Custom development of web tools and web-based applications makes a lot of sense, in the following scenarios:

• You need an application which is unlike anything else out there and custom development is the only way to build it;
• You would like to turn this application into a commercial product, without making the code available to the open source community
• You have plenty of time for the development and testing of your application, and are unconcerned about cutting costs in development

For many of us, these points don't necessarily hold true, and the ability to utilize open source software in our web sites allows us to offer visitors more tools and a higher level of interactivity with the web site, at a fracion of the cost of custom development.

Some examples of open source applications which are widely used in web sites include shopping carts, bulletin boards, blogs, content management systems, bug tracking, site search, file upload software, and full blown web-site delivery systems like PostNuke.

The advantage to using open source products is that they are generally free to license, which means that once you have it set up on your server, there is no monthly or annual fees to use the software. For inforrmation on open source and GNU/GPL licensing, please visit GNU.org. Yalia Technology Design works with several open source packages, including:

• phpBB (bulletin board)
• Bugzilla (issue tracking)
• bBlog (blogging)
• OS Commerce (ecommerce)
• Open Realty (real estate listing

For information on any of these products, please check out the links above, or >contact us to discuss how we can help you to implement this software on your web site.

Yalia Technology Design was formed to fill a specific gap in the marketplace, as a company that offers clients something more than a traditional web design company. Pulling from expertise in the areas of technology, project management, marketing communications and branding, Yalia provides a multi-disciplinary approach to web design and custom application development. More than just a technology company - we also offer a full range of marketing services including traditional collateral design, brand consulting, online and email marketing services, search engine optimization and search engine submissions.