In Part One of our WordPress Website Traffic Blueprint article series, we explained that the key to creating an automated traffic generation machine is to use an “expertly configured” WordPress website.
As we also explained, an expertly configured WordPress website is different than a professionally-configured WordPress web site. An ”expertly configured” WordPress website or blog is a website or blog 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 enormous power, ease-of-use and built-in 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 web site, all you have to do to automatically generate more traffic is add content regularly!)
Once you have your WordPress site fully set up and expertly configured, all you need to do to automatically start driving web traffic is publish content on a regular basis.
As outlined in Part One 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 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
If You Don’t Have A Website Yet
If you haven’t got a web presence yet, then it’s really quite simple … build a WordPress site!
WordPress is the most powerful, flexible, cost-effective and the easiest to use content management system on the planet. 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 is with businesses worldwide, see this article: Statistics About WordPress Usage
After choosing to build your site with WordPress, the next step is to decide which type of WordPress platform you will use to run your web presence on.
This step is very important as there are 2 types of WordPress platforms available …
Self-Hosted Or Hosted WordPress Site?
(WordPress.org vs WordPress.com)
WordPress offers a “self-hosted” and a “hosted” option.
WordPress.org allows you to download the full-featured WordPress application for free and self-host a WordPress site or blog using your own domain name. This is the “self-hosted” WordPress option.
In the “hosted option”, WordPress will host 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 plan 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 platform. 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 full 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 options 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 Have An Existing Web Site
If you already have an existing web site, first check to see if the website has been built using WordPress.
If you need help with this step, check this article: How To Tell If Your Site Is Powered By WordPress
If your web site runs on WordPress, 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 website is not a WordPress site, then you will need to make some decisions.
Take a look at the simple flowchart below …
(Use this simple flowchart to choose how to set up WordPress on your domain)
Basically, you have two choices:
- Replace your existing web site so that your main website is built with WordPress, or
- Keep your existing web site and add a WordPress-driven blog. This blog will then be used to drive traffic to your main site.
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 a domain name and webhosting, but allows you to fully configure your site’s settings and customize the design and style of your existing site using an appropriate theme.
To use WordPress as your main site, install the software in the “root” directory of your domain name (i.e. http://mydomainname.com).
If you have an existing 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 whatever you like).
If you have a 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 site
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 Two
To read more, click here:
This tutorial is part of a comprehensive series of articles designed to help you learn how to grow your business online and drive traffic organically with a WordPress-powered website and proven online marketing methods.
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