In Part One of our WordPress Website 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 website or blog is different than a professionally-configured WordPress site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress blog is a site that is not only built using 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 built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with various services, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, external site syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress website, all you have to do is add content on a regular basis to generate more traffic!)
Once you have your WordPress site fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do then is publish content on a regular basis to automatically bring more traffic.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of this automated web traffic machine are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we discuss the “Setup” phase of this process. You will learn the best way to get started 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 Have No Website Yet
If you haven’t got a website yet, it’s 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 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: WordPress: Facts And Statistics
After making the choice to build your web presence with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will build your web presence on.
This is important as there are 2 types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
Self-Hosted vs Hosted WordPress Site
(WordPress Self-Hosted Or WordPress Hosted?)
WordPress offers a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option lets you download the full-featured WordPress software for free from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress will host your site for free at WordPress.com. There are, however, some 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 version. 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 platform by upgrading to a paid option, but then why not just start off with a WordPress site hosted on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Site
If you already own an existing website, first, check if the website 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 WP-Checking Tools
If your site is a WP website, 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 uses a platform technology other than WordPress, you have some choices to make.
Take a look at the flowchart below …
(Use the above flowchart to help you choose where to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website so that your main website is powered by WordPress, or
- Keep your existing site and add a WordPress-powered blog. This blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main website.
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 webhosting, but allows you to fully configure your blog’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing website using a suitable theme.
To use WordPress for your main site, install the software in the “root” directory of your domain (i.e. http://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 subfolder 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 blog
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 Section Two
To continue reading this article, click on the link below:
This article is part of a comprehensive series of tutorials designed to help you learn how to grow your business online cost-effectively and drive traffic organically with a WordPress website and proven web marketing strategies.
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