April 30, 2010 – (HOSTSEARCH.COM) – Today marks the third annual Web Professionals' Day.
Go Daddy, the world's largest domain name registrar and Web hosting provider, created the holiday to honor all online professionals around the globe -- the people who help develop, run, refresh, secure and repair websites around the world.
According to IDC, two-thirds of small to medium-sized businesses have their own Web Professionals in-house, elevating the importance of a company's
Web Professionals. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts the profession will grow faster than average over the next decade.
"Having a talented Web professional can make all the difference in business these days," said Go Daddy CEO and Founder Bob Parsons. "For all the holidays on the Hallmark calendar, it just seemed to us that Web professionals deserved a special day for all the great work they do!"
This year, the holiday is gaining some extra steam across the United States. The American Marketing Association pronounced the holiday to its chapters across the nation, recognizing the vital contributions Web Professionals make to their industry. In a 2009 study, the group found marketers are exhibiting a steady, year-over-year spending increase for online development.
Closer to Go Daddy headquarters, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon will formally recognize the holiday by way of an official Mayoral Proclamation. He is scheduled to bestow the honor in front of Go Daddy's downtown Phoenix office later this afternoon, underscoring the significance of the Web Professionals to our global economy.
To show support for the talented Web Professionals who keep GoDaddy.com up and running, the company is hosting pizza parties for developers in its Denver, Iowa and Arizona offices.
You too can show support for hardworking Web Pros everywhere by posting a graphic "Web Professionals' Day" badge to your Facebook profile, or via Twitter through the hash tag: #WebProDay. It's easy, just grab a badge or get going with a ready-made Tweet from the GoDaddy.com homepage.
Bill Cullifer, Executive Director for The World Organization of Webmasters, a not-for-profit professional association serving Web professionals worldwide, is thrilled to see the holiday grow from its beginnings two years ago.
"It's great to see Web Professionals celebrated for the serious practitioners they are," Cullifer said. "Today we salute hardworking individuals and Web Professional organizations for all the creativity, technical expertise and business acumen they bring to the table."
In addition to maintaining websites, Web Professionals oversee issues such as availability to users and speed of access. They collect and analyze data on Web activity, traffic patterns and other metrics, as well as monitor and respond to user feedback.
About The Go Daddy Group, Inc.
Go Daddy is a leading provider of services that enable individuals and businesses to establish, maintain and evolve an online presence. Go Daddy provides a variety of domain name registration plans and Web site design and hosting packages, as well as a broad array of on-demand services. These include products such as SSL Certificates, Domains by Proxy private registration, ecommerce Web site hosting, blog templates and blog software, podcast packages and online photo hosting. The Go Daddy Group, Inc. has more than 40 million domain names under management. Go Daddy registers, renews or transfers a domain name every second. GoDaddy.com is the world's No. 1 domain name registrar according to Name Intelligence, Inc.
GoDaddy.com is also rated the world's largest hostname provider according to Netcraft Ltd. During 2009, The Go Daddy Group registered more than one-third of all new domain names created in the top six generic top-level domains, or gTLDs, including .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz and .mobi.
