Webmastering

Building a web site takes a lot of effort. Contrary to the belief that the duties of a webmaster and a web designer are one and the same, their jobs are different. They may be similar in some aspects, especially at the start of a project. The design and coding of the website is usually done by the web designer. More often than not, he is also equipped with web development skills so he can do the coding and debugging himself.

The difference between the two fields of work is actually in the duration of the website once it has gone “live.” Going “live” simply means that the website has already been uploaded in the worldwide web so everyone can visit it. The web designer codes and designs the site, and his job ends there. The webmaster, on the other hand, has more responsibilities. He must ensure that content is up-to-date, by providing fresh information for its visitors and readers.

The webmaster should also be able to troubleshoot the website and protect the files of the site owner. Since he is the only one who has access to all the sections in the site, he is the only person who has authority to moderate comments as well. More often than not, the webmasters transfer duties to content editors, especially if they have to maintain multiple domains.

The rates for webmasters are usually per page, or per service that they offer- depending on the site. Dynamic sites are harder to maintain because they have a lot more user accounts.