What is a Webmaster? Definition and implementation

grupo de webmasters reunidas en un lugar especifico

When a website is created, it also needs to be constantly updated with the help of a webmaster, in order not to have future problems in its operation and to become a source of outdated information.

This is why companies invest in the maintenance of their websites, mainly to attract new customers and thus remain in the market, hiring people properly trained in the use of content management systems (CMS).

Below are some interesting definitions of what webmaster is and basic details about its implementation, which are useful for any web developer or systems technician who wishes to venture into this topic.

webmaster
Figure 1. Depending on the size of the website, the webmaster may also be its administrator or creator of the site.

What is a Webmaster?

This is the person responsible for updating content, programming and maintaining your website resources, functions may vary depending on the size and type of website.

If the website is small, the webmaster will only be in charge of the content of the website, but if it is large, he will be in charge of more important tasks such as programming new pages and keeping the CMS and plugins up to date.

webmaster
Figure 2. The work of a webmaster contributes to improve the positioning of a website in the list of results of any Internet search engine.

Skills required of a Webmaster

As the webmaster performs various tasks to keep the website up to date, his skills must be multidisciplinary, i.e., focused on various fields of knowledge such as problem solving and projection into the future.

Other skills to consider are abstract reasoning, problem analysis, process analysis, basic math and English skills, time management, graphic design and of course writing.

habilidades requeridas webmaster
Figure 3. Skills required for a webmaster include mathematical knowledge and languages.

Basic knowledge

Once we have decided what a Webmaster is, you should consider some of the basic knowledge to perform this role.

It should be noted that for this type of work, the developer must have knowledge of basic web server configurations, use of e-mail, digital image editing, programming bases in languages such as ASP, PHP, Python, Perl, among others.

It is also required to know the HTTP, SMTP, POP, FTP protocols, to know how to apply and use the CSS and XHTML web standards and to have basic knowledge of HTML as a minimum to be able to work without any inconvenience for a determined time.

conocimientos basicos webmaster
Figure 4. Webmasters do not only need basic skills to do their job, but they also require programming and computer skills.

Tools that can be used

Nowadays, it is not enough to create a website, webmasters require several tools to keep it updated, away from cyber-attacks and other threats in today’s globalized world.

Another advantage of this is that any search engine is more likely to show your website when a user performs a search when it is up to date than when it is not because it would not meet the web search engine’s minimum standards.

Therefore, your website would be more prone to many user trust and security problems, which would pose a risk to users who have an account there and to those who simply check the site for information that might interest them.

herramientas webmaster
Figure 5. Depending on the webmaster’s tasks, several tools are used in order to move forward with these tasks without reducing the quality of the work done.

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Since there are different search engines available, each provider offers a set of tools suitable for their own services. For example, search engines such as Google, Bing, Baidu and Yandex offer their own set of tools to optimize websites.

These tools help to make your website known to the search crawlers, i.e., indexes it and displays it in their search results, this is why the term webmaster tools became very popular when talking about the process of webmastering a website.

Tuatara Webmaster process

At Tuatara, as a software development agency, the webmaster process goes through a series of steps described below:

  1. Website backup: a backup copy of the website files is made in order to have a backup in case of any inconvenience.
  2. Website review: after completing the backup, the webmaster reviews the website to make sure that everything is working properly.
  3. WPO and SEO analysis: the webmaster runs the website analysis with Woorank and Google PageSpeed Insights tools to see in depth what improvements can be made.
  4. Webmaster planning: a list is made of the tasks to be performed based on the previous analysis and it is estimated how long it will take to perform each one of them.
  5. Perform action plan: the tasks set out in the webmaster’s planning are carried out. For more complex tasks, tests are performed on a local server before uploading the changes to the client’s website.
  6. Closing the process: here, the developer has already finished all the webmaster tasks, you can either end the process definitively or go back to step 3 and perform a new analysis to visualize new improvements, which will be listed in step 4.
webmaster tuatara
Figure 6. The webmaster process is carried out within Tuatara, which can be better explained with a flowchart.

Code of Ethics used by Webmasters

According to international standards, webmasters must follow the code of ethics to avoid being sanctioned and thus be able to continue their work without any setback:

1. Work hand in hand with your development team in order to meet the company’s objectives.

2. To express a sincere character with other people in order to increase their human interaction and to go to them in case of need or also to help them if they need it.

3. Take care of intellectual property of others, protecting their intellectual property, thus facilitating their benefits obtained by authorship of content or other modifications on the web, which are the result of their effort and innovation capabilities.

4. To recognize that with this work, we provide a service to the community in general, regardless of the productive sector to which the community belongs.

codigo etico webmaster
Figure 7. The code of ethics ensures good practices during the performance of webmaster duties.

5. Have exemplary work conduct when seeking employment or independent professional services, honoring your level of expertise and ethical integrity as an employee.

6. Form an excellent relationship with its employees and users, based on trust and goodwill to foster constructive cooperation among all.

7. To train constantly, in order to increase your knowledge base of your profession and to be able to transmit that knowledge to your co-workers.

8. To practice the profession with courtesy and honesty, to be known for good quality work and fair treatment of others.

9. Respect other people’s work, avoiding damaging the website managed by another webmaster through cyber-attacks.

Conclusions on what is a Webmaster and the implementation of his tasks

As mentioned above, today it is not enough to create a website, as webmasters need multiple tools to which they must register to improve the performance of a site, analyze site traffic and improve user interaction.

Each function in these tools makes it easier for webmasters to monitor errors and correct them, but it is advisable to focus on corrective maintenance and content generation.

In addition to this, it is best not to look for unnecessary tools for the webmaster process, since the basic tools are enough to work efficiently and without a problem.

puesta en marcha webmaster
Figure 8. Webmasters keep websites secure so that users have no problems when browsing them.

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Tuatara – Software development agency

In Tuatara, as a software development agency, we help you create and manage, with the help of a webmaster, the type of software that your company requires and turn it into the best tool to publicize products or services to your users, with the implementation of the latest trends in web development in 2023. We are experts in the design, development and management of software.

We approach each project through innovation, to provide companies with the ability to create and manage digital assets that support management goals.

If you are looking for quality development and a true digital business transformation, contact us for advice. Here!