A Thorough Review of Ghost CMS

Are you tired of traditional, complex content management systems? or searching for a blogging platform that combines simplicity, power, and sophistication?

Ghost CMS is an attractive choice, providing a smooth and targeted experience designed specifically for bloggers. The Ghost platform is primarily developed for publishing content. It has gained popularity for its simplicity, speed, and dedication to content-focused publishing.

Whether you're an experienced content creator or a beginner, Ghost CMS offers a seamless and user-friendly platform to bring your ideas to life. In this article, we'll explore Ghost CMS's unique features, benefits for content creators, and reasons for its popularity.

What Is Ghost CMS?

Ghost CMS is an open-source content management system licensed under MIT.

In 2013, John O'Nolan and Hannah Wolfe collaborated to establish Ghost, a remarkable publishing platform. They designed it aiming to provide modern and innovative solutions for professional publishers. Ghost was created out of the frustration caused by other CMSs becoming overly complex for blogging purposes.

Unlike other CMSs such as Drupal, Squarespace, or WordPress, which are multipurpose, Ghost remains dedicated to offering a professional blogging platform.

The CMS platform offers a clean writing experience, allowing users to focus on content creation. It can be used with a Handlebars theme layer or as a headless system with the JSON API

The Ghost platform allows anyone to quickly set up a professional blog or online publication without requiring any coding knowledge. It strikes a perfect balance between simplicity for non-technical individuals and providing a comprehensive range of options for advanced users.

The Components of Ghost Architecture

Node.js: Ghost is built on Node.js, which is a server-side JavaScript runtime. This allows Ghost to utilize the capabilities of JavaScript for both server-side and client-side functionalities.

Express.js: Ghost utilizes Express.js, a web application framework for Node.js. It handles server-side routing and middleware functionalities, making the process of building robust web applications simpler.

Handlebars.js: The templating engine utilized by Ghost is Handlebars.js, which enables the creation of dynamic HTML content based on the provided data. This simplifies the management and display of dynamic content.

SQLite or MySQL: By default, Ghost employs SQLite, a lightweight and self-contained database engine. Ghost also provides support for MySQL, a powerful and scalable relational database management system.

Koenig (Admin Client): Ghost's editor, Koenig, was originally built with Ember.js and used MobileDoc for document storage. However, it has now been rebuilt using React.js and Lexical, both developed by Meta. These open-source frameworks are widely used on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, empowering billions of users. As a result, Ghost now uses the same technology as these popular platforms.

RESTful JSON API: The Restful JSON API is utilized by the ghost to communicate and interact with other systems and applications. This API allows Ghost to send and receive data in a structured and standardized format, using the JSON data format.

Markdown: Ghost utilizes Markdown as its primary content format. Markdown is a simplistic markup language that offers ease of readability and writing. This enables content creators to concentrate on the actual content rather than grappling with intricate formatting.

Blog and Newsletter Built with Ghost:

Airtable Blog, Desk Magazine, Kickstarter, ReadTangle, Inspire, Kernal Blog, etc.

What Are The Key Features of Ghost?

Here are a few of the notable features of Ghost CMS that make it a go-to option for publishers:

Easy Installation and Setup:

Installing and setting up Ghost is an incredibly straightforward process that does not require any technical expertise. With its user-friendly interface and intuitive design, even individuals with no prior technical knowledge can have their website up and running in a matter of minutes.

Powerful Editorial Experience:

The Ghost offers a robust visual editor that includes commonly used formatting options and the ability to add dynamic content. It offers a range of impressive features that enhance the content creation experience. With its sleek and intuitive interface, users can easily navigate through the editor and focus on writing without any distractions. The live preview feature, allows users to see how their content will appear in real time. Markdown support makes it easy to format and style content.

Ghost editor, packed with on-demand Features:

👉 Native image editing

👉 Post History

👉 Landing page cards

👉 Bookmarking

👉 Better undo/redo chaining

👉 Custom HTML Cards

👉 Public preview

👉 Product reviews with styles

👉 Snippets

👉 and so on...

Admin Dashboard:

The Ghost admin dashboard provides a comprehensive overview of member activity, revenue, engagement, and email statistics. This allows you to quickly assess the performance of your content and business. By leveraging the insights provided by the tool you can make data-driven decisions to optimize your website.

Advanced  Publishing Workflows:

Ghost's publishing workflow is a well-structured and efficient system that allows users to seamlessly create, edit, and publish their content. The platform also enables multiple authors to collaborate on the same piece. Once the content is ready, Ghost offers various publishing options, such as scheduling posts or publishing immediately. You can create a personalized URL for your website, customize post templates for different types of content, and organize your blog using tags. These tags form topic clusters, making it easy for your audience to navigate your site. They also have internal hashtags that help your team organize content and improve workflow.

Here is a list of Publishing features Ghost CMS offers:

👉 Custom URLs

👉 Internal Tags

👉 Custom Excerpts

👉 Custom Twitter Cards

👉 Tag & Author Archives

👉 Custom Open Graph Content

👉 Podcast Support

👉 and so on…

Ghost on the JAMstack:

You can use Ghost as a headless CMS with popular static site generators. It has setup guides for most of the most popular frameworks and how to use Ghost with Jamstack-based sites.

Rich Media and Dynamic Cards:

With rich media, Ghost allows for the integration of various multimedia elements. The dynamic cards provide a seamless way to present information. You can enhance your content by incorporating image galleries, gifs, videos, audio clips, products, information boxes, accordion toggles, downloadable files, bookmarks, and an array of other captivating elements.

Newsletters Built-In:

Ghost's integrated built-in newsletter feature provides users with an efficient way to connect with their audience. You can keep your audience in the loop by delivering posts through email newsletters. This way, they will always stay updated whenever something new goes live. To cater to their preferences, segment your audience and send out multiple newsletters tailored specifically for them.

Additionally, Ghost's built-in newsletter feature offers advanced analytics, enabling users to track the performance of their newsletters and gain valuable insights into the audience's engagement.

Fully-managed PaaS & Self-hosted:

Ghost offers two hosting options: Fully-managed PaaS and Self-hosted. With fully managed PaaS, Ghost handles all technical aspects, including server maintenance, security updates, and backups. This allows you to focus on content creation.

Alternatively, Self-hosted gives you control and flexibility to host your Ghost website on your own server or cloud infrastructure. This option is ideal for those with specific hosting requirements or who prefer full control. Whether you choose Fully-managed PaaS or Self-hosted, Ghost provides a reliable platform for website creation and management.

Themes and Customization:

There is a vast selection of exquisite pre-made Ghost themes that are accessible for free and for commercial use on the theme marketplace.  With Ghost themes, users can easily customize the look and feel of their website. These themes feature elegant typography, responsive layouts, and customizable options for colors and fonts. They are also optimized for speed and performance.

Casper, an exquisite magazine-style theme, will be your initial encounter when establishing a new website. It serves as a remarkable platform to showcase the endless possibilities available.

Ghost's themes are designed with simplicity in mind, making them incredibly easy to set up. With just a single click, you can preview and install a theme, saving you time and effort.

Memberships & Subscriptions:

Ghost CMS offers built-in features for managing memberships and subscriptions. It allows website owners to create a membership-based business model or offer premium content to subscribers. Content creators have the ability to create exclusive members-only content and establish subscription plans directly within the platform. This functionality enables the monetization of content and the creation of exclusive offerings for subscribers.

These are the aspects of Ghost's memberships and subscriptions:

👉 Import/Export Members

👉 Member stats

👉 Member signup system

👉 Member webhooks

👉 Member management to provide quick member support

👉 Recurring subscriptions

👉 Email newsletters

Integrations:

Ghost allows integration with all the apps, plugins, and tools that you love to use. You can seamlessly connect your Ghost CMS with various third-party tools and services. Such as analytics platforms, email marketing services, payment gateways, e-commerce platforms, social media platforms, etc.

Ghost's JSON API and webhooks make it easy to create custom clientside integrations, giving full control over the front end.

With Slack integration you can send automated notifications of new posts, ensuring your teammates never miss a post.

Ghost seamlessly integrates with more than 5,000 applications and services through Zapier. The integration with Zapier empowers users to create advanced automation and workflows.

SEO Features:

Ghost CMS prioritizes SEO and incorporates built-in SEO capabilities to maximize SEO score.

In Ghost CMS all the essential technical aspects of modern SEO are directly into its core, eliminating the necessity for any external plugins. It provides users with the tools they need to optimize their website for search engines and increase visibility and organic traffic.

Ghost offers a range of exceptional SEO Features:

• No Additional SEO Plugins Required
• Automatic Google Sitemaps
• Custom Page Meta
• Canonical Tags
• Superior Performance
• Automatic Robots.txt Generation
• Automatic Structured Data
• Clean Permalinks
• Google AMP Built-in
• Trusted Service to actively eliminate spam
• Tidy Markup & Attributes
• Custom URL Structures
• Automatic RPC Pings

Team Management:

The Ghost CMS comes with an advanced Team management feature. It allows users to efficiently manage their team members and their roles. With this feature, administrators can easily add, remove, and assign different permissions to team members. It provides a centralized platform for team communication and coordination.

The staff user access levels range from highest to lowest, including Owner, Administrator, Editor, Author, and contributor. All staff users have custom profiles that include their name, biography, location, and social media accounts for author metadata purposes.

Security:

Ghost prioritizes security by implementing best practices. The platform adopts a security-first approach to safeguard against web vulnerabilities. It strives to provide a secure environment for its users to manage their content without compromising their data or privacy.

Ghost regularly performs penetration testing on its open-source codebase and hosted infrastructure. It has a dedicated team of expert protectors who work tirelessly to safeguard your website content. Ghost has advanced privacy features and does not sell your data.

Affordable Pricing:

Ghost CMS is not only reasonably priced, but it also offers exceptional value for the cost. With its affordable pricing plans, Ghost CMS provides a cost-effective solution for individuals, small businesses, and even larger enterprises.

There is a range of pricing options to cater to different requirements. Whether you are a blogger, a startup, or a growing business, there is a plan that suits your needs and budget. This flexibility ensures that users can choose the most appropriate plan without overspending or compromising on features.

Detailed Documentation:

The documentation for Ghost offers extensive information and guidance on the effective utilization of the platform. The instructions and explanations provided are clear, making it easy for users to understand and implement the various features and functionalities of Ghost CMS.

The documentation includes a variety of topics such as installation, customization, and troubleshooting. Providing users with the necessary resources to navigate and optimize their Ghost CMS experience effectively.

You can find comprehensive information in the Developer documentation, platform guide, migration guide, theme guide, API documentation, and SSG integration guide.

Pros and Cons of Ghost CMS

Why Should I Choose Ghost?

There are several compelling reasons to consider choosing Ghost CMS as your preferred content management system.

Ghost is an exceptional application designed specifically for professional publishers.  A wide range of powerful features makes it easy to create a world-class blogging platform in no time.  Ghost users can create, share, and expand their business through their valuable content.

Ghost empowers publishers to effortlessly build and customize their own websites. Content creators can seamlessly publish engaging content, and efficiently distribute newsletters to their audience. And even monetize their work coolly by offering exclusive paid subscriptions to their members.

Here are the most common use cases of Ghost CMS:

Blogging:

Ghost CMS is highly recommended for bloggers who prioritize content creation and aim to provide a smooth reading experience for their audience. The user-friendly interface allows bloggers to concentrate on creating captivating content.

Online Publications:

Ghost CMS is a popular choice for online publications due to its content-centric approach. It is used to develop digital magazines, podcasts, online newspapers, news outlets, Photography, etc.. The platform's speed and performance are particularly helpful for publications that produce a large amount of daily content.

Membership Sites:

Ghost offers a range of membership features, making it a suitable choice for individuals wanting to create subscription-based content. With Ghost, managing members and subscriptions is simple, whether it's for exclusive articles, newsletters, or other premium offerings.

Wrap-up Discussion

Ghost CMS is a standout choice in the ever-evolving world of blogging platforms. It offers a dedicated and polished solution for bloggers who want a platform that perfectly matches their vision.

With its independent technology, Ghost empowers professional publishers to create content-driven businesses. However, the choice of a CMS depends on your specific requirements, preferences, and the nature of your project. Evaluate Ghost CMS based on your content creation and management needs, as well as the overall goals of your website.

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