Laying the foundations for a successful WordPress website

Hi my name is Mitz from WordPress Website Builder. I build websites for a living and love sharing what I know about websites. When building your first, second, or one hundredth website, laying the right foundations down in the first place should be your number one task. Certain things just have to be done and I have found that a “website foundation checklist” is a great help. As I only use WordPress for my websites, the list only applies to this content management system and the steps I use to build a WordPress Website. Many of the steps will be familiar to you, however we often forget to complete them all before launching into a website or blog.

Research a niche.Make a list of keywords that apply to your niche.Buy a domain name that includes your top keywords.Install the website. Upload WordPress.Install a basic theme. You will probably change it later so don’t waste time now.Add Categories that use your keywords. Do not make them up as you go.Change permalinks structure and settings for WordPress.Install all your plugins that you use. (I have another list for that)Create a Twitter account, a Facebook Page, and a Feedburner account. Hook these accounts into Twitterfeed.Add links to these accounts on your sidebar.Add your Mailchimp or Aweber optin code to the side bar in the top position.Setup 7 auto responder emails to to go out to your new optins.Add 5-10 great posts. Schedule 20 more.Change your privacy settings to let the world in.#1  Research a niche

There are many ways to research a niche, however the easiest one is to do a search in Google for something you are interested in. Then do the same search in the Google keyword tool and Google insights. What you are looking for is a niche that gets people searching for it but doesn’t have too much competition. Some people also go to Clickbank to find a product to sell and then create a website around that. If you are new to all of this then I have already prepared a basic step by step article and video tutorial showing how to research a niche for your new website.

#2  Make a list of keywords that apply to your niche

When you are researching your niche in Google search and Google keyword tool you will see a list of related searches and keywords that you can add to your keyword list. These words are great to use as WordPress categories, subjects for posts, and link building anchor text.

#3  Buy a domain name that includes your top keywords

Buying a domain name with your keywords in it can take you to the top of Google organic search. If you build the right foundations to your website you will most likely stay there too. For example the first website I made was a great domain name, Tips4pc.com, however I wanted to rank for “computer tips” and the guy that included this in his domain name is always number one in Google search. I have to struggle while he has the keywords in his domain name. After a few years I finally woke up to this mistake and created all my websites with keywords in the domain name. I am number one for all of these.

#4  Install the website. Upload WordPress

Again I have learnt by my mistakes and now use WordPress for every website I build. Why not use it when it does everything for you?

#5  Install a basic theme. You will probably change it later so don’t waste time now

This is where most people waste time, installing a theme, tweaking it, and then changing their minds and starting all over again. I now install a simple theme, very basic with minimal features, and add to it. By the time you add the plugins and banners, the whole website comes alive.

#6  Add Categories that use your keywords. Do not make them up as you go

People usually just slap any old category into a WordPress website, however I have found that if you plan your categories and create them beforehand thoroughly, you will benefit from more natural search traffic. If your categories are clearly defined it also helps the visitor find what they want.

#7  Change Permalinks structure and settings for WordPress

Of course everone knows you have to change the permalinks in WordPress. It takes about one minute to do and changes your urls into search engine friendly URLS.

#8  Install all your plugins that you use. (I have another list for that)

Yes I have a list of plugins that I use and choose from that the ones I need for a particular niche or style of website. Installing plugins is very important and must be done before launching your website. That way every post from the start will be pinged, added to the sitemap, and optimized, all to your advantage. Comment plugins encourage input from website visitors which is a must when building a website.

#9  Create a Twitter account, a Facebook Page, and a Feedburner account. Hook these accounts into Twitterfeed

For every website I create it’s own branded Twitter account, Facebook page and a Feedburner account. Then I go to Twitterfeed.com and enter all these details in. Twitterfeed will publish my posts automatically to my Twitter and Facebook accounts via my RSS feed. So all I have to do is post on my website and information is shot out everywhere. Of course there are other software and websites that do the same thing. It doesn’t matter which one you use as long as you are doing it.

#10  Add links to these accounts on your sidebar

Once you have created these accounts you should make them accessible on your website. This way you will get people following you. It will not happen if you do not display the icons.

#11  Add your Mailchimp or Aweber optin code to the side bar in the top position

If you do not have a Mailchimp account or an Aweber account then you are not serious about your website marketing and your foundations. Both these companies offer a free signup for new accounts so you have no excuse. I have a Mailchimp account and it is used to collect email addresses for me. I just create a new list for every website I build, then create a form for that list, and get the code and paste it into a text widget on my sidebar. Its that easy. Mailchimp does the rest.

#12  Setup 7 auto responder emails to to go out to your new optins

If you set up emails in your account to send out to your optins and certain times, automatically, it will save you time and stress in the end. I usually setup 7 emails to send out over a few months. The more emails you have lined up, the better. In the emails you can link back to your website, add affiliate links, and more. Always give valuable information to keep them wanting more. Setting up this foundation is very valuable. You do not want people signing up to your list and then receiving no correspondence from you. You need to keep your website fresh in their minds and give them a reason to visit.

#13  Add 5-10 great posts. Schedule 20 more

When starting a website you need to make it look like it has some content. Visitors who land there want to see something interesting. You also need to make sure your content is relavent to your niche and valubale information at the same time. If you are not very good at writing content yourself you can outsource the job. This is all the rage at the moment. Scheduling your posts in advance will give you time to concentrate on other things like getting traffic and SEO.

To schedule a post simply ==>click on the Edit link next to Publish immediately==>then move the publish date forward==>click ok==>the publish button will then change to a schedule button==>press it to schedule.

#14  Change your privacy settings to let the world in

I know this might sound like a lot of work, but who said it was easy to start a website? You can just slap up a website and hope for the best, but why not do the hard yards first and then sit back and relax, knowing that the background work is done. Once you have done all these steps you can concentrate on creating great content for your website, knowing that the wheels are already turning.

I have more details about each step on my newest website WordPress Website Builder. If you examine this website you will see that I have followed the steps above to the T. The website is ranked #1 for my main keywords ” WordPress Website Builder” and is climbing the ladder on other harder to get keywords also.

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Filed under: Motivation, foundations, Laying, successful, Website, WordPress