In Part 1 of our Web Site Traffic Blueprint article series overview, we explained that the key to turning your website into an automated traffic generation machine is to use an “expertly configured” WordPress website.
As we also explained, an expertly configured WordPress web site is not the same thing as a professionally-configured WordPress website or blog. An ”expertly configured” WordPress website or blog is a site that is not only built using 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 functionality of WordPress and how it integrates with various services, specifically in areas like SEO, 3rd-party site syndication and analytics.
(With an expertly configured WordPress web site, all you have to do is publish content on a regular basis to automatically drive more traffic!)
Once your WordPress site has been fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do then to automatically drive traffic is add content on a regular basis.
As outlined in Part 1 of this article series, the components of this automated online traffic system are as follows:
- Setup
- Configure
- Automate
- Optimize
In this article, we look at the “Setup” phase of the automation process. 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 Traffic Blueprint – Setup
If You Don’t Have A Website Yet
If you haven’t got a website yet, then it’s really 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, 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 around the world, see this article: Statistics And Market Share About WordPress
After making the choice to build your web presence with WordPress, the next step is to decide which type of WordPress platform you will run your web presence on.
This is important because there are 2 types of WordPress platforms available …
WordPress Hosted Or WordPress Self-Hosted?
(WordPress – Hosted vs Self-Hosted)
WordPress offers a ”hosted” and a “self-hosted” option.
With the “self-hosted” option you can download the full-featured WordPress CMS application for free 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, some limitations on what you can and can’t do with your site when WordPress.com hosts it at no cost.
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 platform. The benefits of choosing the “self-hosted” option (WordPress.org) far outweigh those of hosting a free blog at WordPress.com. You have complete control over your web presence and avoid the limitations of the hosted option. Keep in mind that the free hosting limitations can be overcome by upgrading to a paid option, but then why not just start off with a WordPress site hosted on your domain and avoid the hassles of upgrading later?
If You Already Have An Existing Site
If you already have an existing site, first check to see if the site 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 existing blog runs on WordPress 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 web site is not a WP web site, then you have some decisions to make.
Take a look at the flowchart below …
(Use this simple diagram to choose how to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site with a WordPress website, 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 site.
If you choose to keep your existing web site 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 site’s settings and customize the design of your existing site using an appropriate WP theme.
To use WordPress as your main website, install the platform in the “root” directory of your domain name (e.g. http://mydomainname.com).
If you already 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 your subdirectory anything you like).
If you already 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 series.
This is the end of Part Two
To keep reading about this topic, click on the link below:
This article is part of an tutorial series aimed at helping you learn how to grow your business online with a WordPress-driven website or blog and proven web marketing methods.
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"This is AMAZING! I had learnt about how to use WordPress previously, but this covers absolutely everything and more!! Incredible value! Thank you!" - Monique, Warrior Forum
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