Kamila Thompson When you choose the software your business runs on, you’re picking between two models. Either you hold a license to the software itself, or you rent access to somebody else’s and pay monthly for a product you can’t take with you. Open source software is the first kind, released under a license that lets anyone use it, look at how it works, change it, and pass it on. The examples here are WordPress, though the same logic applies to anything licensed the same way.
What you get when software is open source
What you get when software is open source is a set of rights written into its license. WordPress is released under the GNU General Public License version 2 or later, which gives anyone holding a copy the right to run it for any purpose, study how it works, change it, and pass it on with or without their changes. WordPress states that plugins and themes inherit the same license, so the tools built on top of it carry the same terms.
In practical terms, the company that made the software can’t revoke your right to keep running the copy you already have.
Four advantages of open source software as you grow
Four advantages of open source software show up as a business gets bigger, and each one comes from holding the license rather than renting access to somebody else’s product.
- The version you have stays yours. A company can change its pricing, alter its support terms, or charge differently for future versions, and open source licensing does not stop any of that. What it does stop is anyone taking away the copy you’re already running.
- You can move whenever you want to. The software is not tied to one supplier, so changing host means moving your files and your database and nothing else.
- You can hire almost anyone. WordPress runs 40.7% of all websites and 58.9% of sites whose content management system is known, according to W3Techs in August 2026, so a large number of developers already know it without needing to learn your setup first.
- You can change what it does. If the software does not do something you need, you or somebody you pay can add it, without waiting for a feature to reach a roadmap.
What to know before you build on open source software
Before you build on open source software, four things are worth getting straight:
- It is not free to run. The license costs nothing. Hosting, plugins, themes, and somebody’s time to keep everything updated, all cost money. Paid plugins are not a contradiction, because you are buying the work and the support rather than permission.
- Security depends on updates. The code is public, so flaws get found faster and are visible to everyone once they are. Sites that get compromised are almost always running versions that are out-of-date.
- Nobody owes you support. Community forums answer when they answer. If your business can’t absorb a day of waiting, buy support from your host or from the companies making your plugins.
- Plugins get abandoned. Anyone can publish one and walk away. Check when it was last updated, how many active installations it has, and whether a company or one individual maintains it. The WordPress plugin directory shows all three on every listing.
Frequently asked questions
Where this leaves you
If you are choosing what to build your business on, ask what happens to your site if the company behind the software changes its terms. With open source software you carry on running what you have, which is a large part of why growing businesses end up on WordPress.
Nexcess hosts open source software as its whole business. Your WordPress install, your plugins and your data stay yours, and moving them elsewhere stays your decision.
We also build it. LearnDash, Kadence, Give and The Events Calendar are ours, released under the same license as WordPress, so the people running your managed WordPress hosting maintain four of the tools you are likely running on your site.