In Part One of our Web Site 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 different than a professionally-configured WordPress website or blog. An expertly configured WordPress blog is a web site that is not only built using the WordPress CMS platform, 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 functionality of WordPress and the way it integrates with various services, specifically in areas like SEO, content syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do is add great content on a regular basis to automatically bring web traffic!)
Once your WordPress site has been fully set up and expertly configured, all you then need to do to drive more web traffic is publish content on a regular basis.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of this automated web traffic system are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we look at the “Setup” phase of the automation 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 Web Traffic Blueprint – Setup
If You Have No Website Yet
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, then it’s really quite simple … get WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system on the planet. 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 see just how popular WordPress is as a platform for web businesses, see this article: Impressive Statistics About WordPress Usage
After choosing to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will use to run your web presence on.
This is important because there are two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress – Self-Hosted Or Hosted?
(WordPress.org vs WordPress.com)
WordPress offers users a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option lets you download the full-featured WordPress CMS application for free from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your site for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, a number of limitations on 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 business presence online and you want to set up the traffic system described here, then you should choose the “self-hosted” WordPress version. 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 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 Have An Existing Web Site
If you already have an existing website, 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 Was Built Using WordPress
If your 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 runs on something other than the WP CMS platform, then you have to make some decisions.
Take a look at the simple diagram below …
(Use this simple diagram to help you choose where to set up a WordPress website 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 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-powered blog, make sure to use the self-hosted version of WordPress, which requires your own domain name and web hosting, but allows you to fully configure your blog’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing site using a suitable theme.
To use WordPress for your main website, install the software in the “root” folder of your domain name (e.g. mydomainname.com).
If you have an existing 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 like).
If you already have an existing website 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 blog
Once you have set up your WordPress site, the next step is to configure its internal settings. This step is addressed in the next article in the WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Section 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 online and drive traffic sustainably using a WordPress-powered website or blog and proven marketing strategies that are easy and quick to implement.
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)
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