In Part One of our WordPress Web Site Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to turning a website into an automated traffic generation machine is to use an “expertly configured” WordPress website.
As we also explained, an expertly configured WordPress website or blog is not the same thing as a professionally-configured WordPress website or blog. An expertly configured WordPress site is a site that is not only built using the WordPress CMS, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take advantage of the enormous power, features and functionality of WordPress and how it can be integrated with various services, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, external site notification and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress site, all you have to do to automatically drive more traffic is publish great content on a regular basis!)
Once your WordPress site has been fully set up and expertly configured, all you then need to do to automatically generate more traffic is add great content regularly.
As outlined in Part 1 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 the blueprint. The focus of this section is to 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 Web Traffic Blueprint – Setup Phase
If You Haven’t Got A Web Presence Yet
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, then it’s really quite simple … build your website with WordPress!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system available. We provide loads of articles, tips, and tutorials about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress to grow your business online.
For example, to see just how popular WordPress has become around the world, see this article: WordPress Usage Statistics
After making the choice to build your web presence with WordPress, the next step is to decide which type of WordPress platform you will build your web presence on.
This step is very important because there are 2 types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress.org Or WordPress.com?
(WordPress Self-Hosted vs WordPress Hosted)
WordPress offers a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
WordPress.org lets you download the full-featured WordPress application at no cost and self-host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
With 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 it is hosted for free at WordPress.com.
If you are planning to build a professional business presence online and you want to set up the traffic system described here, then choose the “self-hosted” WordPress version. 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 domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Web Site
If you already own an existing web site, first, check if the website has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Blog Was Built Using The WordPress CMS Platform
If your web site is a WordPress site, 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 not built with WordPress, you have to make some choices.
Take a look at the simple diagram below. It will help you choose where to set up a WordPress website on your domain …
(Use the above flowchart to choose where to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site so that your main website is built using WordPress, 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 website.
If you choose to keep your existing website and add a WordPress-driven 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 blog’s settings and customize the design of your existing website using a closely-matching theme.
To use WordPress for your main website, install it in the “root” folder of your domain (i.e. http://mydomainname.com).
If you 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 anything you want).
If you 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 explained in the next article in the WordPress Traffic Blueprint series.
This is the end of Part Two
To read more, click here:
This tutorial is part of an article series designed to help site owners learn how to grow their business online using a WordPress-powered website and proven web marketing strategies.
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