The whole Open Source movement has really kicked off around the world, with millions of websites currently running versions of WordPress, phpBB and other software. Not only this, but Open Source Software has enriched our lives with its free usage and superb functionality. Whilst commercial software will always exist and be a viable solution there are instances when open source will be the better solution.

But what are these instances?

As Open Source really gained momentum on the Internet it was only true to its nature for online open source scripts to dominate for websites. Whilst these free solutions help make our lives better the humble Web Developer no longer has to develop a bespoke system to cater for each user. With this in mind, can we ethically charge to ‘develop’ a website for a client when we didn’t create the system ourselves?

I believe we can.

Take WordPress for example. If a client wants a Blog added to their website then it would not be worthwhile to write a bespoke Blogging script for their website when I can just install WordPress and customise it to their liking. When written like this it sounds like the developer has next to no work to do other than to install a script, but there’s far more to it than that.

Whilst scripts like WordPress are so simple that anyone could use them well there is a definite learning curve when it comes to getting the most out of it, much like the learning curve in any piece of software you use. A developer has to work with the code of other contributing users to create a modified version of the basic tool to satisfy a project’s needs. It’s like saying that you should never buy Ben and Jerry’s because they didn’t create Ice Cream.

A Web Developer will become an expert user of the system and will turn a ‘bland’, no-frills version of the Blog you currently run into essentially an original piece of work that is only distinguishable as a WordPress Blog by the disclaimer at the bottom. In essence, we take a engine and create a car, and if there are any extras you require for your ‘car’, we can add them, even if we have to make them ourselves.

Trying to ’sell’ Open Source just shows the rather inane nature of Web Development. For a long time we’ve been obsessed with trying to sell a product, a few files that are placed on a web server so that a website appears. What we are really selling is a service to our clients. A product exists at the end, but all projects have some sort of deliverable. In this way I do not see any ethical dilemma with selling a service that uses Open Source software to create a website.

A Web Developer should be selling a solution to his/her clients, and a perfectly viable tool is Open Source software. With luck, the deliverables of your project will be a fantastic website that you are proud to call your own, regardless of where they code originated from.