10 more suggestions as to what a webmaster is
Wednesday April 23, 2008
This month I received 10 submissions to the "What is a Webmaster" survey. What do you think a Webmaster is? What do you use as your job title? Most people who read this site don't like the title "webmistress", but beyond that there isn't a lot of consensus. The following comments are the latest I've received, but you can read all of them in What is a Webmaster 4 - Reader Comments.
- "I find a web master is who knows content about development and design both. However maynot be as proficient in design but should be in development." - nishant
I wonder why people always feel that webmasters are less proficient at design - Jennifer - "A Webmaster is someone who oversees the whole website. This could include any number of things from graphic design to server work. The word master insinuates that you know more than others but if you are in control and overseeing a website than you would know more than others about that particular site." - Christi
That's how I define "master" as well - Jennifer - "As the title relates to me it involves all aspects of running, maintaining and publishing a website. These are two articles I wrote regarding 1. What a Webmaster does and the Tools I use: http://mikescomputerinfo.com/sprytemp1.htm 2.Securing the website from attacks from Hackers, spammers and spambots: http://mikescomputerinfo.com/sprytempspambot.htm I started this site in 2001 and it now has 700+ static pages and over 1500+ files and images. I maintain and update this site with no other help." - Mike
- "A Webmaster should have skills in management, design, development, and maintenance. A webmaster might work with a team of specialists. I think of a Webmaster as a producer/director. A webmaster turns the vision into the finished product and manages future changes. " - Terri
- "A webmaster functions as a digital publisher and editor, typically two different positions in the print world. Publisher is defined as, 'One that is engaged in publishing printed material'. Editor is defined as, 'One who edits, especially as an occupation'. A print publisher works in picas, points, and CYMK, while the webmaster works in pixels, ems, and RGB. Print uses columns and page breaks, and markup languages uses divs and tables – and so on." - Gary
- "A person who can both develop a site (without recourse to WYSIWYG) and maintain it." - Rob
- The executive manager of a website." - Gary
- "I agree with the terms "the title Webmaster should be placed upon the person that is responsible for the website in it's entirety." It should be covers from concepts, design, programming, user experiences, SEO etc." - Defy
- "A UNIX guy somewhere in a cave just constantly tweaking the Apache web server, and churning html code when time allows." - Mike
Only a guy? I know UNIX... - Jennifer - "The person who created and maintained the website for which she holds the title." - Carol
Comments
Years ago, I actually had the official title of “WebMaster”. My role was to develop/maintain the intranet site, including the portal to allow internal customers to be able to upload their own webpages, and other documents. I was also responsible for maintaining the servers across two facilities and all necessary services running, including the database. Along with that, I sometimes provided training for customers lacking HTML experience. Typically, in my experience, WebMasters usually deal more with Intranet rather than www sites, but not necessarily all the time depending on the internal organization of the company and how their departments are laid out.
Sorry to be exclusive in my comment about the “UNIX guy”. But in all fairness, a UNIX gal would never be caught living in a cave. All the rest applies, though.