Designing a website can be hard work. You need to know HTML and CSS, and other internet codes. Or you have to pay someone to do it for you. If you’re on a hosting site that offers templates, you find that the web design is often stale and static – there’s not much room for flexibility or creating the web site you want to see. This is where being involved with an Open Source community can be highly beneficial to you.
Using Open Source for Design and Functionality Purposes
The Open Source model began with programmers and has been successful for and applied in media, education, government, and private business web sites. It’s a collaborative development and offers you a great way to incorporate new ideas and the latest concepts into your website’s design.
With open-source software, you can design your graphics, CSS, and HTML while relying on templates and code resources. And it’s all for free!
Your Open Source Options
1. Basic CSS Layouts – This is great if you want the freedom to create an original design, but need help setting up a basic layout. Using an open-source CSS template gives you a clean slate for you to incorporate and build your design, graphics, and text into.
2. Complete Web Design – downloading this type of software offers you a complete template that requires minimal tweaking. You not only get CSS, but HTML and some graphic files to help you put up your web site fast.
3. Open Source Design Programs – instead of paying for software like FrontPage, Dreamweaver, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, you can download programs that do the same work for you (and sometimes more) for the price of $0.00. Some programs are only usable with Linux systems (Cssed and Bluefish), while others are good for all systems (Nvu, Quanta Plus, GIMPShop, Inkscape).
Using Open Source models for your website is a great route to go – whether you already know what you’re doing in web design and just need a little help, or if you’re completely new to it.
