In Part 1 of our Website Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to turning a 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 not the same thing as a professionally-configured WordPress website or blog. An ”expertly configured” WordPress website or blog is a website or blog that is not only built with 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 functionality of WordPress and its integration with various services, specifically in areas like SEO, content syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress site, all you have to do is publish great content regularly to drive traffic!)
Once your WordPress site has been expertly configured and fully set up, all you then need to do is publish content regularly to generate traffic.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of this automated website traffic machine are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we look at the “Setup” phase of the automation process. We will help you understand the best way to get started if you don’t have a web presence 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 Have No Website Yet
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, it’s quite simple … build your 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 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 with businesses worldwide, see this article: Statistics About WordPress Usage
After choosing to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to choose which type of WordPress platform you will use to build your web presence on.
This is important as there are 2 types of WordPress platforms available …
WordPress.org Or WordPress.com?
(WordPress – Self-Hosted Or Hosted?)
WordPress offers users a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org allows you to download the full-featured WordPress application at no cost and self-host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress hosts your blog for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, a number of limitations to 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 web presence 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 can fully customize 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 by hosting a WordPress site on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Site
If you already have an existing web site, check if the site has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: How To Check If A Website Is Powered By WordPress
If your website runs on 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 website is not a WP website, you have some choices to make.
Take a look at the diagram below …
(Use the above flowchart to choose how to set up a WordPress website on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site with a WordPress website, or
- Keep your existing site and add a WordPress blog. This blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main web site.
If you choose to keep your existing site and add a WordPress-powered blog, make sure to use the self-hosted version of WordPress, which requires a 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 an appropriate WP theme.
To use WordPress for your main site, install the software in the “root” folder of your domain (i.e. http://www.mydomainname.com).
If you have an existing website, then you will want to install WordPress in a subfolder of your domain, e.g. www.mydomainname.com/blog (you can name the subdirectory anything you want).
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 covered in the next article in the WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Part Two
To read more, click here:
This article is part of a comprehensive tutorial series aimed at helping website owners learn how to grow their business online inexpensively and drive traffic sustainably using a WordPress-powered website and proven web marketing strategies.
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"This is an awesome training series. I have a pretty good understanding of WordPress already, but this is helping me to move somewhere from intermediate to advanced user!" - Kim Lednum
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