Here at Code Media, we love open source. However, what makes open source web design so great and why is it better than bespoke web development?
3 Advantages Of Open Source Web Design
- Optimised For SEO
Competition is fierce on the internet, so websites need to make sure that their websites are optimised for search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. After all, what's the point in having an online presence if your customers don't know your website exists?
There are numerous different that businesses need to consider with regards to SEO. You'll need to identify and set realistic goals, conduct effective keyword research and optimise the content on your page so that is it Search Engine Friendly. In addition to optimising the content on your website, you'll also need to learn about and implement off page SEO techniques such as back link analysis.
SEO can be difficult and confusing to understand, however fortunately many open source platforms including Magento and WordPress have a selection of plug-ins that are specifically designed to assist you with Search Engine Optimisation. For example, for those developing their website using WordPress, you could use the plug-in called Yoast. - Open Source Provides Peace Of Mind
With Open Source platforms, any developer familiar with the source code can extend and alter the software. This provides businesses and organisations using the software with peace of mind, due to the protection from “vendor lock in" granted by open source. Additionally, the open source community of developers and programmers are constantly working with the source code; resulting in a massive peer review process, providing assistance with improvements, security, and bugs; allowing businesses and organisations to benefit from the skills of thousands of programmers across the world.
Additional peace of mind can be found with the security of open source platforms. Many users of open source software echo the claims of high quality security from open source vendors. However, thanks to the open nature of open source software, you don't just have to take these claims at face value. You can look into the source code and check for yourself, and if the security isn't to your liking, you can modify it, creating a robust and secure product for your business or organisation. - Great Options For Mobile Friendly Design
Arguably one of the biggest changes to our 21st century society was the invention of the Smartphone. This one item of tech is filled with so many useful applications that can assist us in our day to day lives and make our lives a little easier. For some, the phone has become their primary internet device, which stresses the importance of mobile friendly design. Many open source platforms such as WordPress are mobile friendly with responsive themes that react and adapt to the user's device without the user needing to switch to a mobile friendly version of the website. If your business' website isn't accessible to mobile customers, just think of all the business you could lose.
It's also important to note that mobile friendly design can help your website rank better in search engine results pages (see point 2). This is because responsively designed websites assist algorithms used by Google and this helps them to accurately assign the indexing properties. [Source: Google]
Bonus Point: Open Source Is Often Quicker And Cheaper
Time is money, so when considering the cost regarding web design and development, you'll have to think about how long the development will take. When written from scratch, bespoke web designs take a significant amount of time to develop as lots of work is required to design and build bespoke, however open source design with off the shelf template designs and plug-ins can be installed in simply a few hours.
