A few years ago, I wrote an article about what it was like to be a Webmaster, and while in some ways the job hasn't changed too much, in other ways, it's very different.
In an ongoing survey I have been collecting Webmaster titles that people use.
Current Results
- 32% prefer to be called "Web Designer"
- 22% prefer to be called "Web Developer"
- 21% prefer to be called "Webmaster"
- 61% consider themselves professionals, whatever title they use
Some of the other interesting titles people prefer are:
- Information Architect
- Graphic Artist
- Web Producer
- Web Guru
- Web Creator
- Webinatrix "The female equivalent of webmaster is webinatrix"
- Webmaestro "A webmaster (or webmaestro) is in charge of a website"
What is a Webmaster?
In my opinion, a Webmaster is the person (or group) who maintains the Web server and keeps it running. Therefore, in order to be a Webmaster, you would need to know server administration (IIS, Apache, or Netscape) and how to keep the machine up and running (NT or Unix).
I call myself a Web Developer or Web Development Manager (for my work, I do both). I believe that a good Web Developer should have a good working ability in at least two of the following skillset:
- HTML (actually, this really is a must)
- CGI programming - Perl, C, or some other programming language
- Graphic arts ability - with knowledge of Photoshop, Illustrator, and other graphics packages
- Writing ability - preferably with a marketing focus, as that is what most Web writing is
- Client side programming such as JavaScript, Flash, or Ajax.
- Server side programming such as SSI, ASP, PHP, ColdFusion, or other tools
- Database knowledge - not necessarily a DBA, but the ability to build a database and use it on a Web
Obviously, the more of these skills that you have, the more marketable you are.
You can also read what other people think a Webmaster is.
