In Part 1 of our Web 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 web site is different than a professionally-configured WordPress website. An ”expertly configured” WordPress site is a site that is not only powered by WordPress, 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 built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with various services, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, external site notification and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress site, all you have to do is add great content on a regular basis to automatically drive more web traffic!)
Once you have your WordPress site expertly configured and fully set up, all you need to do is add great content on a regular basis to automatically start driving web traffic.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of this automated web traffic system 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 get started 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 Automation Blueprint – Setup Phase
If You Don’t Have A Website Yet
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, it’s quite simple … build a website with WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system on the planet. We provide many articles, tips, and tutorials about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress to grow your business online.
For example, to see just how popular WordPress is, see this article: Statistics And Usage Of WordPress
After making the choice to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to choose which type of WordPress platform you will 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 – Hosted Or Self-Hosted?)
WordPress offers users 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 hosts your site for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some limitations to what you can and can’t do with your site when it is hosted for free at WordPress.com.
If you plan 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 you can overcome the limitations of the free hosting platform by upgrading to a paid option, but then why not start off by hosting a WordPress site on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Web Site
If you already own an existing web site, check if your 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 WP-Checking Tools
If your existing site 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 existing web site is not a WP web site, then you have to make some choices.
Take a look at the diagram below …
(Use this simple diagram to decide how to set up a WordPress web site on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing site with a WordPress site, or
- Keep your existing web site 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 web site and add a WordPress-driven 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 site’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing web site using an appropriate theme for WordPress.
To use WordPress for your main site, install the software in the “root” directory of your domain (i.e. http://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 subfolder whatever you want).
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 blog
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 keep reading this article, click here:
- Web Site Traffic Blueprint Part Three – Learn How To Attract More Website Visitors For Your Business
This article is part of an article series aimed at helping you learn how to grow your business online inexpensively and drive traffic automatically with a WordPress website and proven online marketing methods.
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