A web director plays an important role in keeping the quality of web content constant. It is a human resource that can be said to be indispensable for managing websites and web content, scrutinizing content, and managing deadlines.
More and more web directors are freelancers, as this is a very important position and requires a high level of skill. This time, I will explain what kind of work freelance web directors do, how to become independent, and their annual income.
What is Web Directory
A web directory is an important position, but it seems that many people do not have an image of what kind of work they are specifically in charge of. First of all, let’s understand what kind of position the web director is.
Web director job description
A web director is a person who is responsible for posting content on a website. In recent years, various companies have opened their websites to disseminate information. These websites need to maintain a certain quality, so the web director is responsible for ensuring that.
First, I am in charge of planning what kind of content is necessary for the website. A website is not just about adding content. A web directory manages content so that appropriate content can be provided based on user needs.
Also, if you request content creation, we will check the quality. The web director’s job is not only to plan the content of the website but also to check whether the content is as planned.
In addition, to ensure the quality of the content, I am also in charge of managing the deadline for content creation. If the content does not come together as planned, the value of the website will decrease, so the web director will manage it until the deadline.
Skills required for a web director
Web directors are responsible for various tasks, so there are many skills required. If you want to be active as a freelancer, you need enough skills, so let’s understand each skill.
Planning and proposal skills
Web directors are in a position to manage website content, but they are also in charge of content planning and proposals. To create an attractive website, you need skills to work with clients.
To work, you need planning ability, and you have to think about the website that users want. It is necessary to understand the direction that the client thinks, and high skills are required.
In addition, it is also required to summarize the plan in materials and make an appropriate proposal. Without document creation and presentation skills, no matter how good a plan you come up with, it will not be adopted, and your value as a web director may be lowered.
Web production skills
The role is to ensure the quality of the content, not the role to create the website with engineers. However, you should also have some web production skills, as you may be consulting with engineers on how to present your content.
Specifically, the skills that web directors want to have are mainly design-related items such as HTML and CSS. Skills related to programming languages are difficult, so design skills are enough.
Copywriting skills
Web directors need to read the content sentences to ensure the quality of the website. It is necessary to evaluate whether the text is attractive from the user’s point of view and whether it is appealing to action.
There are many ways to think about how to write sentences, but it is mainly copywriting that is emphasized on the website. If you are a freelancer, mastering these skills will make it easier for you to succeed.
The situation surrounding web directors
We will explain the demand for web directors and the situation surrounding web directors.
Shortage of web directors
As there are many websites in the world, web directors tend to be in short supply. Demand and supply do not match because many companies want to ensure the quality of their websites.
Of course, the demand for web directors is not as large as the number of websites. There are many cases where one web director is in charge of multiple websites. You don’t need a web director in proportion to the number of websites you have.
However, even considering that there are web directors who have multiple jobs in the world, there is a shortage of web directors. There will be stable demand for web directors who are responsible for ensuring the quality of content.
If you have the skills, you can work as a freelancer
Web directors are required to have high skills in content creation and quality assurance. In other words, if you have high skills related to content creation, you can also work as a freelancer.
Many web directors are active as freelancers. My past achievements have been recognized, and I have been able to receive orders for freelance work.
One of the characteristics of web directors is that there is no big difference in the work they are in charge of, whether they are employees or freelancers. Some website-related tasks are not outsourced to freelancers. For example, work related to money is not outsourced to freelancers.
However, web director work rarely involves trade secrets and tends to be outsourced to freelancers. Due to the characteristics of the information handled, it is a job that can be outsourced to freelancers, making it easier for freelancers to be active.
Web Director Independence Method
If you want to be independent as a web director, the independence method is somewhat limited. This time, I will explain the main things in the independent method as a web director.
Independence from office workers
If you want to go independent as a freelance web director, consider going independent from your company. Since the work of a web directory is wide-ranging, it is better to gain experience as a company employee. You should gain experience for about 3 to 5 years and improve your skills as a web director before becoming independent.
Also, if you are thinking about becoming independent from the company employees, be aware that you should be the main web director, not an assistant. Since assistants are mainly support workers, they tend to be difficult to evaluate as practical experience when becoming independent. You should have experience in a position as a web director and have been responsible for at least one website.
In addition, as long as you can acquire the skills of a web directory, you can become independent at any time. As explained above, skills are an important position for web directors, so if you have practical experience and your skills, you can be independent.
Level up from web writer
There is an independent way to level up from web writers creating content for websites. Rather than becoming independent as a web director, it is the flow of becoming independent as a freelance web writer and aiming to become a web director from there.
The main job of web writers is to create sentences, but some of them may be entrusted with web direction. Even if you are not entrusted with the direction of the entire website, there are many cases where you are entrusted with the direction of part of it. Take advantage of such opportunities to acquire the skills of a web director.
If you can gain some experience here, you may be recognized as a web director by those around you. Also, a client who received an order as a web writer may receive an order as a web director. It’s not bad to aim for a web director from a web writer.
However, working as a web writer does not necessarily mean that you will have a chance to become a web director. Because it depends on the client’s way of thinking, there is also a luck factor in whether or not you can become a web director. If you want to improve your level as a web writer, it might be better to choose a web director job that experienced web writers can apply for.
Web director annual income market and annual income example
When working as a freelance web director, the annual income changes greatly depending on how many projects you receive. This time, I will explain how much annual income you can expect from the number of working days and work style.
Remote work 2-3 times a week
Many web director projects for freelancers are engaged in work only about 2 to 3 times a week. Depending on the number and size of the websites you are responsible for, a web director’s tasks may not be available daily. In many cases, projects are received under contracts in which tasks are performed regularly.
In the case of a project that operates 2-3 times a week, the project unit price is about 250,000 yen to 400,000 yen per month. If the number of websites in charge is large or if specialized knowledge is required, there is a tendency to add on. Since the monthly operating hours are short, the unit price is low and the annual income is also low.
However, freelancers can take on multiple projects, so if you receive two projects and three projects a week, you will have five times a week, which will increase your income. Web directors often have multiple projects, and if you work in that way, you can expect an annual income of around 5 million yen to 8 million yen.
Remote work 5 times a week
A freelance web director is in charge of a large-scale project that operates five times a week. As explained above, the web director’s tasks are not done every day, so they are ordered in fewer days.
However, when a client runs many websites or has a difficult project in progress, the web director’s tasks increase. As a result, there is a web director project that works 5 days a week.
Since there are many web director tasks for projects that operate five times a week, the project unit price is about 600,000 yen to 800,000 yen. If you can stably receive orders, your annual income will be about 7 million yen to 9 million yen.
5 Times a week on-site client
There is a project that resides at the client site in the project of the web director. This is a project when it is necessary to work closely with the client, such as when the client is focusing on content creation.
Resident projects tend to require long working hours and complex work, and the unit price is set high. The project unit price can be considered to be about 700,000 yen to 900,000 yen. There are cases where the annual income exceeds 10 million yen.
However, many web director projects can be handled remotely, and the number of projects that can be stationed at the client site is limited. You can expect a high annual income for projects that require you to be stationed, but in reality, remote work tends to result in a modest annual income.
Summary
I explained about the freelance web director. Web directors are in high demand, and it is now possible to become independent as long as you have the skills. If you have experience as a director on a website with a certain scale, you can also work as a freelancer.
The annual income of a web director is greatly influenced by the hours of operation. Not all projects can be worked on every day, so if you want to earn a large amount of income, consider combining multiple projects. Combining two-day-a-week projects and three-day-a-week projects enables a 5-day-a-week operation.
In addition, the unit price tends to be higher for web directors who are in charge of websites that require specialized knowledge. If you have some strengths in your expertise, you may want to look for a web director job where you can make use of your knowledge.
