Webmaster in a Nutshell, Second Edition

Who Are the Webmasters?

So if that’s the Web in a nutshell, who are the webmasters? The title “webmaster” vaguely means a person who works on the content end of the web. When you examine what webmasters actually do, there are many different definitions.

On a typical web site, the responsibilities can be broken into four general groups:

• Content providers work on the data itself—creating or editing HTML documents, incorporating images and forms, and maintaining the integrity of the links.

• Designers create the images and also define the “look” of the site.

• Programmers write CGI, Java, JavaScript, and other programs for incorporation into the web site.

• Administrators make sure that the server is running properly and efficiently at all times. They might also be responsible for establishing new content development areas, writing new scripts, and maintaining the security of sensitive documents and of the site in general.

On a large site, you might have a staff of 50 content providers, a group of five designers, three or four programmers, and two administrators. On a small site, one person might do it all herself.

Each of these people might justifiably call themselves “webmasters.” And while a programmer may not be especially interested in HTML syntax or server configuration, and someone who works only in HTML markup may not need to know anything about HTTP, this book should be useful to all.