What Every Webmaster Should Have?

Websites are the brainchild of webmasters. Also known as web developers, these experts possess creative minds that enable them to come up with well-functioning and attractive sites on the internet. Without them, the World Wide Web won’t be as alive and interactive as it is today.

When the internet was its initial stage from 1994 to 1996, not so many sites were on the web. Creating websites then was not much talked about as the focus was on the appearance of sites. But since the internet is constantly evolving, various strategies and software tools have been invented to further enhance the development of websites and make them more attractive and interactive.

Today, it cannot be denied that the internet is growing fast in terms of the number of sites now existing on the web and the number of its users. This is a clear proof that webmasters are also doing their best to be updated and upgrade their techniques and the tools they use. A webmaster’s important tools cover vast areas of web development such as those that concern content including keywords, graphics or images, layout and design, backlinks, sitemaps, email, forums and search engine optimization.

A webmaster’s job does not end after creating a website and publishing it on the internet. He or she usually maintains the site and keep it updated in terms of the information provided in an effort to optimize web content. A crucial role webmasters play is also in the marketing of the sites they develop. There are numerous webmaster articles and tutorials available on the internet which they can take advantage of.

Participating in forums is vital for webmasters to help them gain information about industry news or developments. Examples of these forums are the ThreadWatch (www.threadwatch.org) and Webmaster-Talk (www.webmaster-talk.com) which is a well-known forum that features instant interactions among professionals taking part in the discussions of various webmaster topics.

Webmasters should never forget their website submission tools. These tools will help in submitting your sites to all leading search engines for promotion and marketing. Submission of sites will allow web surfers to easily find your website when they do their research through the major search engines. Some of these submission tools include the FreeWebSubmission.com, AddMe and Internet Business Promoter.

Software tools are applications that help webmasters save time, money or productivity. Using these tools will enable them to accomplish their other more important tasks faster. FeedForAll is one example which creates, edits, manages and publishes RSS feeds. Helpful software that performs several functions like application windows, controls, menus and pop windows, shadow options and quick scaling is the TNT Screen Capture.

Apart from the design elements, webmasters need to produce good content as well. If the company for which they are developing a website cannot provide articles relevant to the business, the webmasters have an option. They can secure free content for specific target audience from different sites. FreeSticky has a directory of content (horoscopes, games, photos and articles) which webmasters can use for free, Small Business Software has a wide collection of articles on marketing which can be republished while GoArticles has a directory of articles which can be searched using keywords.

Other tools that can be utilized to ensure that websites get a good ranking in search engines include keyword tools, newsletters, blacklist checkers and alerts.