In Part 1 of our WordPress Website Traffic Blueprint article series, we explained that the key to turning a 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. An ”expertly configured” WordPress website 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 full advantage of the enormous power, ease-of-use and functionality of WordPress and the way it integrates with various sites, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, third-party site notification and reporting.
(With an expertly configured WordPress blog, all you have to do is publish great content on a regular basis to bring more web traffic!)
Once your WordPress site has been expertly configured and fully set up, all you then need to do is publish great content on a regular basis to generate more web traffic organically.
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 look at the “Setup” phase of this process. The focus of this section is to 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 Don’t Have A Web Presence
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 many articles, tutorials, and tips on this site 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 Statistics
After making the choice to build your web presence with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will use to build your web presence on.
This step is very important because there are 2 types of WordPress platforms available …
WordPress.org vs WordPress.com
(WordPress.org vs WordPress.com)
WordPress offers a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org lets you download the full-featured WordPress software at no cost and host a WordPress site or blog under 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, a number of limitations on 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 web presence 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 own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Web Site
If you already have an existing site, first, check if your web site has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Website Was Built Using WordPress Software
If your existing website runs on the WordPress CMS platform, 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 built using something other than WordPress, you have to make some choices.
Take a look at the simple diagram below. It will help you decide how to set up WordPress on your domain …
(Use this simple flowchart to decide where to set up a WordPress website or blog on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing site with a WordPress site, or
- Keep your existing site and add a WordPress blog. This blog will then be expertly configured and used to drive traffic to your main web site.
If you choose to keep your existing site 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 blog’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing website using a suitable theme for WordPress.
To use WordPress as your main website, install it in the “root” directory of your domain name (e.g. http://www.mydomainname.com).
If you have an existing 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 like).
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 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 Part 2
To continue reading this article, click here:
This article is part of a comprehensive series of articles designed to help business owners learn how to grow their business online inexpensively using a WordPress website and proven marketing strategies that are easy and quick to implement.
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