Setting up costs

I believe that costs are a huge barrier to anyone setting up a site. In the past, programs went for thousands of dollars, but had only a limited capacity. These days, you can get programs free of charge, at the expense of a little privacy, that have amazing capabilities. Programs such as the one we are on now have become accessible, to anyone with a little knowledge of how they run, and where to find them. This has made it possible for anyone to put anything out there. The more reputable educational programs may be getting more expensive, but there are many people putting a lot of freeware out there and then asking for donations...if customers are satisfied.
If anyone can get anything for free (and there is a lot of legal freeware out there), then this opens up opportunities for individuals and groups to develop cheap, useful and easily accessible programs at a fraction of the cost.
Steven