Webmaster

The basic requirements for a webmaster for the Gathering site boils down to 1) Familarity with html and how to put together website, 2) Reliable internet access, 3) the time and ability to keep the site maintained and to add updates whenever the staff need it. Not "right-that-minute" of course, but you should typically be able to process any request relating to just adding or removing written content on the site within 12 hours. And 4) If you find yourself lacking any of the previous three requirements, the ability to immediately get in touch with the staff and inform them of such with as little drama as possible.

From the get-go, you ought to give over to the Con Chair a copy of all relevant information for being able to access the website through an ftp program, in case you are kidnapped by aliens or otherwise vanish off the face of the world, as otherwise the staff is left with no way to update the site for months on end. And that's just no good.

If you're running a Gathering, most likely your site will be hosted as part of the Gathering Webportal, but if you're reading this in preparation for a start-up convention of a different genre (god help you), then you as webmaster are also responsible for finding hosting for your site. *Good*, *Inexpensive* hosting. If you're the sort to look towards the future, you may want to set things up with the thought in mind that people will be returning to the same web address year after year, so pick a decent name for it. Consider having the index be a splash page, and the actual content for each year in a different folder so all you have to change each year is the appearance of that page and where it directs to, not the url being posted and printed in all of your advertising.

Some notes on site-building:

For starters, you don't need fancy code and icons of dancing flames. I have nothing against sites using css or php, I'm just saying that you can put together a simple and functional site using just html if you can't find anyone who knows anything beyond that. This site is entirely html. Could it be niftier and more streamlined using advanced coding styles? Probably. Does it really omg need! it? Not really. If you want to use the site as an excuse to practice your skills, go for it, as long as the daily availability of the site isn't interrupted. (In other words, make 110% sure that your new code is in perfect working order before uploading it over the current version.)

No matter how you decide to implement your webpage layouts, don't leave the site empty while you're working on your uber master design. Take ten minutes and create a simple page that contains the basic information about the convention: Who you are and what your convention is about, when and where it will be held, any events or contests or guests you are featuring (or looking into featuring), where to go to learn about how to register and what the fees are, and contact information for the staff. There should already be write-ups for this composed by the staff. (You're not responsible for creating the written content of the site, just making sure it is posted up.) If there are websites for previous years, or forums where the other likely attendees are hanging out, link to those.

If a forum doesn't already exist where you can talk about the convention, then you as webmaster are responsible for setting one up. You'll want a really, really good spam-bot filter, and possibly someone else to act as moderator for the site (such as the Con Host/ess) to mediate any interpersonal difficulties that may arise.

If you have little artistic or design talent, then it's also your responsibility to find someone to make banners in appropriate sizes for the convention's advertising needs, and then uploading them to the site.

If your approach is mostly artistic with only a minimal knowledge of coding, please find someone to partner with or at least beta for anything beyond your field of familiarity. Online registration needs to work from the time it is opened up for public use until the day that online pre-regisration closes. While the Treasurer is responsible for setting up the Paypal account- assuming the convention is using one, which is still recommended at this point since the Gathering doesn't pull in enough cash to make it worth the monthly fee to run credit cards- you're responsible for both the front-end and the back-end in regards to how this is used on the site and the actual online registration process.

And if you're an uber code geek, please bear in mind how big of an impact aesthetics has on 99.8% of the viewers. They're not going to care about the wonderful functionality of the site if they can't find what they are looking for, or the site is retina-searing to look at.

A rule of thumb for websites is that no page should be more than two clicks away from the main index. You want to make it as easy as possible for perusers to navigate the site.