In Part 1 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 web site is not the same thing as a professionally-configured WordPress site. An expertly configured WordPress site is a web site 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 advantage of the enormous power, ease-of-use and built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with other services, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, 3rd-party site notification and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress blog, all you have to do to automatically start driving web traffic is add great content regularly!)
Once your WordPress site has been expertly configured and fully set up, all you then need to do to automatically drive traffic is add great content on a regular basis.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of this automated website traffic system are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss 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 Web Presence Yet
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, it’s quite simple … get a WordPress site!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system on the planet. We provide loads of 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 is around the world, see this article: Facts And Figures About WordPress Usage
After making the choice to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to choose which type of WordPress platform you will run your web presence on.
This step is important because there are 2 types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress.org vs WordPress.com
(WordPress.org vs WordPress.com)
WordPress offers a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
With the “self-hosted” option you can download the full-featured WordPress CMS application at no cost from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your site for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, a number of limitations to what you can and can’t do with your site when WordPress.com hosts it for free.
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 site 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 options by upgrading to a paid option, but then why not start off by hosting a WordPress site on your domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Website
If you already have an existing website, first, check if it 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 existing website was built with 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 site is not powered by WordPress, then you have some decisions to make.
Take a look at the flowchart below …
(Use the above diagram to help you choose where to set up a WordPress website or blog on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing site with a WordPress-powered site, or
- Keep your existing website and add a WordPress blog. This blog will then be 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 web hosting, but allows you to fully configure your site’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing site using a closely-matching theme for WordPress.
To use WordPress as your main website, install the software in the “root” folder of your domain name (e.g. mydomainname.com).
If you already 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 want).
If you already have an existing 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 it. This step is covered in the next article in the WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Section Two
To keep reading this article, click on the link below:
This article is part of an article series designed to help you learn how to grow your business online inexpensively and drive traffic sustainably with a WordPress-powered website or blog and proven web marketing methods.
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