Telescope is an open source application for creating social news websites that has a similar functionality with Hacker News, Reddit, etc.

The application is built with Meteor, a real-time JS framework, and it runs on nodejs.

Every data in Telescope is displayed in real-time, it is possible to collect entries under categories and users can discuss on each entry easily.

Two types of authentication exist: e-mail/pass or Twitter and there is support for invite-only sign-up.

Layout provided by the app is responsive, has a very nice look and can be customized as well.

Parsimony is an open source application which functions similar to content management systems but offers more and allows us to create any type of apps.

It brings the design, development and content creation/editing to the same interface.

Using its web-based database designer, we can create custom tables and even create custom modules (that can be inserted into web pages) using the data in these tables.

Whether it is a blog, an HR app or anything, Parsimony is capable of creating it only with drag ‘n’ drops.

There is a permission-based user management system which eases granting the necessary rights to each user.

The application is built with PHP-MySQL,  has a multilanguage interface and supports theming.

WordPress is so flexible and customizable in many ways, thanks to its tagging, categories and mostly the custom fields features.

Pods Framework, a free WordPress plugin, takes things to the next level and enables us to create customized content types and fields.

As an example, just like the "Posts" menu, you can have a "Products" menu in the WP-Admin and you can manage the products from a customized "Create/Edit Post" interface.

And, only the fields you want will appear on these pages which is so useful for creating completely customized WP-backends.

The framework has its own API so that you can make use of it even more with a little coding.

Also, Pods can be extended with the lots of packages that are created with its community.

Many web designers/developers have a favorite CMS (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, etc.) and build websites of any size with them.

If you are looking for a simpler alternative or don't prefer to empower your customers with so many features, SiteCake is a very good option.

SiteCake is an open source PHP CMS application which allows site admin to edit a website while browsing it.

Once logged in, everything becomes editable and it displays a "content editing bar" with options for inserting HTML elements like headers, lists, images, videos and other stuff like Google Maps or a slideshow.

It is possible to crop images, drag 'n' drop items, create new pages and delete anything with a click.

SiteCake-enabling any website is easy by simply adding specific classes to the HTML elements and the its UI is multi-language (there are various languages files provided).

Syte is an open source personal website which is integrated with many social network beautifully.

The website is built with Django (Python), HTML5 + CSS3 and has a responsive layout.

It is not a CMS but a hub that displays content from other sources. For content creation, it uses Tumblr. Any post created in the defined Tumblr account is automatically displayed in the Syte-powered website.

The social networks that the user belongs are featured in a column and, once any of them is clicked, a sidebar "featuring the content from that network" slides nicely.

There are integrations with Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, Last.fm, GitHub, Dribbble and more are on the way.

Movim is an open source social network application which follow the decentralised approach like Diaspora.

The application is built with PHP-MySQL and includes features like a wall, an instant messaging system, a contacts list, photo gallery, news feed etc.

It gives users the maximum control over their own data and allows them to import/export all the data from one Movim-powered network to another.

There is a special focus on privacy where all user setting are set to the max-private by default and they can customize them later on.

Movim is multilingual and doesn't require anything complicated to setup an instance.

P.S. You may also want to check out other open source social networking applications.

Previously, WRD had shared Pubwich, an open source application that can fetch data from different sources.

It is not updated since 2010 and there is a regularly updated fork named PubwichFork.

To remind, the application can aggregate any published data from multiple sources including websites + social networks and display them in a single-page.

The sources supported include Atom, RSS, Delicious, Youtube, Vimeo, Flickr, Last.fm and more.

PubwichFork is built with PHP and it is a handy project for quickly having a personal website that you almost do nothing to update but manages to keep fresh.

Previously, a post at WRD had shared the 9 well-known and free forum softwares.

Here is a fresh alternative named esoTalk, which focuses on removing the complexity of forum apps with a simple + modern interface and functionality.

It is built with PHP-MySQL, includes the main features a forum would need and has a plugin system for extending it more.

esoTalk is still in the early stages of its development, not as feature-rich as many other alternatives. But, maybe, something simpler is what you are looking for.

If you are an ASP.NET developer, you already know that there are not too many choices when it comes to finding an open source CMS application.

SageFrame is a good alternative for any looking for such a solution. It is a feature-rich and open source content management system, built with ASP.NET, to create websites easily.

The application enables users to customize/update the websites while browsing by simply interacting with the editable modules.

There is a good-looking admin panel to customize everything; including changing the site design by drag 'n' dropping the locations of the modules, defining new menu items or improving the SEO-friendliness.

SageFrame is modular, it can be extended with modules where you can choose to create them or download the ready-to-use ones.

Wix, the widely-used online website builder which is known with its Flash-based platform, has launched a HTML5 version.

The new website builder is now compatible with the majority of browsers, works on mobile too and loads much faster.

It is a well-designed/planned product where a basic computer user can't go wrong with anything and a designer feels the flexibility it provides.

There are 50+ ready-to-use templates (with multiple color palettes each) to choose from where you can use them as a base or build a website from scratch.

The websites are created/updated while browsing. You can select any element, edit them or add new items like content, images, videos.. anything.

Wix's HTML5 platform is completely drag 'n' drop enabled where you can move elements easily or copy/cut-paste them using the keyboard to work faster.

It allows creating new pages and adding components like a gallery, social widgets, good-looking buttons, contact forms, maps, Flickr gallery and much more.

Although things are very straightforward, the steps and menus are pretty guiding and you never get lost or confused.

Creating a website with Wix is free and premium features (like using a custom domain or analytics support) requires a premium account.

How to join the giveaway?

Wix is giving away 3 annual "Combo" planned account upgrades ($99/year value) to WRD readers.

If you want to create HTML Websites throughout the piece, join the giveaway you can choose one of the methods below or do both to increase your chances:

• comment to this post
• tweet this post (click to tweet easily)

Winners will be selected randomly on 3 April 2012 (1 week later). Good luck to all.

The winners

Here are the winners:

• @zwitserland
• Soku Massimo (comment #549310)
• Ana María Catillo (comment #546208)

Congratulations and thanks to everyone for joining.