Web professions explained simply: who does what?
Developer, designer, SEO or webmaster: understand their roles with concrete examples and know exactly who to call for your website projects and maintenance.
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You want a website. You ask for a quote and, within a few exchanges, people are talking to you about developers, UX, SEO, webmasters and managed services. You came to present your business and receive enquiries. You leave feeling like you need to put together an entire IT team.
These words refer to different responsibilities. They don't necessarily mean eight different people, and certainly not eight services to buy without understanding why. To make sense of it, I prefer to follow what happens on a site: what the visitor understands, what they can do, and then what allows the service to keep running.
The designer works on this presentation. They choose a hierarchy, colours, typography and a way of arranging elements. This is often called UI: the User Interface. UX is more about the path the visitor takes. What are they looking for? What do they need to understand before booking? Why are they being asked to fill in this field?
In a small team, both aspects can be handled by the same person. The distinction mainly helps to identify the right problem. "I don't like this green" and "no one can find how to book" require two different discussions.
The copywriter works on what the site says. They help explain a service, answer questions and maintain a consistent voice. A ghostwriter writes on behalf of someone else: their job is to shape what that person knows and wants to say, not to invent a career or results for them.
If you know your trade but your pages remain full of phrases like "innovative solutions tailored to your needs", that might be the issue. A single sentence that actually explains your work is worth more than a paragraph that any company could use.
We talk about front-end for the part that runs in the browser: screens, interactions, display. The back-end handles processing and data on the server side. A full-stack developer works on both. This doesn't mean they are automatically an expert in design, SEO and every tool your business wants to connect to.
These roles overlap. The designer plans a clear form, the copywriter clarifies the instructions and the developer makes it usable, including when information is missing or a submission fails. If no one talks to each other, you can end up with a beautiful mockup and a form that doesn't meet the need.
This is also why the number of pages isn't enough to measure a project. A booking page can require more work than ten presentation pages. I explain this difference in the article on custom sites for small businesses.
For a local tradesperson, we can start with a very concrete need: someone is looking for a service in a town where you work, but your site doesn't say anywhere that you cover that area. The answer isn't necessarily "add more keywords". You need useful information in the right place, then verify that the page is accessible and understood.
This work can involve text, site structure, links or technical issues. Therefore, the consultant doesn't systematically replace the developer or the copywriter: they may need them to implement their recommendations.
And the result isn't just a rising traffic curve. If visitors aren't looking for your service, or can't find how to contact you, the traffic hasn't solved your business problem.
You can compare this to business premises. Renting the walls doesn't mean someone tidies your files, maintains your equipment and looks after all your gear. Similarly, hosting doesn't automatically include the maintenance of your application or a tested restoration of your data.
The webmaster is often the day-to-day point of contact for the site. They publish content, update offers, check links or coordinate fixes. The term is broad: some are mainly editorial, others very technical. Ask what the person actually takes responsibility for, rather than relying on the title.
The common thread between these roles is continuity. When your form stops receiving enquiries, you need to know who is looking into the problem. The separation between host, developer and webmaster is pointless if everyone just refers you to the next person. This is what maintenance support should clarify.
It can prepare a summary of a request, find information or suggest a response. Someone still has to decide what it can read, what actions it can take and when it should stop. This work is a matter of design and integration, not an intelligence supposed to know your business all by itself.
A main point of contact can take on several roles and bring in specific expertise when the project requires it. Conversely, an agency can bring together several specialists. In both cases, responsibilities must be clear: who validates content, who tests functions, who monitors the launch and who responds afterwards?
At Cadarsir, I handle or coordinate these different parts depending on the project. The idea isn't to pretend that all professions are interchangeable. It's to allow you to talk about your business without having to tell the same story to every person involved, and then to have someone who understands why the site was built that way.
These words refer to different responsibilities. They don't necessarily mean eight different people, and certainly not eight services to buy without understanding why. To make sense of it, I prefer to follow what happens on a site: what the visitor understands, what they can do, and then what allows the service to keep running.
A beautiful site and an easy-to-use site are not quite the same thing
Imagine a restaurant whose site shows magnificent photos, but where you can't find the opening hours or the booking button. The problem isn't necessarily the code. The information might be poorly organised, or the presentation draws attention to the wrong place.The designer works on this presentation. They choose a hierarchy, colours, typography and a way of arranging elements. This is often called UI: the User Interface. UX is more about the path the visitor takes. What are they looking for? What do they need to understand before booking? Why are they being asked to fill in this field?
In a small team, both aspects can be handled by the same person. The distinction mainly helps to identify the right problem. "I don't like this green" and "no one can find how to book" require two different discussions.
The copywriter works on what the site says. They help explain a service, answer questions and maintain a consistent voice. A ghostwriter writes on behalf of someone else: their job is to shape what that person knows and wants to say, not to invent a career or results for them.
If you know your trade but your pages remain full of phrases like "innovative solutions tailored to your needs", that might be the issue. A single sentence that actually explains your work is worth more than a paragraph that any company could use.
When you click, someone has planned what should happen
The developer builds the site's mechanisms. Behind a "book now" button, it might be necessary to check a slot, record a request, send a message and allow the manager to reply. The button takes up a few centimetres on the screen; the work it triggers can be much more significant.We talk about front-end for the part that runs in the browser: screens, interactions, display. The back-end handles processing and data on the server side. A full-stack developer works on both. This doesn't mean they are automatically an expert in design, SEO and every tool your business wants to connect to.
These roles overlap. The designer plans a clear form, the copywriter clarifies the instructions and the developer makes it usable, including when information is missing or a submission fails. If no one talks to each other, you can end up with a beautiful mockup and a form that doesn't meet the need.
This is also why the number of pages isn't enough to measure a project. A booking page can require more work than ten presentation pages. I explain this difference in the article on custom sites for small businesses.
Being online doesn't mean being found
The SEO consultant works on visibility in search engines. They look for the questions your future clients are asking, which pages answer them, and what stops Google from understanding or discovering them.For a local tradesperson, we can start with a very concrete need: someone is looking for a service in a town where you work, but your site doesn't say anywhere that you cover that area. The answer isn't necessarily "add more keywords". You need useful information in the right place, then verify that the page is accessible and understood.
This work can involve text, site structure, links or technical issues. Therefore, the consultant doesn't systematically replace the developer or the copywriter: they may need them to implement their recommendations.
And the result isn't just a rising traffic curve. If visitors aren't looking for your service, or can't find how to contact you, the traffic hasn't solved your business problem.
The site runs somewhere, and it needs looking after too
The host provides the resources that make the site accessible: servers, storage, network and services included in their offer. The managed service provider handles all or part of the operation of this environment: configuration, monitoring, updates, access and incidents, depending on the contract.You can compare this to business premises. Renting the walls doesn't mean someone tidies your files, maintains your equipment and looks after all your gear. Similarly, hosting doesn't automatically include the maintenance of your application or a tested restoration of your data.
The webmaster is often the day-to-day point of contact for the site. They publish content, update offers, check links or coordinate fixes. The term is broad: some are mainly editorial, others very technical. Ask what the person actually takes responsibility for, rather than relying on the title.
The common thread between these roles is continuity. When your form stops receiving enquiries, you need to know who is looking into the problem. The separation between host, developer and webmaster is pointless if everyone just refers you to the next person. This is what maintenance support should clarify.
And where does the AI agent fit in?
An AI agent isn't a ninth service provider. It's software that a person designs or configures to perform certain tasks using an artificial intelligence model and, potentially, connected tools.It can prepare a summary of a request, find information or suggest a response. Someone still has to decide what it can read, what actions it can take and when it should stop. This work is a matter of design and integration, not an intelligence supposed to know your business all by itself.
You don't have to become a digital site manager
For a small business, the useful question isn't "how many professions do I need to hire?". It's "who is responsible for connecting it all?".A main point of contact can take on several roles and bring in specific expertise when the project requires it. Conversely, an agency can bring together several specialists. In both cases, responsibilities must be clear: who validates content, who tests functions, who monitors the launch and who responds afterwards?
At Cadarsir, I handle or coordinate these different parts depending on the project. The idea isn't to pretend that all professions are interchangeable. It's to allow you to talk about your business without having to tell the same story to every person involved, and then to have someone who understands why the site was built that way.
