Why Use Open Source?

If you use WordPress, you know that it’s free but you may have also heard that it’s considered ‘open source’. But what exactly is open source? Open source basically means that the source code for the software is freely available for anyone to use. With public licensing, open source software can be offered free of charge to any web developer who wants to use it. Let’s look at a few examples of free open source applications so that you can get a better idea of what you’re talking about.

WordPress
As you know, it’s the world’s most popular content management system. It is used by millions of websites, it’s simple to use and it’s free. The thing that makes this open source CMS platform so great is that fact that it is supported by a ton of plug ins that make it completely customizable. With WordPress, you can turn any website into an online store, a blog, or anything else you desire.

Mozilla Firefox
Firefox is a web browser that is used by nearly 30% of internet users and the number continues to grow every year. Most web professionals would rather use Firefox than any other browser and that popularity is only increasing thanks to a  number of add-ons made by third parties that, like WordPress with its plug ins, make the browser completely customizable.

Other open source applications you may have heard of or used include:

• Mozilla Thunderbird
• File Zilla
• Open Office
• And many more

Open Source and Schools

Businesses aren’t the only ones using open source software. Now many schools are jumping on board. Open source allows students to freely share information and ideas so as to create a better learning environment. By not placing any restrictions on the software and how that software is used, ideas can flourish and that always leads to great and powerful things. This is the force behind the ‘open source movement’.

Open Source vs. Private License

Thanks to the widespread use of the internet and the growing popularity of the open source software movement, there are now open source solutions for operating systems, word processing and spreadsheet programs, email management, image editing accounting, and more.

The main benefit of open source software is that it’s free, as in you don’t have to pay to use the license. With WordPress, there is a public license that allows you to download and use the CMS for your own personal use. If you were to use a private license CMS, you would have to pay for its use and possibly for any upgrades.

With open source software, you never pay for upgrades, you don’t need expensive hardware upgrades and online support is always readily available. Not only that, but when you use open source software, you support a movement that is moving away from proprietary restrictions. Going along with the freedom of the internet, the open source movement seeks to make all computer based applications equal and free for anyone to use.

If you are currently using private license software, you may find that there is an open source version of that software that works just as well or even better. Take Open Office and Microsoft Office, for example. Open Office has a word processor and a spread sheet program that rivals Word and Excel. The two open source versions were clearly based on Microsoft’s versions, but the open source versions are said to be superior in a number of ways. So if you’ve never tried open source software and you’re not yet part of the open source movement, you now have plenty of free software applications to download in order to begin your initiation.