A lot of persons have intentions of contributing to open source, but there is always one challenge for most contributors, which is:
I want to contribute to open-source projects but I lack coding skills.
Well, no doubts, code contributions are very helpful and welcome for most open source projects, but there are several other ways you can contribute to Open Source without writing codes. In this article, I will share with you the several ways you can contribute to Open Source. Let's get started🟢.
Advocating
Choosing to use a particular open technology product in the midst of numerous options and helping the public get to know about the software is another way of contributing to open source. You can do that by writing a blog post about the software and making YouTube videos relating to the software.
Provide Reports
The feedback you give on an open-source project whether good or bad serves as a contribution to the project. It is good to hear from users as well about how the project has useful and helpful to them. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Staring a project is another way of contributing towards Open Source.
Educating
The best way to help build the community is by helping others. Answering a question like on stack Overflow regarding the software, especially from someone who is just getting started with the software, or someone having issues setting up that software, is also contributing to Open-source.
Translating
English might seam global, but not all open-source software users are monolingual English speakers. A lot of users would rather have to enjoy documentation that is written in their native language. This saves a lot of time for people who are not fluent with English when reading through the documentation. So, If you're fluent in more than one language, translation is a great way to contribute.
Improving Documentations
If you enjoy writing and you notice that the documentation of a project is not as detailed and self-explanatory as possible, you can improve on the documentation by properly list out steps and examples to how the project is used and setup.
Recruiting more hands
Getting involved in the onboarding process to get others involved in the project, making it easier for more people to contribute, is another way of contributing to Open-source. And anything that makes it easier to contribute is especially impactful because it means, more hands-on-deck and is crucial to helping the project grow and thrive.
promote the project
Talk about the project among your peers, writing a blog post, and/or spreading updates via social media channels if you use them. Don't assume even if you think others must have heard about the project. Share your personal experience with the project. This will go along way in making more persons intrigued and want to get involved.
Design user interface, logo, and website
If you are skilled in designing and colours picking, then this where your help is needed. You can put together a style guide to help the project have a consistent visual design. In some cases, backend developers sometimes need assistance in making their logos, icons and other graphics visually appealing and accurately communicating the purpose of the app and designers fit best in that.
Organizing meetups
If you are good at event planning, you can organize workshops or meetups about the project, Organize the project’s conferences, and Help community members find the right conferences and submit proposals for speaking.
Find and report bugs
If you notice a feature on the webpage that isn't functioning and you properly narrow down the problem in a report, explaining in details how that feature failed when you tried using it, this will save the developing team a lot of time and you are in turn contributing to open source.
Bonus💥(Volunteer)
This is another way of contributing to open source. Avail yourself to assist in any way possible. Don’t assume your help is not needed, because it is.
Conclusion
You see now that even with very little and nontechnical skill sets you can help contribute to Open source and make an impact. Get out of your shell and start contributing. Meanwhile, Hacktoberfest is a good start to get involved and begin contributing. 😎👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽Go get those issue And fix them.