Being a webmaster and being a professional writer have a lot in common, at least when it comes to the difference between perception and reality. Most people think of writing as something that is easy to do. Imagine: no long hours, just sit in front of the computer and get typing when the muse of inspiration strikes you. Somehow, they never think about the time spent revising, perfecting your craft, researching the market, and doing all the other things a professional writer needs to do to run a business. Those of us who write professionally know that the job isn’t nearly as easy as it looks, even when you do it as someone else’s employee rather than being self-employed.
As with being a professional writer, many people seem to think that being a webmaster is easy. All you have to do is set up your website and wait for the orders – and money – to start rolling in. If you’re a web host, it’s just a matter of minor handholding while you get your customers’ sites set up, then collecting those monthly fees. Somehow, they never think about customer service, or purchasing equipment, or handling various disasters (which can range from temporary downtime to real natural disasters such as hurricanes), or all of the other things a web host and a webmaster needs to know to keep the business running.
If you’re already a web host, you may have started out as a webmaster. If you’re thinking about becoming a web host, you should develop your skills as a webmaster. If you don’t want to do that, you will probably need to hire a webmaster – after all, a good web host needs a good website. It’s often your first contact with customers, and they’ll rate your quality as a web host from the quality of your website. Whether you want to hire a webmaster or become one yourself, you need to know what skills are necessary for doing a good job. In this article, I’ll give a general outline, along with a few tips to start you on acquiring these skills.
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