What is a webmaster?
The problem with the term “webmaster” is that it has been used so often that it has lost it’s meaning. What does a webmaster do?
1) Original site design, from the graphics, look-and-feel and navigation.
2) Text layout, editing, conversion from other formats. Of course some webmasters have to create the content from scratch as well.
3) System Administrator: even if the webmaster has a really cool cpanel to help him/her along, there is still a lot to do here from setting up email account to making sure there are regular backups.
4) Programming: JavaScripts, ASP/PHP, interaction with databases like MySQL, eCommerce
5) Search engine optimization: Gotta somehow keep up with the latest news on how to get and keep your site(s) at the top.
6) Salesperson and psychologist/sociologist: for for-profit sites the webmaster needs to be able to guide the visitor to and through the sales process, or figure out how to get him to look at the site’s ads.
7) Marketing and joint-venture (JV) expert: bringing in new visitors through joint deals with other sites or shrewd advertising.
8) Manager: If lucky, the webmaster will have some help, meaning people that have to be managed.
9) Accountant, bookkeeper, billing department, sales office, human resources, bank liason (check depositor) and more: for those of us who run our own companies, the web site itself is just part of the process, though the most fun part. Keeping the business running often takes more time than actually working on sites.
Quite a lot of hats to wear! I can tell you from experience that I have worn and continue to fulfill all of the above roles. So let’s return the real meaning to the work “webmaster” — it means master of the Web, in all (ok, many) of its different parts.
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