Ghost: Thoughts?

Chris.M

Chris.M

Member
If there's any project that involves the need for a blogging platform, I automatically default to WordPress. However, I've noticed an influx of bloggers making the move over to Ghost (https://ghost.org) lately and can't help but feel intrigued. It appears to be simple and good looking, but still young. I have been debating whether or not to use this for a blogging project I'm working on, but I'm still unsure about the stability of the software itself. More specifically, from an overall security standpoint. Most of the Ghost instances I've seen are self-hosted.

Any users here? I'm curious to hear about your thoughts on this new guy on the block.

Chris
 
Hey Chris,

Personally, I love Ghost's blogging platform. I've got a few instances (installs) running on my cPanel server currently with no issues. While rather confusing and difficult to setup on a cPanel server initially (especially considering lack of documentation for it), it can be done.

but I'm still unsure about the stability of the software itself
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Stability wise, I've had zero issues with it what so ever, however you'll also need to keep in mind, while rather young, there are very few "plugins/modules" or features that most people consider to be requirements or useful on a blogging platform.

More specifically, from an overall security standpoint.
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While you need to keep in mind, all software, configurations, etc have their own weaknesses and vulnerabilities, I would definitely say that Ghost is a more secure platform for numerous reasons. The most notable point being that WordPress is the most common CMS available so generally speaking more exploits are geared towards that platform. Additionally, each plugin or theme added to WordPress opens more windows of opportunity for exploitation.

Just my 2c on it.

If you have any questions or need assistance, I'm on duty today, feel free to open a Support Ticket! Thanks for being a valued member of the KH family!
 
Hey David!

This is exactly what I was looking for. The more I hear about it, the more I want to use it. I love WordPress, but I want something simple and minimalist in appearance. For this project, it's exactly what I'm looking for. Pretty much spot-on, actually.

Thanks for the awesome reply. If I need any help at all (which I likely will), I'll ask for 'ya. :)

Chris
 
Chris,

Sounds like a plan. I'm on shift all weekend if you decide you need assistance, however maybe I'll find some time to whip up a tutorial. Have a good one and feel free to let me know if you have any other questions.
 
KH-DavidL said:
Chris,

Sounds like a plan. I'm on shift all weekend if you decide you need assistance, however maybe I'll find some time to whip up a tutorial. Have a good one and feel free to let me know if you have any other questions.
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Hey David, I hope you do set up some sort of tutorial because I'm really interested in implementing Ghost to try it out. Get away from WP and such.
 
If WordPress has served as your "go-to" blogging platform, you will certainly be thrown off when using Ghost initially. It's the simplicity that does it.

The backend/management interface is what will require some mental adjustment. WordPress' administration panel is feature-rich and packed, while Ghost's is super, ultra, magnificently simple. I find myself looking for functionality that isn't there, but it's not a bad thing. There are no plugins that need to be installed, and there are no settings that need to be locked down (visibly, at least). Plug in a few details here and there, finalize your administrative account details, and start posting. Back to the basics, but with a modern twist.

KH-DavidL said:
Chris,

Sounds like a plan. I'm on shift all weekend if you decide you need assistance, however maybe I'll find some time to whip up a tutorial. Have a good one and feel free to let me know if you have any other questions.
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David, when you're back on shift again (and only if you have the time), let me know. I may have a few performance/tweaking-related questions for you. I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that Ghost operates within its own little environment. I wouldn't know how to begin tackling it.

Chris
 
I'm interested from what you guys have mentioned about Ghost. It'd be nice if their website would show some samples instead of having to sign up first. I hate that. Chris or David L, do you have any sites I could take a peek at? Thanks!!!!
 
phpAddict said:
I'm interested from what you guys have mentioned about Ghost. It'd be nice if their website would show some samples instead of having to sign up first. I hate that. Chris or David L, do you have any sites I could take a peek at? Thanks!!!!
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If you'd like, I'd be more than happy to spin up a test instance over the weekend so you can play around and get a feel for it. I love their website, but they don't seem to place too much focus on the standalone product. Maybe they're more focused on their own hosted offerings... not sure. It's snappy and it's easy, but other than that I couldn't tell you a thing about it. Lots to learn!

KH-Jonathan said:
@KH-DavidL will probably hop in here on Monday and answer all of your questions :)
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Sounds marvelous! :D

Chris
 
I wouldn't want you to go through that trouble. I was just hoping someone already had something put together so I could see some end results.
 
Josh, it wouldn't be an issue at all. I happen to have a live copy up and running. I'll send over the details.

Chris
 
Glad to see the community helping each other out.

Josh, did you find what you needed/wanted?

Chris, hope all is still well. As always let me know if you need anything.
 
I've not had much time to check out Ghost but Chris has shared his site with me and I'm anxious to see how his site develops so I can see what Ghost is capable of.
 
Chris.M said:
David! All is well, sir. Appreciate the insight and assistance that you've provided to me this week. We'll be in touch soon. :cool:
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Any time my friend, sounds good.

phpAddict said:
I've not had much time to check out Ghost but Chris has shared his site with me and I'm anxious to see how his site develops so I can see what Ghost is capable of.
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Awesome! I'm quite fond of Ghost myself. The community is pretty resourceful and helpful if you ever have questions. Their forum is rather active https://ghost.org/forum/ as well, their IRC channel. Chris will also vouch, I'm available by email if you'd like some one-on-one communication regarding any concerns as well.
 
Yep, I can certainly vouch for David's availability via e-mail. Top-notch gentleman!

The next step in the "Ghost exploration process" is configuring the instance with an SSL-encrypted connection. I'll experiment with that this evening - should be interesting. So far though, I love what Ghost offers. The fact that the dev team actively updates the software so frequently is awesome. I believe their goal is to ship new releases (with significant changes + new features) every 2-4 weeks. This alone excites me, and they have some cool stuff in the pipeline.

I have a hard time comparing this to WordPress simply because they're both so different. Pure blogging, to me, is where Ghost is a no-brainah (threw in a touch of Boston there).
 
action said:
This is some good resource [removed].
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Hey action,

That reference seems to have some broken links on it, while having some useful information. However, it probably won't help most customers here, due to the majority of customers having a Control Panel of some sort. With cPanel installed, it makes the task of installing Ghost a tad more difficult. Ghost's official forums have some great resources: https://ghost.org/forum/ as well, we are working to get some detailed tutorials set up for our customers. A temporary and quickly written guide can be found here: https://khtechs.com/tuts/ghost.html
 
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