In Part 1 of our Website Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to creating 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 thing as a professionally-configured WordPress web site. An expertly configured WordPress website is a website or blog that is not only built with the WordPress CMS, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take full advantage of the tremendous power, features and functionality of WordPress and the way it integrates with other services, specifically in areas like SEO, third-party site syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress blog, all you have to do to automatically start driving traffic is add great content on a regular basis!)
Once your WordPress site has been expertly configured and fully set up, all you then need to do is publish content regularly to drive more web traffic organically.
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. The focus of this section is to help you understand the best way to start 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 Haven’t Got A Web Presence
If you don’t have a web presence yet, it’s quite simple … build your web presence with WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest 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 is as a web content management system, see this article: WordPress: Usage And Market Share
After choosing to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will build your web presence on.
This is important as there are 2 types of WordPress platforms available …
WordPress Hosted Or WordPress Self-Hosted?
(Self-Hosted vs Hosted WordPress)
WordPress offers both a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option means you can download the full-featured WordPress application at no cost from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, a number of limitations to what you can and can’t do with your blog when WordPress.com hosts it for free.
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 get to 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 Already Have An Existing Site
If you already have an existing website, first check to see 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 Runs On The WordPress CMS Platform
If your existing website is a WordPress 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 blog runs on something other than the WordPress CMS platform, you will need to make some decisions.
Take a look at the simple diagram below. It will help you decide where to set up WordPress on your domain …
(Use this simple flowchart to help you choose where to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website with a WordPress-powered site, or
- Keep your existing site and add a WordPress-powered blog. Your WordPress blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main web 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 site’s settings and customize the look and feel of your existing website using an appropriate theme.
To use WordPress for your main website, install the platform in the “root” folder of your domain (i.e. 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 subfolder whatever you want).
If you have an existing 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 it. This step is covered in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Section Two
To keep reading, click here:
This article is part of a comprehensive tutorial series aimed at helping site owners learn how to grow their business online inexpensively and drive traffic automatically with a WordPress-powered website or blog and proven marketing methods that are easy and quick to implement.
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"I am beyond impressed with what you have put together. I can tell that you put a ton of hard work into building what you have. You have the absolute best content on WordPress I have ever seen!" - Robert T. Jillie
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