To LEAP™, or Not to LEAP™?
Open Source Vs. Proprietary Content Management Systems:
"Free as in Puppies"
As we are the builders of LEAP™, we are obviously regularly questioned by individuals who are strongly considering using an "open source" CMS instead of the LEAP™ system.
The question beckons: if there are so many open-source CMSes freely available, why would people use a proprietary system which costs money?
Let's get right to the point.
The main disadvantages of open source CMSes are:
Because they are open source systems (i.e. the code for the software is readily available on the web), they are much more likely to be hacked. Treefrog's LEAP™ CMS is proprietary and not open source. The code is written in Lasso, which is a less popular and therefore less abused language, and is also hardened against attack. We have never had a zero day attack (i.e. an attack which comes out of the blue and brings down your site in under a day since it was discovered).
Open source software can be modified by anybody and then redistributed because its code is supposed to be freely available, unlike the proprietary CMS that client's cannot alter and redistribute. It is therefore less likely to have security issues.
Because they are open source code, the CMS is made to be customized. This means that you would need to either know programming code and languages (i.e. HTML, PHP, etc.) in order to use the CMS OR you would need to hire a programmer OR certified professional with that open source CMS in order to make ongoing changes / customization.
As a result of the point above, customizing the open source CMS can be very difficult and, in the long term, costs you more money in technical support and programming assistance. Thus, contrary to clients beliefs the open source software is not as free as it seems. In fact, sometimes it can prove to be more expensive than the proprietary software.
Often, getting an open source CMS to do your bidding can take as much if not more effort than building a system from scratch. The right tool for the right job, we say.
Many of the open source applications are not as reliable and one should consider if running your critical business (i.e. your website) on them is an educated decision.
No support exists for most open source software. Once you decide to use open source CMS, you are on your own. Agreed, that lots of help is available on the Internet and there are many self-motivated forums that can help you install and run open source CMS, however there is no qualified 24/7/365 support available. You have to figure out on your own how to install and use software without sabotaging your data mistakenly. With Treefrog, we have trained and certified web professions all call 24/7/365, available for Emergency Technical support.
Who are you going to call when your site is down?
No help documents and manuals can possible be made available since the software is being changed continuously and is customized for individual firms. At Treefrog™, we have thorough and complete LEAP™ documentation that is easy to follow and is available in both print and online versions.
No guarantee of updates. Since you are not paying for the open source CMS nobody is bound to give you regular updates. You can get stuck with the same old version for years without ever getting an update. At Treefrog™, we are constantly creating LEAP™ updates, improvements and new modules, based on client feedback and demand. Our clients are easily selling their products online, uploading pictures and blogging.
"Free" as in Puppies!
Main advantages are:
A lot of them tend be free (but are they really?)......
Note that Treefrog™ does host websites for several clients that have sites running on open source CMS's i.e. Joomla, Mambo, Wordpress etc. and we gladly provide technical support and assistance to them.
Sources:
E-Com Solutions. "Disadvantages of open source software." December 18, 2007. Forrest Hills, NY.
Posted 1 May 2010, 5:21PM
