In Part 1 of our Web Site Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to turning your 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 or blog is different than a professionally-configured WordPress web site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress website is a website 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 tremendous power, ease-of-use and built-in functionality of WordPress and how it integrates with various services, specifically in areas like SEO, external site notification and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress blog, all you have to do is publish great content on a regular basis to automatically generate more web traffic!)
Once you have your WordPress site expertly configured and fully set up, all you need to do then to generate web traffic is add content regularly.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of the automated online 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 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
If You Don’t Have A Web Presence
If you don’t have a website yet, it’s quite simple … get WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest to use content management system available. 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 has become as a web content publishing platform, see this article: WordPress: Useful Facts And Figures
After choosing to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to decide which type of WordPress platform you will build your web presence on.
This step is very important because there are two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress – Self-Hosted Or Hosted?
(Self-Hosted vs Hosted WordPress Site)
WordPress offers both a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
WordPress.org allows you to download the full-featured WordPress application at no cost and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress will host your blog 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 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 start off with a WordPress site hosted on your domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Site
If you already own an existing web site, check to see if it 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 The WP CMS Platform
If your existing web site was built using 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 blog was built using something other than WordPress, then you have to make some choices.
Take a look at the flowchart below. It will help you choose where to set up WordPress on your domain …
(Use the above flowchart to help you choose how to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web 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 site.
If you choose to keep your existing website 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 site’s settings and customize the look and feel of your existing site using an appropriate WordPress theme.
To use WordPress as your main site, install it in the “root” folder of your domain (e.g. 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 subfolder whatever you like).
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 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 here:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive article series designed to help you learn how to grow your business online cost-effectively with a WordPress-driven website and proven marketing methods that are easy to implement.
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"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
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