In Part 1 of our Website 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 site is different than a professionally-configured WordPress website. An expertly configured WordPress website or blog is a web site that is not only built with the WordPress CMS platform, 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 functionality of WordPress and how it can be integrated with various services, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, content syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website or blog, all you have to do is add content on a regular basis to drive more traffic!)
Once you have your WordPress site fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do to automatically bring web traffic is add content on a regular basis.
As outlined in Part 1 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 this process. The focus of this section is to 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 Phase
If You Haven’t Got A Web Presence Yet
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, it’s quite simple … build your website with WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest to use content management system available. We provide loads of articles, tutorials, and tips about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress to grow your business online.
For example, to learn just how popular WordPress is as a content publishing platform, see this article: WordPress: Useful Facts And Statistics
After choosing to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to choose which WordPress platform you will use to run your web presence on.
This step is very important because there are 2 types of WordPress platforms available …
WordPress Hosted Or WordPress Self-Hosted?
(WordPress Hosted Or WordPress Self-Hosted?)
WordPress offers users a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option allows you to download the full-featured WordPress application at no cost from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress will host your site for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some limitations on what you can and can’t do with your site when WordPress.com hosts it at no cost.
If you are planning to build a professional business presence online 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 blog at WordPress.com. You have complete 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 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 if your website has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Web Site And Free WordPress-Checking Tools
If your existing website is a WordPress web site, 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 simple flowchart below …
(Use this simple diagram to help you decide how to set up a WordPress website or blog on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website so that your main website is built using WordPress, or
- Keep your existing web site and add a WordPress blog. This blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main website.
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 blog’s settings and customize the look and feel of your existing site using a suitable theme.
To use WordPress as your main site, install the platform in the “root” folder 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 the subdirectory anything you want).
If you already 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 site
Once you have set up your WordPress site, the next step is to configure its internal settings. This step is explained in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Part 2
To read more, click here:
This article is part of a comprehensive series of articles designed to help you learn how to grow your business and drive traffic automatically using a WordPress-driven website or blog and proven web marketing strategies.
Want To Get Notified When New WordPress Tutorials Are Published? Then Subscribe To WPCompendium.org!
***
"Learning WordPress has been a huge stumbling block for me. I've been looking for something that covers absolutely everything but doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Thank you so much ... you have just provided me with what I have been looking for! Truly appreciated!" - Tanya
***