Nowadays more and more companies and individuals are using open source technologies in web design and development. By definition, open source means any program whose source code is made available for use or modification by developers.

When we use open source technologies for developing software, we generally refer it as open source software development. There are both advantages and disadvantages of developing a website using open source technologies. The possible disadvantages are maybe some customization restrictions. There are numerous.

The most important advantage of using an open source technology is the reduced cost. Since the core software is free, the website development cost is generally lesser than what it would be if you get it built from scratch. Also when a web project has budget and time constraints, it saves lot of time and so it can be really beneficial. The community of open source developers is growing and so there are numerous software available for all kind of website and web application design right from simple CMS based sites, flash website design to high end social networking websites and e-learning solutions.

Before you choose open source software development for your website project, you should make sure to go to the vendors who have enough experience in developing websites using open source technologies. There are lots of popular systems like Joomla, Magento, and Drupal, oscommerce, Moodle etc. using which web applications and websites of varying complexities can be developed. These systems also have very supportive communities and forums.

For CMS based websites, the most popular open source systems are Joomla and Drupal. For shopping carts, Magento and Oscommerce are popular. Moodle is one of the most preferred open source software for e-learning solutions.

Customization of an open source system saves time and cost and if the project requirement are such that all the needs can be fulfilled using an open source system; it is generally preferred rather than building the application or site from scratch.

But in some cases a fully custom solution is preferred. For instance suppose a client wants a CMS based website and has very particular requirements in terms of features and design. If time and budget are not a constraint then in that case, a custom CMS is preferred instead of an open source system.

Also there is one more major disadvantage of using open source systems, particularly those which are new and not very established. Suppose a web service provider created a website using some open source system. There are certain cases where the programmers working on the open source system lose interest in it and stop working on it which may lead to possible stagnation and annihilation. In that case, if the site made on that system has to be upgraded or some bugs are found, it becomes very difficult for the site owner as well as the web developer who has worked on the site to upgrade it or remove the bugs.

Before starting a project, generally a good web service provider will provide the client all options - open source as well as custom or commercial systems and depending on the particular needs and budget, suggest the most appropriate solution.