In Part 1 of our Website 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 web site is not the same as a professionally-configured WordPress website. An expertly configured WordPress web site is a site that is not only powered by the WordPress CMS, 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 other sites, specifically in areas like SEO, content syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress blog, all you have to do is publish great content on a regular basis to automatically start driving traffic!)
Once you have your WordPress site expertly configured and fully set up, all you need to do then is publish content regularly to generate more traffic organically.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of this automated website traffic machine are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of the blueprint. We will 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 System – Setup Phase
If You Have No Web Presence Yet
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, then it’s really quite simple … build your web presence with WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest to use content management system available. 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 see just how popular WordPress has become as a platform for web businesses, see this article: WordPress: Facts And Figures
After choosing to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will use to build your web presence on.
This step is important because there are 2 types of WordPress platforms available …
WordPress.org Or WordPress.com?
(WordPress Self-Hosted vs WordPress Hosted)
WordPress offers website owners a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
With the “self-hosted” option 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.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, a number of 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 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 can fully customize 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 with a WordPress site hosted 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 the website has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: How To Check If Your Web Site Is Powered By WordPress
If your website is powered by 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 web site is not a WordPress site, you have to make some choices.
Take a look at the simple diagram below …
(Use the above diagram to decide where to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website with a WordPress-driven website, or
- Keep your existing website and add a WordPress blog. This blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main site.
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 a domain name and webhosting, but allows you to fully configure your blog’s settings and customize the design of your existing site using a closely-matching theme.
To use WordPress for your main site, install the software in the “root” directory 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 your subfolder anything you like).
If you 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 its internal settings. This step is addressed in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Section 2
To continue reading this article, click here:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials designed to help you learn how to grow your business online cost-effectively with a WordPress-driven website and proven web marketing strategies.
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