Ghost
Ghost is a modern, open-source headless CMS and publishing platform built on Node.js. It combines a clean, writer-first editor with production-grade features like memberships, paid subscriptions, newsletters, and SEO-friendly defaults. Teams can run it as a traditional blog/site with themes or as a headless backend powering custom front-ends via APIs.
It suits writers, independent publishers, and small editorial teams that want speed, simplicity, and built-in monetization. Developers who prefer decoupled architectures can use Ghost’s Content and Admin APIs to deliver content to web apps, static-site generators, or mobile clients without managing a sprawling plugin ecosystem.
Use Cases
- Creator-led publications and newsletters: Publish free and paid posts, grow memberships, and send newsletters from the same admin.
- Headless content backend: Use the REST/JSON APIs to drive Next.js, Gatsby, SvelteKit, or mobile apps, while editors work in Ghost.
- Lightweight editorial teams: Multi-author roles, drafts, and scheduling for predictable publishing cadence without heavy workflows.
- Paywalled media and niche outlets: Gate premium posts, manage Stripe subscriptions, and run hybrid free/paid models.
- Migration from heavier CMSs: Replace complex plugin stacks with a faster, simpler setup while keeping strong SEO and structured content.
- Automation-friendly setups: Trigger webhooks on publish/unpublish, integrate with Zapier, analytics, or custom scripts.
Strengths
- Headless Content APIs: Public Content API and Admin API (REST/JSON) make Ghost viable as a backend for sites, apps, and SSGs.
- Koenig Editor (Markdown + Cards): Fast, block-style editor with rich media cards supports a focused writing experience and structured content.
- Memberships & Paid Subscriptions: Native Stripe integration for paywalls, paid tiers, and member management without third-party plugins.
- Built-in Newsletters & Email: Create and send newsletters directly from Ghost; simplifies audience growth with fewer moving parts.
- SEO & Social Metadata: Sensible defaults (meta, structured data, canonicals) plus per-post overrides to improve ranking and sharing.
- Custom Themes (Handlebars): Full control over presentation with templates, partials, helpers, and custom routing.
- Themes Marketplace & Starter Kits: Launch quickly with official/community themes and starters.
- Ghost CLI & Docker: Straightforward local and production workflows with the CLI, official Docker images, and DO marketplace droplets.
- Webhooks & Integrations: Connect publishing events to analytics, CI/CD, syncing pipelines, and no-code automation.
- Multi-author & Collaboration: Roles and clean admin UI fit small teams and multi-contributor publications.
- Content Scheduling & Drafts: Plan releases and manage content states to keep a steady cadence.
- Performance & Simplicity: Lightweight core and focused scope often outperform heavier CMSs and reduce maintenance.
- Hosted Option (Ghost Pro): Managed upgrades, backups, and security for teams that prefer not to self-host.
- Extensible via Code: Extend through custom integrations, theme helpers, and the Admin API when you need deeper functionality.
- Advanced Routing & Redirects: routes.yaml supports custom collections, taxonomies, and redirects at the CMS layer.
Limitations
- Smaller plugin ecosystem: Many capabilities require code or external services compared with plugin-heavy platforms like WordPress.
- Self-hosting complexity: Requires Node.js familiarity, a database (SQLite/MySQL), and typical reverse-proxy/SSL setup.
- Limited built-in multilingual: Lacks first-class i18n in core; multilingual setups often need custom routing or separate instances.
- Handlebars theming constraints: Simple and performant, but less dynamic than React/Vue-based theming; complex UIs may push you to a headless frontend.
- Hosted pricing at scale: Ghost(Pro) is convenient but costs can rise with members and traffic; large publishers may prefer self-hosting.
Final Thoughts
Ghost delivers a pragmatic balance of speed, authoring quality, and monetization. If you want a clean writing experience, built-in memberships/newsletters, solid SEO defaults, and the option to go headless, it is a strong choice.
Choose Ghost(Pro) to avoid ops work; self-host if you want full control and predictable costs. Plan for custom code when you need specialized features, and consider a headless frontend for complex UI or multilingual needs. For most content sites and creator publications, Ghost’s focus and performance translate to lower overhead and a faster path to publishing.