In Part 1 of our WordPress Web Traffic Blueprint article series, we explained that the key to turning your site into an automated 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 website or blog. An ”expertly configured” WordPress website or blog is a web site 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 built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with other sites, specifically in areas like SEO, content syndication and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do is add content on a regular basis to automatically generate web traffic!)
Once your WordPress site has been expertly configured and fully set up, all you need to do to automatically bring more web traffic is publish content regularly.
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 discuss the “Setup” phase of the traffic automation process. The focus of this section is to help you understand the best way to start 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 Web Traffic Blueprint – Setup Phase
If You Haven’t Got A Website
If you don’t have a website yet, then it’s really quite simple … build your web presence with WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-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 learn just how popular WordPress is with businesses worldwide, see this article: Some Facts And Figures About WordPress
After choosing to build your web presence with WordPress, the next step is to choose which type of WordPress platform you will build your web presence on.
This step is important because there are two types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress – Hosted vs Self-Hosted
(WordPress Hosted Or WordPress Self-Hosted?)
WordPress offers both a ”hosted” and a “self-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.
In 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 WordPress.com hosts it for free.
If you are planning 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 site at WordPress.com. You have full 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 with a WordPress site hosted on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Website
If you already own an existing website, first, check if it has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: How To Tell If Your Web Site Is A WP Web Site
If your web site was built using WP software, 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 website is not powered by WordPress, you have to make some choices.
Take a look at the simple flowchart below …
(Use this simple diagram to choose where to set up a WordPress website on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing site so that your main website is built with WordPress, 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 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 and style of your existing site using an appropriate WP theme.
To use WordPress as your main website, install the software in the “root” folder of your domain (e.g. http://www.mydomainname.com).
If you already 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 your subfolder whatever you want).
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 it. This step is explained in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Section 2
To read the rest of this article, click here:
This article is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials aimed at helping you learn how to grow your business and drive traffic sustainably with a WordPress-powered website or blog and proven web marketing strategies.
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