In Part One of our WordPress Web Traffic Blueprint article series, we explained that the key to creating an automated traffic generation machine is to use an “expertly configured” WordPress website.
As we also explained, an expertly configured WordPress site is not the same thing 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 platform, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take full advantage of the enormous power, ease-of-use and built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with various services, specifically in areas like SEO, 3rd-party site notification and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do is publish great content regularly to drive more web traffic!)
Once you have your WordPress site fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do is publish content regularly to automatically drive traffic.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of this automated web traffic blueprint are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we look at the “Setup” phase of this 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 Yet
If you don’t have a website yet, then it’s really quite simple … get a WordPress site!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system available. We provide many 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 with businesses, see this article: WordPress: Facts And Statistics
After making the choice to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to choose which type of WordPress platform you will use to run your web presence on.
This step is very important as there are two types of WordPress platforms available …
WordPress – Hosted Or Self-Hosted?
(WordPress.org vs WordPress.com)
WordPress provides users with a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org lets you download the full-featured WordPress software at no cost 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 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 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 blog 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 with a WordPress site hosted on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Website
If you already own an existing website, check if the site has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Blog And Free WordPress-Checking Tools
If your 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 website is not a WP website, then you have some decisions to make.
Take a look at the simple flowchart below …
(Use this simple diagram to choose how to set up a WordPress website on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site with a WordPress website, or
- Keep your existing web site and add a WordPress-powered 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 design of your existing website using a closely-matching theme for WordPress.
To use WordPress as your main site, install the software in the “root” directory of your domain (i.e. mydomainname.com).
If you 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 whatever you like).
If you already have an existing site that you don’t want to delete or replace with a WordPress site, you can choose 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 continue reading, click on the link below:
This tutorial is part of an tutorial series designed to help you learn how to grow your business online using a WordPress-powered website and proven web marketing strategies.
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