I recently remembered the term Webmaster – and started using it again to describe my job… as a joke, kind of. Back in the 90s it was a pretty common term, used to describe the guy (let’s be honest, it was the 90s, it was definitely a guy) who was in charge of making and managing the website in question.
The role of webmaster was to keep the website running, add any new content that needed adding, kick people off message boards that were being silly, and generally be in charge of the overall day to day running of the website. He was invariably the person that made the website too, and probably handled all the hosting and DNS. So the range of skills involved in your 90s or early 00s webmaster ranged from website conception, to design planning, through to frontend and backend development, content creation, delivery, DNS, hosting and day to day management! Quite a hefty role.
Obviously websites these days are way more complex than they used to be, and the splintered nature of third party social media and marketing platforms and strategies have of course warranted the need for more defined and targeted skills over the years.
BUT. I do feel like there’s a wider skillset that’s been unfortunately forgotten along the way. Maybe I’m just feeling underappreciated today, I don’t know.
On the one hand, I completely understand the need for specialised skills – there’s only so many hours in the day, so if I’m working on a project and a client wants to bring in an ‘expert’ copywriter or an ‘expert’ marketing mum, I’m all for it. Help is (almost) always appreciated. The issue, for me, arrises when the room is filled with specialised experts, none of whom actually grap the bigger picture or the technical requirements of the project as a whole. If I had a penny every time one of these experts has tried to upload an 8MB tif into a website, or asked my how many pixels a banner needs to be, I’d be rich. I feel like I’m still doing all the work, but getting less of the credit.
The website always ends up being the nexus of activity for any digital venture, the place where things come together, and the splinters and streams from all the different marketing branches must find their coherent voice.
Hang on… is this a post that’s celebrating the Webmaster, or shitting on marketing people? Let me recalibrate… there’s nothing wrong with being a marketing person. There’s even nothing wrong with deciding you’re a marketing mum without any training of any kind. Hell, if you know how to work Instagram and Mailchimp, I’m not going to take that away from. Good on you. It’s hard to reinvent yourself in your 40s when the kids have started big school, so if you’ve done your online marketing course and printed out your youtube certificate, let me be the first to say well done…. just maybe listen to your webmaster a bit. And stop trying to upload CMYK TIFS into your website.
The nail in the coffin for the term Webmaster was probably when Google Webmasters was renamed Google Search Central in November 2020 – although the term had been in decline for many years already.
I like the term Webmaster. I’m bringing it back. I’m going to start referring to myself as Webmaster General, and hopefully get some attention back to the diverse skills that make the role so valuable. Like a wise old Gandalf character, a web wizard, who sees the big picture, knows all the tricks, and can keep the ship steady.
Webmaster to me is someone who has design skills, coding skills and marketing skills. Someone who’s been heavily involved in the design and production of the website from inception, and is fundamental to its day to day success. I’ve worn many hats in my 20+ years working in digital design. I’ve been frontend developer, backend developer, graphic designer, SEO advisor and DNS agony aunt more times than I care to recall.
None of those titles ring as true in my heart as: Webmaster
