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Bloggers Are Not Webmasters and Webmasters Are Not Bloggers

Building a blogThis comes under the “I wish I’d wrote that” heading. LGR Webmaster Blog featured “Bloggers Are Not Webmasters”, a simple look at the difference between a webmaster and a blogger, which goes to show that there is a lot to managing both a website and blog.

In general, it is a good look at the issues of bloggers not being designers, not to say that some aren’t but most do stick with designed WordPress Themes and really don’t know how to do much more than tweak a little here and there. Bloggers understand the basics of networking, but few really understand the complexities of web development and marketing.

This is followed up by Webmasters are not Bloggers, a balanced perspective on how bloggers are bloggers, understanding fully what we do, and needing to know that there are some things we can’t or don’t do that webmasters do.

Webmasters do a lot of things, in fact webmasters are jacks of all trades, programmers, designers, customer service representatives, they are not bloggers. Who can blame them really, they are so busy dealing with all the other stuff they simply don’t have time to sit and write content for a weblog. When webmasters do sit down and write content for a blog, it is often in the form of a tutorial on their favourite script, html or css.

I applaud all of you bloggers out there. To consistently be able to write good content for a blog takes a lot of hard work, time and creativity.

This is a sweeping generalization, but also a reminder that as bloggers, we have a responsibility to our blogs that outweighs just feeding our readers. There is a lot to consider when choosing a blog design, structure, marketing, identity, and maintenance. A good webmaster, web designer, web consultant or adviser can help you set up the maintenance program and design you need to keep your blog in tip top, excellent shape.

If you work with webmasters on our blogs, like multi-blogger blogs, stop once in a while to say thanks for keeping the blog up and running. And if you are a webmaster but not a blogger, say thank you to a blogger once in a while for keeping the content flowing and the readers returning.

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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, member of the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging.

This entry was written by Lorelle VanFossen and posted on July 22, 2007 at 5:13 am and filed under blogging tips, Web Design, WordPress with tags , . Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

10 Comments

  1. redwall_hp
    Posted July 22, 2007 at 9:37 am | Permalink

    Definitely a generalization. I’m both a webmaster and a blogger. I do serious design, html, css, php, javascript, etc. Plus: I write about a number of things.

    Reply
  2. Michael Martine
    Posted July 22, 2007 at 1:27 pm | Permalink

    For what it’s worth, webmasters generally aren’t designers, either, and most designers make lousy webmasters. But what this really goes to show is that in spite of all the wonderful efforts made in the quest for ease-of-use made by blog software makers, the best and coolest things are being done by people with technical chops. I had been a webmaster for years before I became a blogger (not too many, since I started blogging in 2000), and now I am both.

    If you’re a non-technical blogger, there is only so much you can do before you’re stopped cold by your lack of knowledge. Many bloggers have held their breath and dove in to the technical deep waters. They have become webmasters, and kudos to them for doing it.

    Reply
  3. Myo Kyaw Htun
    Posted July 22, 2007 at 9:57 pm | Permalink

    I don’t care about design, development and marketing before I blog even I’m web developer. But I do care now. All those idea come from blogging.

    Reply
  4. Kevin
    Posted July 23, 2007 at 2:54 pm | Permalink

    I agree that most webmasters are a jack of all trades however I’m with redwall_hp on this, it’s too much of a generalisation to say that webmasters are not bloggers. You cannot assume all webmasters only blog about coding either 🙂

    Reply
  5. rhettoric
    Posted July 24, 2007 at 10:16 am | Permalink

    You all seem to lack a sense of humour or the ability to have a little, just a little fun. Lighten up. They were playful posts. And it’s useful to take a moment to realize where your strengths and weaknesses lay. Or whether you are a blogger or a webmaster.

    Reply
  6. LGR
    Posted July 26, 2007 at 10:56 am | Permalink

    Thanks for the mention. I never thought my posts would be taken so seriously, but there have been numerous comments that have been very colorful. Perhaps some of the bloggers that have read the post need to find a sense of humor.

    Reply
  7. Lorelle VanFossen
    Posted July 28, 2007 at 8:51 am | Permalink

    LGR: You are so right about many not having a sense of humor. I adored what you wrote and it made sense, too. It’s funny but brilliant. Thanks for the insights!

    Reply
  8. asony999
    Posted July 30, 2007 at 11:02 am | Permalink

    This is really a very nice article..It has clear my concept about blog.

    Reply
  9. Andre Ward
    Posted August 1, 2007 at 12:41 pm | Permalink

    Great post, made me think truly about where to prioritize myself. I thought that if I was a blogger I couldn’t be a webmaster and vice versa but it doesn’t really matter. It’s just a matter of selecting your priorities, the ones you do best and most effectively.

    Reply
  10. domainindia
    Posted August 5, 2007 at 1:00 am | Permalink

    Who Visits My Site? That is one of the most common questions webmasters ask and one which is very difficult to answer. There are many ways to find out how many people visit your site but getting information about them is more difficult.

    There are two ways to find out more than just your visitor numbers. Some counters like Sitemeter will give you information on your visitors like:

    * Number of visitors and pageviews in any time period…

    Reply

12 Trackbacks/Pingbacks

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