Ghost

Ghost is an open-source publishing platform for building and running blogs, magazines, and creator publications. It combines a writing-focused editor with theme-based websites, a headless content API, and tools for memberships and email newsletters.

Key Features

• Content editor for posts and pages with Markdown support and rich embeds
• Theme-based site building with Handlebars themes, routing, and dynamic templates
• Built-in membership management (free and paid tiers) with signup/signin flows
• Email newsletters: compose, schedule, and send to member segments
• Payments via Stripe for subscriptions and one-time paid offerings (where supported)
• Admin UI for managing content, staff, roles, tags, navigation, and site settings
• Headless CMS capabilities via JSON REST Content API and Admin API
• Integrations via webhooks, Zapier/automation hooks, and custom integrations using APIs
• SEO features (metadata, canonical URLs, sitemaps) and performance-focused output

Use Cases

• Run a company blog or product publication with editorial workflows and themes
• Operate a paid newsletter or membership community with Stripe billing
• Use Ghost as a headless CMS feeding a custom frontend via the Content API

Limitations and Considerations

• Paid membership and subscription features depend on Stripe availability/region and require configuring email delivery for newsletters.
• Theme customization requires knowledge of Ghost’s Handlebars theme system and routing configuration.

Ghost is suited to teams and creators who want a clean publishing workflow with first-class newsletters and memberships. It also works well as a headless CMS when paired with a custom frontend using the Content API.