What Concerns Are There About Open-Source Programs?

Open-source software has been a total game changer for web developers. No question about it. The ability to grab powerful frameworks, CMS platforms, and libraries—often for free—means you can build fast, experiment freely, and collaborate with people all over the world.

But let’s not pretend it’s all perfect. Open-source hands you a ton of flexibility and freedom — no doubt about it. But if you’re not careful? It can leave you wide open. Seen it happen more times than I can count.

First up — what actually is open-source software?

If you’re just stepping into this world, I’ll keep it simple. Open-source means the code’s out there for anyone to see, use, tweak, or build on. No locked doors. No gatekeepers.

You can use it, modify it, and share it around. No big corporations locking it behind paywalls or license agreements.

In web development, we see it everywhere:

• Frameworks like React, Angular, and Vue.js (they’re basically the scaffolding for front-end work).

• CMS platforms like WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal (handle your content and structure).

• Libraries like jQuery and Bootstrap (ready-to-go chunks of code to speed things up).

Most of my projects today still touch open-source one way or another. But let’s not pretend it’s all upside.

The Hidden Risks You Need to Watch

1) Security Holes

This is the big one. Because everyone can see the code, hackers can too. And if they spot a vulnerability before it’s patched—boom. You’re exposed.

A couple years back, I was managing a site for a medical clinic running on an older WordPress install. They hadn’t updated their Contact Form 7 plugin in over a year. One day their entire contact form was hijacked to send thousands of spam emails. Took me a full weekend to clean up.

You’ve got to stay on top of updates. Use vulnerability scanners like Snyk or Dependabot. Subscribe to mailing lists for the plugins and libraries you use. Don’t assume it’ll take care of itself.

2) No Real Support Team

With open-source, you’re leaning heavily on community forums and message boards. Sometimes you get brilliant answers in hours. Other times? You’re stuck posting on GitHub for weeks hoping someone bites.

Compare that to a paid solution like Adobe Experience Manager, where you’ve got dedicated support staff ready to jump in. That kind of difference becomes painfully obvious when you hit a production bug the night before launch.

3) Integration Headaches

Open-source tools aren’t always best mates with each other. Especially when you’re mixing them with proprietary or legacy systems.

I once tried to integrate a Vue.js front end with a clunky old CRM via a custom API. Every time we got one piece working, another broke. The client burned through three months of budget just getting the two to talk properly.

• Test integrations early.

• Run sandbox environments.

• Always budget extra time for “surprises.”

4) Quality Varies Wildly

Some open-source projects are world-class. Others? Built by one guy in his spare bedroom five years ago who hasn’t touched it since.

The problem? You often don’t know which you’ve got until you’re deep in development. A library might seem stable, only for you to discover critical functions haven’t been updated since 2018.

Look for:

• Active contributors

• Frequent updates

• Recent pull requests

• Solid documentation

If you don’t see those things? Walk away.

5) License Landmines

Not all open-source licenses play nice with commercial work. GPL, MIT, Apache—each one comes with fine print.

Say you use a GPL-licensed plugin in a client’s ecommerce platform. Now technically, you might be obligated to open-source your entire project. Mess that up, and you could end up in legal hot water.

When in doubt? Have legal counsel review licenses on anything you’re embedding into commercial builds.

6) Getting Too Comfortable

This one’s more philosophical, but I’ve seen teams get lazy. Open-source has a tool for everything. You stop thinking creatively. You grab plugins to solve problems instead of actually developing tailored solutions.

Over time, you become dependent on other people’s work. That’s risky if:

• A tool gets abandoned

• Security falls behind

• A better solution emerges but you’re too entangled to switch

Balance matters. Use open-source where it fits, but keep your core competencies sharp.

But Let’s Not Forget — There’s a Lot to Love

Even with all these risks, open-source still plays a huge role in my stack. Here’s why:

• Cost Effective — No licenses. No subscriptions. Perfect for startups or lean projects.

• Debugging Freedom — You can dive into the code and fix stuff yourself, without waiting on vendor support.

• Massive Community — Forums, Slack groups, StackOverflow—someone out there has already faced your problem.

• Customisation — Tweak it any way you want. Build exactly what your client needs.

Wrap Up

At the end of the day, open-source isn’t good or bad. It’s a tool. And like any tool, it depends how you use it.

Look — I’ve seen projects succeed wildly with open-source. I’ve seen others crash and burn from poor management. It all comes down to discipline, ongoing maintenance, and knowing when to call in professional help.

By the way — what open-source tools are you using most right now? Always curious to hear what’s in people’s tech stacks.