A website editor curates and manages content on a website in order to meet the needs of the site’s owners and visitors. Website editors help magazines, newspapers, and other publications maintain editorial standards and provide users with a steady stream of new content. This job usually necessitates editing experience, as well as knowledge of how Internet media works and connections with industry professionals. Some colleges and universities provide training in this field, and many website editors gain experience on the job as they progress up the ranks.
The website editor is responsible for upholding the publication’s editorial standards and selecting content that aligns with its mission and objectives. For example, an editor for an online veterinary magazine is interested in content about veterinary science topics ranging from medical ethics to discussions of the most recent developments in treatment. The editor collaborates closely with top executives to determine the type of content and tone that the publication requires. She might hire subeditors to handle different sections, each focusing on a different area of expertise.
Editors are in charge of finding and hiring new writers to create content, whether they’re looking for regular columnists or journalists to cover a one-time event. Photographers, videographers, and other content creators are also needed for a multimedia website. When a website is redesigned, the website editor typically has input and can discuss topics such as layout, features, and user requests.
Rather than handling everything themselves, website editors usually delegate tasks to others. Subeditors may be directly responsible for working with writers, and the website editor may provide training. If the publication also has a print edition, the website editor can collaborate with the print editor on coverage ideas, special issues, and other issues that may affect both print and web. For example, a food magazine publishing a dessert issue will want the website to match the dessert coverage in order to give readers of both the magazine and the website a consistent experience.
Because a website editor frequently works with writers in different time zones and may need to respond to breaking news, this job can require long hours. Web editors at news sites, in particular, must work quickly to publish stories in response to breaking news events around the world. This necessitates access to a large pool of writers capable of producing stories quickly, as well as the maintenance of a staff of fact checkers, photographers, layout editors, and others capable of getting those stories ready for publication as quickly as possible.