WordPress
If your existing website was built using WordPress software, 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 runs on something other than WP software, you have some choices 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 flowchart to help you decide how to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing site with a WordPress website, or
- Keep your existing site and add a WordPress blog. Your WordPress blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main site.
If you choose to keep your existing site and add a WordPress 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 website using a suitable WP theme.
To use WordPress as your main site, install the platform in the “root” directory 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 like).
If you have an existing 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 WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Section Two
To read the rest of this article, click on the link below:
This article is part of a comprehensive series of articles aimed at helping business owners learn how to grow their business and drive traffic automatically with a WordPress-driven website or blog 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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