Webmaster

A webmaster (some women prefer webmistress) is a person responsible for designing, developing, marketing, or maintaining website(s). The term webservant is sometimes used when the person is providing such services to a church or charity. The webmaster of a website may also be called a system administrator, the author of a site, or the website administrator.

Webmaster as a profession

Webmasters are practitioners of web communication. They are responsible for all aspects of an organization's web presence, including getting content from web producers & Graphic Artists; maintaining technical operations, and managing other web related business matters. They may have specific areas of expertise, but are most valuable as generalists who can manage all aspects of web operations.

On a smaller site, the webmaster will typically be the owner, developer and/or programmer, in addition to the author of the content.

On larger sites, the webmaster will act as a coordinator and overseer to the activities of other people working on the site and is usually an employee of the owner of the website, hence webmaster can also be listed as an occupation. If the webmaster is hired by a larger website, or promoted to the position, he/she could be doing things ranging from system administrating work, to managing large projects, and making sure everyone is doing their job(s) correctly.

The webmaster of a large site may have many of the duties of an Information Architect, including ensuring site usability, user experience and menu taxonomy. The goal of the duties is to ensure that the site is easy for users to navigate and use.

Another, broader, definition of webmaster is a businessperson who uses online media to sell products and/or services. This broader definition of webmaster covers not just the technical aspects of overseeing website construction and maintenance but also management of content, advertising, marketing, and order fulfillment for the website.

Core responsibilities of the webmaster include the regulation and management of access rights of different users of a website, the appearance, and setting up website navigation. Content placement can be part of a webmaster's responsibilities, while content creation is typically regarded as something that is not part of what a webmaster does. But on a site the webmaster is creating independently, the webmaster is usually the person who creates the content.

The webmaster usually also looks to improve his current web properties, or websites, by reading user reviews and complaints. There is usually a page to email the webmaster or site administrator.

The webmaster's e-mail address often acts as the point of contact for a website, mainly if a visitor wants to notify the website of a problem, or a flaw in the design or system, but not as a sales contact. The webmaster's email usually contains the word webmaster or admin, for example, webmaster@example.com or admin@example.com. The email is usually found in the footer of the website, or on a contact page.

Use of the term Webmistress

Because some perceive a gender-specific bias present in the "master" part of the term webmaster, some women choose to use the feminine term webmistress as the name of their profession, although many do this only informally, and some find the term offensive and not suitable for the workplace. Its use is often an ironic, tongue-in-cheek play on the word mistress in the BDSM sense. However, it is just as often used in the sense of being an in-control, dominant woman in a field largely populated by men.

See also

• Web hosting service

External links

• World Organization of Webmasters
• Template:Dmoz
• What Is A Webservant?
• National Association of Government Webmasters
• The Alternative Webmaster Glossary (humor)