In Part One of our WordPress Website Traffic Blueprint article series, we explained that the key to turning your site into an automated 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 web site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress website is a website or blog 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 advantage of the enormous power, ease-of-use and built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with other sites, specifically in areas like SEO, external site syndication and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress site, all you have to do is publish content on a regular basis to automatically drive more traffic!)
Once your WordPress site has been expertly configured and fully set up, all you need to do is publish content regularly to automatically start driving traffic.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of the automated traffic machine are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of the traffic automation process. 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 Blueprint – Setup
If You Haven’t Got A Website
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, it’s quite simple … get a WordPress site!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system on the planet. We provide many articles, tips, and tutorials 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 with businesses around the world, see this article: Some Impressive Facts And Figures About WordPress
After choosing to build your web presence with WordPress, the next step is to choose which type of WordPress platform you will use to build your web presence on.
This step is important because there are two types of WordPress platforms available …
WordPress Self-Hosted vs WordPress Hosted
(Hosted Or Self-Hosted WordPress?)
WordPress offers website owners a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
WordPress.org allows you to download the full-featured WordPress application for free and self-host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your site for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some limitations to what you can and can’t do with your blog when WordPress.com hosts it at no cost.
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 platform. The benefits of choosing the “self-hosted” option (WordPress.org) far outweigh those of hosting a free site 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 Have An Existing Web Site
If you already own an existing web site, first, check if it has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Web Site Runs On WP Software
If your site is powered by 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 existing web site is not powered by WordPress, then you have to make some choices.
Take a look at the simple diagram below …
(Use this simple flowchart to choose how to set up a WordPress website or blog on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site so that your main website is built using WordPress, or
- Keep your existing website 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 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 it in the “root” directory of your domain (e.g. http://mydomainname.com).
If you already have an existing website, then you will want to install WordPress in a subfolder of your domain, e.g. www.mydomainname.com/blog (you can name your subdirectory whatever you like).
If you have a website 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 covered in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Section Two
To keep reading about this topic, click on the link below:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive article series designed to help business owners learn how to grow their business and drive traffic automatically with a WordPress-powered website or blog and proven web marketing strategies.
Subscribe To Our Site And Get Notified When New Tutorials Get Published!
***
"Wow! I never knew there's so much to learn about WordPress! I bought one of the WordPress for Dummies three years ago, such authors need to be on this course!" - Rich Law, Create A Blog Now
***