In Part 1 of our Website 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 site is different than a professionally-configured WordPress web site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress blog is a website or blog that is not only powered by the WordPress CMS platform, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take advantage of the tremendous power, features and functionality of WordPress and the way it can be integrated with various services, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, content syndication and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do is publish great content regularly to automatically drive more traffic!)
Once you have your WordPress site expertly configured and fully set up, all you need to do is publish great content regularly to automatically drive more traffic.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of this automated online traffic machine are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we look at the “Setup” phase of this process. You will learn 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
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, it’s quite simple … get WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest to use content management system on the planet. We provide loads of articles, tips, and tutorials about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress to grow your business online.
For example, to learn just how popular WordPress is around the world, see this article: Some Surprising Facts And Figures About WordPress Usage
After making the choice to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will run your web presence on.
This is important as there are two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress – Hosted Or Self-Hosted?
(WordPress.org vs WordPress.com)
WordPress provides users with a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option allows you to download the full-featured WordPress application at no cost from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name.
With 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 site when it is hosted for free at WordPress.com.
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 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 domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Web Site
If you already own an existing site, first, check if your web site has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Web Site And Free WP-Checking Tools
If your existing website runs on the WordPress CMS platform, 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 was built using something other than WP software, then you will need to make some decisions.
Take a look at the diagram below. It will help you decide how to set up WordPress on your domain …
(Use this simple flowchart to help you decide where to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site with a WordPress site, or
- Keep your existing site and add a WordPress blog. Your WordPress blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main web 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 site’s settings and customize the design of your existing web site using a suitable WP theme.
To use WordPress for your main website, install the software in the “root” folder of your domain (i.e. 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 subdirectory whatever you like).
If you have a 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 site
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 Section Two
To read more, click on the link below:
This tutorial is part of an tutorial series aimed at helping you learn how to grow your business online inexpensively and drive traffic automatically with a WordPress-powered website or blog and proven marketing strategies that are easy and quick to implement.
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