The many responsibilities of a webmaster hired for web site development, programming and administration.
More often than not, a large company will have a development team with graphic artists, programmers and administrators each taking part to produce the company web site and all of its components. But small companies rarely have the budget for such a team and the responsibilities may fall on a single person to do it all, especially true if the web developer is also the company owner. Small companies often have few requirements beyond the ability to demonstrate capability when hiring this type of person, but without a basic education, the self-taught programmer can easily get in over his head.
The challenge of any programmer is to stay on top of the next thing, and to expand his knowledge base along with the expanding technology. In order to survive the shifting scope of programming needs, a programmer must be prepared to adopt and integrate new technology to meet the needs of the company.
It’s rare to find a person with the logical mind of a programmer and the visual creativity of a graphics artist, but in a small company, the webmaster is often called upon to be all things. A background in programming, along with art courses and an understanding of color theory and design flow is helpful. Just as fashion trends change, web style fashion changes. Remaining current with web trends is as essential to keeping a web site exciting and fresh as is good programming.
Another essential skill of a webmaster is communication. Clients and management often have unrealistic expectations. Webmasters must be able to explain what can and cannot be done and communicate this in a clear and professional manner.
The multi-faceted position of web site developer, programmer and administrator is a challenging one, but well worth it in terms of job satisfaction and earning potential. It’s a job that will never stagnate and will present new challenges every day; the perfect position for a creative and artistic problem-solver with a background in programming.