Open source has nurtured innovation in the web development community for a long time. It can reduce the cost of software, and help beginning designers and programmers to get some experience. Popular languages such as Rails, PHP and Python are open source. Many well known platforms that are built using these languages, such as Drupal and WordPress, are also open source. This is great because it allows people to access software for free, as well as contribute themselves.
Although open source platforms and languages are free, there is a lot of money being made from developers of services and products, which use open source software. This includes things such as premium themes and development frameworks, such as Ruby on Rails and jQuery.
Open source is symbiotic and allow the use of software that would not otherwise be in the market place. The commercial extensions of these sources create a self sustaining economy, while adding versatility and competitiveness. Open source software has two different sides. which are commercial and free. Each brings something unique to the table and people benefit from them both.
Open source: the commercial side
WordPress, Joomla and Drupal and three of the biggest open source CMS platforms available. They are each made using PHP, which is also open source. There are many other management systems out there, which are not as well known.
Out of the three platforms mentioned above, WordPress is probably the best known. It is open source and free, just like the others. However, if you would like to get more out of your usage, and you are willing to pay fees, you can upgrade to a premium service. Dupal is also open source and free, but there are premium services available. By selling these products companies can be competitive and earn money through open source platforms.
Developers can create plugins and modules for use with open source platforms, like the above mentioned Drupal, WordPress and also Joomla. These give greater functionality beyond the scope of the basic packages, and give users a more versatile experience.
Trying to make money through open source development has its pros and cons. Companies are able to release extensions for existing platforms, utilizing forums to make their work usable by thousands, or even more, people. However, unless you have a team of marketers that know what they are doing, it can be difficult for your work to reach the masses. Small time developers are constantly trying to make their work known so that they can actually make some money.
Following is a list of software market places where you can pick up some modules and extensions that are available.
Chrome web store
This site has themes, apps and extensions available for use with the open source browser, Google Chrome.
Android Market
This site has thousands of free and paid apps, which are all on offer through the open source mobile platform, Andriod.
WP Plugins
WP Plugins is a software market place that distributes WordPress plugins. They have premium plugins which can extend the features of WordPress, such as e-commerce plugins.
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