In Part One of our Web Site Traffic Blueprint article series, 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 website. An ”expertly configured” WordPress site is a website or blog that is not only built using WordPress, but has also been expertly set up and configured (either by yourself or professionally) to take full advantage of the tremendous power, ease-of-use and built-in functionality of WordPress and its integration with other services, specifically in areas like search engine optimization, content syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do to bring more web traffic is publish great content regularly!)
Once your WordPress site has been expertly configured and fully set up, all you need to do then to bring more web traffic is add great content on a regular basis.
As outlined in Part One of this article series, the components of the automated online traffic blueprint 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 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 Automation Blueprint – Setup
If You Have No Website Yet
If you don’t have a website yet, then it’s really quite simple … build a WordPress site!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-use content management system available. 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, see this article: Some Impressive Facts And Figures About WordPress Usage
After choosing to build your website with WordPress, the next step is to decide which WordPress platform you will use to build your web presence on.
This is important as there are 2 types of WordPress platforms you can choose from …
WordPress.org Or WordPress.com?
(WordPress Hosted Or WordPress Self-Hosted?)
WordPress offers users a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
The “self-hosted” option means you can download the full-featured WordPress software at no cost from WordPress.org and host a WordPress site or blog under your own domain name.
With the “hosted option”, WordPress will host 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 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 site at WordPress.com. You get to have complete 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 by hosting a WordPress site on your own domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Have An Existing Web Site
If you already own an existing web site, first, check if your website has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Blog Runs On WordPress Software
If your existing website 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 website was built using something other than WordPress software, then you have to make some decisions.
Take a look at the flowchart below …
(Use the above diagram to choose how to set up a WordPress site on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing website with a WordPress website, or
- Keep your existing web site and add a WordPress blog. Your WordPress blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main site.
If you choose to keep your existing site and add a WordPress-driven 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 look and feel of your existing web site using a suitable WP theme.
To use WordPress for your main website, install it in the “root” folder of your domain (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 subdirectory anything you like).
If you already have an existing 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 addressed in the next article in the series.
This is the end of Part 2
To read more, click here:
This article is part of a comprehensive series of articles designed to help website owners learn how to grow their business online with a WordPress website and proven marketing strategies that are easy and quick to implement.
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)
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