How has the environment surrounding web directors changed in the past 20 years? What is needed now is "two orientations

[mdabuhasan]

The job of a " web director " is to direct the creation of a website . Recently, however, it has become commonplace for them to be expected to contribute to the business, such as by measuring effectiveness to improve profits. In the midst of this, many web directors are confused by the changes in the environment surrounding them and lose sight of their own careers.

How has the role of a web director changed over time? And how should we look at ourselves in order to map out our future careers?We spoke with Masaki Sukeda, whoserves as a director of the Japan Direction Association and has also worked on a recruitment service for web directors . The interviewer is Kayanuma, a Mynavi creator.

Profile Introduction


Representative of SPEC / Director of Japan Direction Association
Masaki Sukeda (left in photo)
After graduating from university, he worked in creative work such as R&D and public relations at a manufacturer. In 2005, he became a web director and experienced the launch of numerous web initiatives and new business projects. In 2012, he became a director of Innocentive Inc. Founder of Japan Direction Association . Certified mental manager. Since 2020, he has been the representative of SPEC.

Mynavi Works, Inc.
Mamoru Kayanuma (pictured right)
joined Mynavi Works, Inc. in 2013 and, as the head of the Web Marketing Team, is involved in all aspects of customer acquisition and promotion, including disseminating job-changing information and planning and running real events. His specialty is growing companies' websites through optimal SEO design and content marketing. As a producer, he is in charge of the entire project for the portfolio creation service "MATCHBOX," from planning and development to operation.

The changing role of web directors

Kayanuma: It's been a long time since the job of "web director" was created. When industry email list you first entered the internet industry, what kind of work was a web director?

Sukeda: I entered the industry around 2005, and it was already somewhat of a profession at that time. It is said that the title was created around 2000, so I think it's a position that was created in the last 20 years or so. In terms of the historical background, the early 2000s was when advertising and web-related production increased with the spread of flip phones.

Kayanuma: Compared to back then, the nature of websites has changed quite a bit. I think there have also been big changes on the production side.

Sukeda: At the time, WordPress and jQuery were not yet common, so we developed our own CMS (content management system). It was a time when we had to take on orders and build things from scratch.

Kayanuma: It's true that in the past, a web director was a position held by a production company, but nowadays, it's common for business companies to have in-house web directors if they are a relatively large company. Even small companies are often switching from outsourcing to in-house production in order to accumulate know-how. Isn't it true