Arlington County will start to share parts of the County’s public website code with the open-source community. Arlington County is one of the first local governments in Virginia to share its code in this way.

“The website is critical to County government and our community,” said Arlington County Board Chairman J. Walter Tejada. “The action to share shows our commitment to open, innovative government – and to developing a website that’s fast and easy for our residents, businesses and others to use.”

About the General Public License

The Board approved the use of the General Public License (GPL) for website source code developed by the County. The GPL allows end users (individuals, other local governments, nonprofits, etc.) to leverage the work done by the county government by being able to re-use, copy, modify, or make improvements to website code the County releases publicly. For example, if the County creates a customized feature or function on the County website, it can be shared with others who may want to use it. The GPL is the most widely used license in the open-source community.

New County website coming

The County also is developing a new County website built on open-source software. This cost-effective approach uses WordPress, an open-source content management system used by tens of millions of websites. The County currently has more than 15 websites built in WordPress, including the Library website. 

The new County website will roll out in phases throughout the year. When completed, the new website will save money by making it easier and faster for staff to update content, eliminating licensing fees and reducing maintenance costs. It also will make it easier for residents to find what they need on the County website. 

For more information contact Jennifer K. Smith at 703-228-7510.