The Accidental Webmaster

Citation

Watts, C. (2003), "The Accidental Webmaster", New Library World, Vol. 104 No. 11/12, pp. 518-519. https://doi.org/10.1108/03074800310508786

Those who shrink away from the technicalities of developing Web sites, who think that extensible mark‐up language is confined to post‐watershed television programs and football terraces, and that cookies are for munching with a cup of tea, need not fear The Accidental Webmaster. Julie Still – who is herself an author, librarian and self‐confessed accidental webmaster – has written a book that provides useful and practical advice on developing and maintaining a Web site without swamping the reader with technicalities and jargon.

The Accidental Webmaster provides a guide for those who, perhaps unintentionally, find themselves tasked with constructing a Web site. Still is writing for the smaller organisation, and the book has short chapters giving advice to specific groups, including: advocacy and political groups, cultural organisations, church and religious groups, professional services and consultants, cultural institutions, family and genealogy sites, fan appreciation sites, school and children's sites, professional offices and small business sites. These short chapters give vignettes of helpful information. For example, the chapter for small business sites highlights the importance of reproducing accurate images of products in order to woo your customers, and offers a constructive design suggestion that “the personality of the page matches the personality of the business”. New webmasters can easily overlook the fundamental design issues that take into account an organisation's image and target audience when coming to grips with the many elements of Web development. Accidental webmasters across these various groups will glean much from Still's invaluable pieces of advice.

Earlier chapters deal with more generic matters. A section entitled “Do you really want to do this?” sensibly addresses time issues, and Still draws on her own experience to illustrate that sometimes being a webmaster “will be a small amount of work that you might enjoy … sometimes it is likely to be a bear”. Much of Still's advice is humorously delivered, such as when she urges readers to guard their time with phrases such as “That might be a good long‐term project. Let's talk about it at the next meeting and set a time line” or “That's a great idea! Let's see who's willing to do some of the legwork”. This gentle humour, together with useful information drawn from personal experience and rooted in common sense, lends the book both its charm and value.

A chapter on drawing up appropriate policies comes early in the book, under the heading “First things first”. Again, this is sound advice, with an emphasis placed upon planning time, being clear on the focus of the Web site (which in itself saves wasted time and effort), and laying down some ground rules in drawing up a Web mission statement and establishing specific policy issues. Such meticulous planning is absolutely essential to Web development, not only to be clear on what is required of whom and when, but also to ensure that the focus of the project is clearly laid out from the onset.

Other chapters turn attention to Web content itself, including broader design issues, promotion and marketing, and site testing. One particularly interesting chapter is given over to “Creating community”, which is particularly pertinent for small organisations looking to make contact with kindred spirits across the Web. To this end, Still discusses what is needed to run or participate in effective e‐mail discussion lists, bulletin boards and chat rooms.

One note of caution. Being a webmaster, however accidental, involves a certain amount of technical know‐how. It is inevitable that newcomers to Web development will have to learn new skills, come to grips with idiosyncratic software packages, and spend at least a few hours with a computer, begging it to please carry out the task that you thought you had already instructed it to do about a hundred times. Reading The Accidental Webmaster is not sufficient in itself to achieve success. Rather, it should be read in conjunction with other books that will fill in the technical gaps – because those gaps do need to be filled.

However, this is not in any way to detract from the quality of Still's book. The Accidental Webmaster is a welcome addition to the library of anyone who is venturing into the area of Web site development for the first time.