In an increasingly commercialized world, we have been led to believe that the best things in life…will cost you a bundle. New products are released every day, and one of the first things we notice is the price tag and how much it would set us back to own them. We have been brainwashed by the big players in almost every single industry out there to think that it is a privilege to pay eye watering amounts of money to get our hands on the “best” of their products.

On the contrary, we are subliminally taught to associate free stuff with shoddy workmanship and products that were made in someone’s garage. We are led to believe that should we use such products there are no guarantees to their performance or support and also that we should never expect any compensation for damages that might be caused while using them.

But is it really that scary an option? Are you, a business owner, making a mistake when you choose to go with open source software to build and run your website?

The answer is a short and simple “no” and here’s why:

1. Would you believe it if you were told that open source software were actually much more secure than their cloak-and-dagger versions? Well, it’s surprisingly true. The reason is when it comes to something being “open” there are thousands of pairs of eyes looking into and going through the code. Any malicious piece of software embedded in it will almost immediately be spotted by someone, somewhere out there. Pretty soon the whole programming community, and then the general public will find out about it and it is soon patched or corrected.
2. Reliability is almost always guaranteed with something that is a labor of love; and that is what open source software is. Every coder that added even a single line did it with the intention of adding to the greatness of the software he or she already loves. The end product is something that is robust, and should there be any bugs it is still that same army of global coders that will be right on top of it.
3. Open source software solutions are malleable. You have a new feature you want to add? Maybe you want to rearrange the existing ones to fit your standards. Whatever the reason, you are welcome to simply go ahead and get your hands dirty in the innards that are the source code. Try that with premium packages and you could end up with a huge lawsuit on your hands.
4. With open source software you are at the edge and outer limits of the latest technology. Coders never stop upgrading and improving their software of choice. You – the lucky end user – get to own the best of their cumulative brainwork to work for free.
5. Open source software mean you are free to do what you want to. You are under no obligation, you owe no one an excuse or explanation, there are no “heads up” or requests for permission you need to make before you go ahead and do whatever you plan to do with it. So long as you don’t use the software to hurt someone or to make illicit profits from unlawful methods, no one is going to bother you.
6. The world is your personal tech support. Have you ever had to contact a software maker’s tech support and had to wait days for a response and solution? No? Then you are in the minority of people who actually get help right when they need it. The rest of us mere mortals have to sweat it or go for open source software where every programmer out there is a tech guy that is more than happy to lend a helping hand. Some would even be glad to rewire the whole thing for you – for free – if you simply ask nicely.
7. We have all heard of software companies going bust or their choosing to discontinue one of their products. With open source software you will not be abandoned – there is no one owner of your software. You can look forward to years of use with careless abandon.
8. The hardware needed to support and run almost all open source software is minimal. You don’t need fancy servers to get your site up and running. You won’t need to add any resources every time you make an upgrade to a newer version. You could, in fact, make multiple major upgrades on the same server before even requiring new hardware.
9. The best and most obvious reason to go the open source software way is the cost. If you were to run your website on a Linux server you wouldn’t have to pay the exorbitant prices you are asked by some of the proprietary software makers out there – not even a fraction.

Well, if you still aren’t convinced you shouldn’t shell out hard cash for something that is actually the best of options for you, this article has utterly failed you – for which we apologize – or… you really need to hone your business acumen, especially the part that involves ROI analysis.