It is curious how the term used to define the person in charge of a website has changed slightly: a few years ago that figure held the title of "Webmaster"; today the term has fallen out of use and has become "Web Manager" or, on e-commerce sites, "eCommerce Manager". I mention this because I think the word used faithfully reflects the change in the way websites are managed.
The concept of Webmaster carried a certain individuality, since it referred to the person who created, maintained and / or supported a website. This could be the case in the 90s, in the early days of the internet or Web 1.0 when websites were generally built in HTML and (not always) CSS. They were sites with more or less static content and were not built with databases. Hence the need for the figure of an individual or "master" who knew HTML, handled hosting and FTP, and knew how to configure email accounts.
But in the middle of the last decade came the "democratization" of the internet with Web 2.0: anyone could create their own content and upload it to the web, whether as videos with YouTube, as a personal diary (the beginning of blogs), or by sharing whatever you wanted with whomever you wanted, with the start of social media (MySpace). Around that time, the big news portals also saw the advantages of having digital editions, such as immediacy and wider distribution of their content. Of course, the world of commerce was not left behind and the development of e-commerce sites of every size began.
And this is where it becomes clear that one single figure cannot take charge of all the many processes involved in a medium-sized or large website: you need technical and systems-management knowledge to handle the servers, an attractive design so your site stands out from the rest, you will also want to give your site specific and more advanced features than HTML allows and which therefore have to be developed, someone has to upload content (news, photos, videos, products, etc.) regularly so users come back to your site, and of course management and customer service are needed if you run a store… And these would only be the first steps of a website, since at a certain level more specific areas need to be covered, such as your site’s performance and speed, web usability or web analytics and all of it, of course, subordinated to your company’s online marketing plan, of which Community Management and Social Media will be part…
Because of this great complexity, specialists in each area are born. Thus, we have individuals or companies that focus all their activity – and in many cases it is a lot – on a single fraction of the web universe, becoming great "gurus" of the subject: for example, the case of Avinash Kaushik, linked a little above, with web analytics, or Matt Cutts in the world of SEO (not by chance Google’s spokesperson). And here comes the question: who is in charge of coordinating all these areas? Well, you guessed it: the Web Manager.
It is no longer about one person building the entire website and providing support, making all the changes requested by the company like a one-man band, but about someone capable of coordinating the different areas or departments, understanding the website’s goals and needs and prioritizing the tasks that bring the greatest benefit in the short, medium and long term. And it is complex work that requires a multidisciplinary view of the internet and someone who understands what each area can contribute at each moment, as well as the different aspects to consider when making decisions and managing a site. They will also need experience — or at least knowledge — of the different tools available to achieve a specific objective and remain alert to the swings of a world as changeable as the internet, where a year is a very long time and trends are constantly changing.
Finally, a desirable aspect of being a Web Manager is the ability to lead and coordinate projects and teams. Web projects must be completed on time and by the agreed date in order to meet objectives, and if they are not, the causes and possible consequences of their delay or non-completion must be clear, and lessons must be learned and measures taken for future actions. If we are clear about the site’s objectives and how to achieve them, know the tasks into which a project is divided, the approximate time each one takes, define milestones and checkpoints, and assign (and optimize) the appropriate resources to each of them, those will be guarantees of success. This is the last aspect a Web Manager has to handle, and the one that connects the role with the Project Manager, a position generally assigned in technical or technology companies but not so closely linked to the web world.
In conclusion, the ideal Web Manager should have these characteristics:
- An analytical and global vision of the company and the website
- Have or know the necessary technical resources (programming languages, server technology…)
- Have or know the necessary creative resources (design and usability, photography, copywriting…)
- The pursuit of excellence (being number 1 on Google, not 2 or 3)
- Know the trends and where the online world is moving. Intuition.
- Be able to manage projects and resources
As a curiosity, the first person to hold the official title of Webmaster was David Lowe in 1996, after completing studies that granted him that title at Florida State University. However, I have not found who was the first to hold the position of Web Manager.
Do you agree with me or, on the contrary, would you add or remove anything?
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