Website Manager Definition, Job Description and Free Templates

Are you thinking about a career as a Web Manager? This article will answer the most commonly asked questions about the web manager position. You will find out what type of person is best suited for this type of work, what is the earning potential, what the job really entails, and what is expected from a skilled and professional web manager.

If you currently work in this type of capacity, please share your views in the comment section at the end.

What is a Website Manager?

Web managers are responsible for the maintenance, performance, and accessibility of a website. Quite often they also oversee the design, development, content publication, and marketing.

If you are a business owner, a web manager is essentially your first point of contact for any website-related issues.

The exact definition and the job specifications can vary depending on the employer’s needs.

It is not uncommon, for example, for web managers to be hired only to improve the content and accessibility of a website. Other web managers may be asked only to improve the web design and visitor conversions.

So the day-to-day tasks of a web manager will vary depending on the company’s needs. If a company decides to develop an affiliate program, the web manager will have to make the necessary provisions to execute that and make it work.

Website Manager vs. Webmaster

I’ve noticed that there is some confusion between the tasks and jobs of a Web Manager and a Webmaster. I think this confusion stems from the fact that at the beginning of the World Wide Web, the webmaster was essentially the web manager.

The definition of a webmaster is that it is a person who creates websites by the use of programming language or available content management systems and additional modules. The webmaster’s job is also to maintain the structure of the website and look after its code, accessibility, and server.

In the ’90s if you were a business owner and needed an additional email account for a new employee, your webmaster would be the first and only point of contact. Yet since the ’90s, the Internet grew exponentially, and with that, came new developments, standards, and requirements, driven by rising competition.

This new and competitive Internet landscape has created hundreds of additional and specialized services and professions to meet all those needs.

Today, the main difference between a web manager and a webmaster is that a web manager is a much broader term, encompassing other aspects of an online presence.

As a result, the web manager is responsible for much more than just website programming and hosting.

Tasks and responsibilities of a Web Manager

Depending on the requirements and the size of a website, the main task of most web managers, in theory, is to manage a professional team that may consist of web designers, programmers, link-building specialists, advertising partners, affiliates, email marketers, social media experts, and so on.

However, in practice, this often pans out differently. Many web managers work almost exclusively on content management and online publication. Some web managers may do everything themselves and only outsource certain work on an ad-hoc basis. This is usually true for smaller companies and websites.

Here is a graphic that represents all the different categories and jobs that can fall under the website manager position.

Website managers will often be involved in the following tasks:

• Contracts revision
• Provision of domains, hosting, etc.
• Website design and development
• Securing your website
• Content production
• Search engine optimization
• Conversion optimization
• Email marketing
• Social media marketing
• Web traffic analysis
• Affiliate marketing

A web manager must be able to direct and oversee all the work of various professionals, in-house and external, who have been hired to work on specific projects.

Good website managers must be able to understand each stage of online creation and marketing and know how to use it to meet their goals.

They must also know the requirements and the challenges of each stage, as well as, the opportunities it presents.

No doubt about it, web manager is a very multifaceted job.

Web Manager Job – Free Template #1

Here are a few free templates for a generic web manager job description that includes a wide scope of work related to the duties of a professional website manager. This free template should only be used as a guideline for creating your own web manager job ad.

Web Manager Job – Free Template #2

FAQ section

How much do web managers make?

The position of a website manager is quite serious and essential for any business, especially one that operates fully online.

Usually, the web manager is hired by the marketing department but it’s not unusual to be directly hired by the CEO of a company or its branch director.

In the US, the salary of a professional website manager varies depending on the state and the city. A manager in New York will get paid a lot more than in a smaller city.

The average salary across the US is around $65,000 per year.

In the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, and other developed countries, professional web managers earn similar amounts.

However, website managers working for big companies with extensive and popular websites can earn substantially more. Taking bonuses, profit-sharing, and commissions into account, these website managers can earn well above $100,000 a year.

In recent years, the position of a website manager has been firmly established. There are many companies worldwide offering handsome pay to the right candidates.

Why choose a career as a web manager?

Some people may ask themselves if a career as a web manager is the right choice for them. No one is able to answer this for you. The truth is that you’ll know if this is the right job for you only after you spend some time working as a web manager.

One of the most obvious advantages is a good salary. As mentioned above, a qualified website manager with experience can earn between $50,000 to $120,000. Another advantage of this particular career is that it can be very influential.

If you are managing a website or a group of websites that together get over a million visits a day and over 30 million each month, you hold the power to influence your users in a positive way. That is quite a big responsibility, but one that can also be very rewarding.

Another attractive feature of a career in web management is that it is clean office work. It’s not very physically demanding work like mining or construction.

Another thing to consider is that web management is one of those careers that is technical and creative at the same time. You have to be able to analyze information scrupulously and come up with the best technical and creative solutions.

In addition to these advantages, there is one more worth mentioning.

A website manager has various functions and performs many different tasks. For example, a web developer mostly works on the code throughout the day, a graphic designer works mostly on design.

A web manager’s day usually includes meetings, planning, and working with coders, designers, marketers, email managers, etc… The versatility of this particular career makes things a lot more interesting and dynamic. This almost guarantees that you will never be bored as a website manager.

How to become a web manager?

Becoming a website manager today is a lot easier than even a few years ago. Many colleges and universities have finally included digital management degrees. Doing a two to five-year study will certainly prepare you well for a career in web management.

To find a suitable college or university simply search for ´web management degree college´ or ´web management degree university´. These searches should bring up available online programs and also local institutions offering such degree programs.

A degree in website management is not a prerequisite for a career in website management. Experience is a lot more important.

There are many advantages to getting an official degree in web management and marketing, especially if you’re fresh out of high school and want to continue your education.

However, in most cases, your potential employers will look at your experience. So if you don’t want to study for a degree in website management, simply learn as much as you can online and try to volunteer as a web manager for a local organization.

There are a lot of free online courses in website design and development, online marketing, project management, and web security along with other more specific courses like JavaScript, CSS, WordPress, and so on. If you don’t know where to start I would recommend beginning with project management courses.

What are the web manager interview questions?

If you are looking for a career as a website manager and you’re after a well-paying job, you will need to prepare for a drilling interview. Likewise, if you are an employer looking for the best talent to join your company you will need to know what relevant questions to ask at an interview for a web manager.

Here is a list of the best web manager interview questions:

• Why do you want to work as a web manager for this company?
• As the website management field is constantly evolving, how do you keep abreast with new developments in the industry?
• What type of personal and/or professional advancement have you made recently to perform this job better than others?
• What process do you apply to find and fix website errors?
• How do you protect a website and secure it from being manipulated or hacked by malicious actors?
• How do you make sure a website is fully compliant within applicable regions?
• How do make sure a website is user-friendly and has a high engagement value?
• How would you describe your web management style?
• How do you know if the content you published online was successful in terms of its ROI?
• What kind of data should be included in a good content brief?
• How do you cope with the negative attitude of other employees who you manage?

Other general questions could be asked at a web manager interview such as:

• Can you name three of your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
• Where do you see yourself in five years?

Where to look for web manager jobs?

There are plenty of specialist websites listing jobs for website managers and other web professionals. The most traditional route to finding a web management job would be to register and post your CV on portals such as Indeed.com, Monster.com, Glassdoor.com, Flexjobs.com, and others.

When you post your CV on these job networks, you will need to tick the option to have your CV searchable if you want recruiters to find you. If you leave it private, you will need to search the job database for web manager jobs you like and only send your CV to these recruiters.

Another way to search for web manager jobs is through professional social media websites such as LinkedIn.com where you can directly connect with recruiters and potential employers. To do this successfully you will need to build your profile and upload your CV.

Most of these job networks allow you to build your profile with your job history, qualifications, client or past employer testimonials, photos, etc.

Many of these networks also offer custom assessment tests to check your industry knowledge. When you complete these tests successfully, you will receive a badge that will show your potential recruiters that you are qualified to do the job.

Another, perhaps less traditional way to land a web manager job is to actually contact website owners directly and offer them your service. The best way to approach this is to find a website that is somehow malfunctioning or has unrealized potential.

For example, let’s say you come across an e-commerce website that sells furniture. The HTTPS version of it works well but you notice that the HTTP version gives an error and it doesn’t redirect to the correct version.

You also notice that the HTTP version has backlinks pointing to it from reliable websites and receives a considerable amount of traffic. To sum up, they are losing a lot of potential customers, not to mention all that link juice from the backlinks.

You can send an email to the owner of the business and let him know how you can help them receive more traffic almost overnight.

Once you prove your knowledge to them and fix that error, they will be more likely to hire you as their web manager in the future, quite possibly in the immediate future.

Who makes the best website manager?

What kind of person makes the best website manager? What are the sought-after character traits that align perfectly with this particular position?

The short answer is that if you are looking for a fantastic web manager, you should look for someone with a lot of technical experience in website maintenance and content presentation, as well as, good managerial and planning skills.

When it comes to character traits, I suppose someone who is well organized, a quick learner, pays attention to details and is able to adapt and resolve problems quickly, could potentially excel at this work.

If you are looking for a reliable web manager with professional experience and invaluable industry insights you need someone who knows ALL aspects of web creation and marketing.

The truth is that when employers need someone to look after their company’s websites, they post a job by copying other similar job ads, without really knowing the required skills.

Sometimes you will see job ads for a website manager with requirements for programming languages like PHP or Python and yet in the job description there is nothing about web development or coding. What they are really looking for is someone who will be able to look after the website and its reputation.

What software do web managers use?

You may be wondering what type of software to learn for a career in web management. I think the answer depends on what type of management you’re interested in or what type of management is required.

For example, for hands-on web management, you will need to know various types of software. This includes software for web design and development, SEO, keyword research, and social, email, and affiliate marketing. Each of these fields has its own unique software.

Depending on your scope of work, you might also need to know some website coding languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and even PHP with an understanding of databases like MySQL.

Whether you are hands-on or hands-off, you will need to know the content management system that is used by the company, for example, WordPress, Drupal, Wix, Joomla, Squarespace, etc.

Knowing your organization’s content management system is absolutely essential as all content is published through the publishing system. One of the main jobs of a web manager is to make sure the CMS is properly maintained and secured.

Other software that is essential for any web manager is project management software or services such as Trello, Teamwork, Wrike, Monday, etc. The project management software is essential to manage and oversee the progress of your team, the various projects being worked on, as well as your own timetable.

Additionally, every web manager needs to know how to implement and interpret website statistics. The most common analytical tool to measure web traffic and user engagement is Google Analytics. However, there are other equally powerful softwares that can be used, such as Webtrends or Open Web Analytics. These tools provide essential information about your website and your visitors. This forms the basis for any successful web marketing strategy.

Hypothetical question

Could web manager be automated in the future?

Some people keep questioning the future of web development and management. This goes along with the dreaded idea that AI (Artificial Intelligence) is coming for your job! While in many cases this could be true, I personally prefer to think that a web manager is not going to be easily replaced by AI algorithms.

I can see how some of the tasks could be aided by AI, for example, CMS security and updates, email campaigns, gaining valuable insights from web traffic stats, and creating engaging content.

However, the creative side of this job will be very difficult to mimic with an AI. Not to say that AI can’t be creative, because it can, but there are many human and organic factors that need to be considered. For example, creating new partnerships and exchanges or being able to understand the emotional side of users and empathize with them.

At the same time, it is also my belief that AI will one day be more efficient as a web manager than any human being. That day will most likely come when robots and algorithms become the main customers. This can certainly happen with the wider adoption of digital currencies and payments, as well as, AI-assisted living.

One of the most common visions, which is already a reality, is an AI-assisted fridge that shops on its own and orders the products that we need. Here, the AI fridge becomes the customer.

For now, the options of where to buy the food are hard coded, but in the near future, an AI-assisted fridge will be able to look for the best offers online and choose the provider on its own.

It is likely that AI web managers will be able to adapt better to such AI-based customers.

If you are looking for a reliable website manager for your website or other web properties, ask me for a free consultation.