Articles
A freelance webmaster can
By Carsten Bjerregaard, Marketingcapacity.dk (Link to the article. Copying/publishing without agreement is not allowed)
A company's webmaster manages - and oversees - the company's website, or its websites in general. The webmaster is typically responsible for the design, development and maintenance of the company's digital presence, as well as domain registration and renewal, and optimal content management and dissemination.
What is the webmaster's job?
A webmaster is responsible for ensuring that the company's digital presence works, both technically and in terms of usability. The exact boundaries of the job's content may vary from company to company. But that's what it's all about:
- Monitoring that the pages are operational
- Performance monitoring (load time, traffic, links, error messages etc).
- Design development and maintenance
- Developing and maintaining functionality (e.g. calculators, players, forms, etc.)
- Accessibility of websites
- Backup
- GDPR compliance
- Support on sites
- Rules for use
- Safety and security
- Databases, hosting etc.
- Data collection
As you can see, there may be various interfaces with an IT department, as well as overlaps with other marketing functions. It's probably a good rule of thumb that the smaller the company, the broader the webmaster's range of tasks.
What else do people call webmasters?
A webmaster is also called a web editor. And some might say a web manager, others might say a 'Geek' with a twinkle in their eye. Because skilled webmasters often have a deep knowledge of technology combined with a trouble-shooter approach to their work. When problems arise, a solution must be found. And it almost always has to be now. Failure is not an option.
How does a webmaster create value?
Websites are most companies' most important channel for business. The place where new and existing customers turn to. So a webmaster creates value by making sure:
- Attract as many relevant customers as possible
- A running technology solution with high uptime and performance
- Creating an intuitive, cohesive customer journey
- Giving visitors what they come for
- Making it easy for visitors to move on to purchase
The webmaster is simply responsible for ensuring that customers and money can enter the system.
What types of webmasters are there?
Webmaster is probably one of the titles held by the widest range of people. After all, the internet is still so young. In some companies, the first webmaster still reigns supreme. The one who was responsible for getting the company's first website up and running in the first place. The one who knows all the pitfalls, knows where systems are weak or extra reliable, and has tried everything that can go wrong. They may even know a little programming in the different languages and platforms available.
But nowadays there are also webmasters who are more oriented towards content and UX optimization than they are technical nerds. Because technology is more advanced and user-friendly than before. Fewer teething problems means fewer crashes and an increased focus on content and user experience.
What should a webmaster know?
The webmaster must have some personal qualities that are important for the job:
- Dedication to duty
- Sense of urgency
- Collaboration skills
- Trouble-shooting mindset
- General technological understanding
- Business acumen (to negotiate with potential business partners)
The webmaster is a kind of technological caretaker, a generalist who must be able to find, select and collaborate with those who technically need to make the website work. Usually in collaboration with others - technicians, designers, business line managers and content providers.
And just like with a caretaker, it's an advantage if the webmaster masters some of the tools that are often used on the website. Be it:
- CMS systems (WordPress, Drupal, Laravel, Sitecore etc.)
- HTML
- Javascript
- VBScript
- ASP-objects
- PHP
- SQL
- CGI scripts and other file formats
Finally, in addition to coding, there are some day-to-day functions that the webmaster should have a handle on, even though others may also be working on them:
- Email broadcast
- Marketing Automation
- Cloud Backup
- Google Analytics
- Web optimization
How can you tell if a webmaster is doing a good job?
Click into a website and experience it as a user:
- What does it look like?
- How does it perform?
- Is it easy for you to find what you want?
- Is there help where you are unsure (e.g. support, mouseover texts or links to help texts)?
- Does the visual expression support the company or product brand?
- Can you respond to what you want?
- Are you properly acknowledged when you provide information?
- Or in short: Is it a good user experience?
That's the most important thing. But almost as important is the backend. That is, what customers don't see and what you can't see from the outside - but what you experience the impact of as an employee of the company:
- Can you track traffic internally?
- Can you detect and fix any problems?
- How well is the website integrated with other technologies? (SQL, CMS, CRM, Salesforce, Hootsuite etc.)
- How are guidelines and policies backend? Who should respond to which queries - and how is it managed?
... or in other words: How easily, quickly and flawlessly can the company act and react to customers' use of the websites.
Why a freelance webmaster?
In the past, most people might have thought of freelancers for one-off projects. However, many companies have now realized the benefits of working with freelancers on a long-term basis:
- You can cover needs that don't justify a permanent position
- In periods when you don't need it, you don't pay for the skill
- In a long-term relationship, the freelancer gets to know the company almost as well as a permanent employee
- Compared to buying the desired skill set from an agency - such as an advertising agency - working with freelancers is usually much cheaper
- You have the flexibility to rethink the overall competency profile of the person responsible for an area
- More and more really talented people prefer to work freelance
- A freelancer can still look at your business 'from the outside' - which is a valuable thing when thinking about creative
- Freelancers can bring fresh, outside inspiration to your business
How do you find a good freelance webmaster?
Finding the right freelancer can be difficult. And above all, it can take a long time. Because there are many freelancers within the same field, and even if they boast the same skills, there can be a big difference when it comes to the way they work and the work they deliver. When you ask Marketingcapacity.dk to help you find a freelancer to work with, the process is simple:
- You describe your needs to us (either in writing or verbally - we'll confirm in an email)
- We screen the thousands of profiles on Marketingcapacity.dk and, if necessary, the market through our channels
- We nominate a list of candidates and talk to them according to your needs
- You will be presented with 3 candidates that seem to meet your needs
- During the 3 meetings (at your location or digitally) you can ask questions and see examples of their work
- You choose the freelancer you would like to start working with
- We set it up in our systems with time tracking etc. so you have an overview and full control
In other words: After describing your needs, simply set aside 2 hours to meet with 3 hand-picked and screened candidates. That's your guarantee of a good result with reasonable effort.
