Understanding Ghost: what it is and why people choose it
Ghost is an open-source publishing platform built on Node.js that focuses on writing, publishing, and monetizing content. It was created with the explicit goal of delivering a fast, uncluttered writing experience and a modern publishing stack: native Markdown editing, a lightweight admin panel, built-in SEO controls, structured content APIs, and membership and subscription tools out of the box. Because Ghost centers on content-first workflows and performance, many publishers, solo writers, and small editorial teams turn to it when they want a simple, fast blogging platform without the broader plugin-heavy ecosystem of wordpress.
Core features of Ghost that matter for WordPress users
Compared with WordPress, Ghost is narrower in scope but purpose-built. Key features you’ll notice right away include a split editing interface that combines Markdown and live preview, a built-in membership/subscription engine (Stripe powered), a Content API that serves content as json for headless use, and themes built with Handlebars. Ghost’s focus on speed and minimalism means fewer moving parts: no php, no plugin marketplace, and fewer security patches to manage. For teams that want a single system handling publishing and paid newsletters without relying on third-party plugins, Ghost can be appealing.
Technical differences
Ghost runs on Node.js and typically uses sqlite or mysql for storage, while WordPress runs on PHP with MySQL/MariaDB. That affects hosting choices: Ghost often sits on Node-friendly platforms (DigitalOcean, Ghost(Pro), or PaaS providers), whereas WordPress works on most shared PHP hosts. Ghost’s APIs (Content API and Admin API) are JSON-first, which makes it easy to use Ghost as a headless CMS for other frontends, including WordPress-driven frontends if you want hybrid setups.
How Ghost works with WordPress: common integration patterns
When people ask how Ghost “works in WordPress,” they generally mean one of three things: migrating from WordPress to Ghost, using Ghost as a headless CMS while keeping WordPress for pages/frontend, or running a dual setup where Ghost handles the blog and WordPress handles the main site. Each approach has trade-offs and different technical steps.
1) Migrating from WordPress to Ghost
If you want to replace WordPress with Ghost for your blog, migration is straightforward in most cases. Ghost provides scripts and plugins to help convert WordPress posts, authors, images, and tags into Ghost’s format. The basic flow is: export your WordPress content (either via WordPress export or a migration plugin), run the migration tool to convert posts to Ghost JSON, upload images to Ghost, then import that JSON through Ghost’s admin. After import, you’ll want to set up redirects (301s) from your old WordPress urls to the new Ghost URLs, update sitemaps, and make sure metadata and canonical tags are preserved for SEO.
2) Using Ghost as a headless CMS with WordPress as frontend
Some teams prefer Ghost’s editor and membership features but want to keep a WordPress theme or plugin ecosystem for page management or e-commerce. In that scenario you can run Ghost as a headless CMS and fetch content from Ghost’s Content API into WordPress. The typical setup is: install a small WordPress plugin or custom code that calls Ghost’s Content API endpoints (for example, cache the responses locally, and render posts with your WordPress templates. That gives you Ghost’s editing and membership backend while preserving WordPress templating and plugins. Keep in mind memberships and authenticated actions are handled by Ghost’s Admin/Members APIs, which require careful handling of authentication and cors if you need single sign-on between systems.
3) Running Ghost and WordPress side-by-side
If you want to keep WordPress as the primary site and run Ghost just for the blog, the simplest path is to host Ghost on a subdomain (blog.yoursite.com) or on a subdirectory via reverse-proxying (example.com/blog). Using a subdomain avoids most complexity: set up Ghost on its own host, point DNS for blog.yoursite.com, and link between systems. If you need the blog at /blog on the main domain, a reverse proxy configuration (nginx or apache) can route requests to Ghost while keeping WordPress at the root. Either way, use canonical tags and consistent internal linking so search engines understand the relationship between the two systems.
Practical steps and examples
Below are concise, actionable steps for the most common needs: migrate, consume Ghost content in WordPress, or run a subdomain blog.
Migrating WordPress content to Ghost
- Export WordPress content via Tools → Export or use a migration plugin that outputs WordPress XML.
- Use Ghost’s import tool or community migration scripts that convert WordPress XML to Ghost JSON (there are maintained converters). Upload images to Ghost’s storage or keep them on your CDN.
- Import the converted JSON into Ghost Admin → Labs → Import.
- Set up redirects: map old WordPress URLs to new Ghost URLs with 301s to preserve SEO. Update robots.txt and submit the new sitemap to search engines.
Consuming Ghost content inside WordPress (simple PHP example)
Below is a minimal example showing how a WordPress theme can fetch posts from Ghost’s Content API. In a production site, add caching, error handling, and sanitization.
<?php
$api_key = 'YOUR_CONTENT_API_KEY';
$ghost_url = '
$response = wp_remote_get( $ghost_url . '/ghost/api/v3/content/posts/?key=' . $api_key );
if ( is_wp_error( $response ) ) {
echo 'Unable to fetch posts';
} else {
$body = wp_remote_retrieve_body( $response );
$data = json_decode( $body, true );
if ( ! empty( $data['posts'] ) ) {
foreach ( $data['posts'] as $post ) {
echo '<article>';
echo '<h2>' . esc_html( $post['title'] ) . '</h2>';
echo '' . wp_kses_post( $post['html'] ) . '';
echo '</article>';
}
}
}
?>Running Ghost on a subdomain or subdirectory
For a subdomain, create dns A/AAAA records pointing to the Ghost host and configure the Ghost instance with that domain. For a subdirectory, use nginx or apache as a reverse proxy that forwards requests to the Ghost process running on a different port or server. Reverse proxies require careful ssl configuration and rewrite rules so WordPress and Ghost don’t conflict on URLs.
SEO, performance, and membership considerations
From an SEO perspective, the cleanest approach is to keep blog content on a single canonical domain (or subdirectory) and make sure all canonical links, sitemaps, and 301 redirects are correct during migration. If you use Ghost as headless and render content through WordPress, server-side rendering or pre-caching is preferable so search engines and social previews receive full HTML with proper metadata. Ghost includes built-in metadata controls and JSON-LD structured data in its themes; if you integrate Ghost posts into WordPress templates, replicate that metadata.
Performance is another reason people choose Ghost: its lightweight architecture and minimal server-side rendering often result in faster page loads for article pages. When combining Ghost and WordPress, be mindful of caching layers,use a cdn and object caching to limit API calls and keep the site responsive. For membership and subscriptions, Ghost provides a first-class membership system with Stripe integration. If you rely on Ghost for paid content but still use WordPress for other features, you’ll need to plan for how membership access is validated between systems, which can involve custom APIs or single sign-on techniques.
Pros and cons at a glance
- Pros: Ghost is fast, simple, and includes built-in membership/SEO Tools; great for publishers who want a focused blogging stack.
- Cons: Fewer plugins and integrations than WordPress; requires Node.js hosting and may complicate workflows if you want deep WordPress plugin functionality.
- Best for: Publishers who want a performance-first, content-focused CMS and easy subscription management. Hybrid setups work when you need specific WordPress features alongside Ghost’s strengths.
Summary
Ghost is a Node.js-based publishing platform optimized for writing, speed, and subscriptions. When working with WordPress, you can migrate entirely to Ghost, run both systems in parallel (subdomain or reverse proxy), or use Ghost as a headless CMS while rendering content through WordPress. Each approach requires attention to hosting differences, redirects and canonical tags for SEO, and membership/authentication flows if you use Ghost’s subscription features. With careful planning,especially around caching, redirects, and metadata,you can combine the strengths of Ghost and WordPress to suit editorial, technical, and business needs.
FAQs
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Can I run Ghost and WordPress on the same domain?
Yes. The usual options are to put Ghost on a subdomain (e.g., blog.example.com) or use a reverse proxy to serve Ghost at a subdirectory (example.com/blog). subdomains are easier to manage; subdirectories require careful proxy and SSL setup.
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Is it hard to migrate from WordPress to Ghost?
Not usually. There are migration tools and community scripts that convert WordPress exports to Ghost-compatible JSON. The key tasks after migration are checking images, meta tags, internal links, and setting up 301 redirects to preserve SEO.
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Can I use Ghost for memberships while keeping WordPress for e-commerce?
Yes, but integrating membership data across platforms takes work. If you want a single login or shared gated content, you’ll need custom APIs or single sign-on solutions. Some teams use Ghost to handle newsletter/subscription billing while WordPress manages storefronts.
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How do I fetch Ghost posts into WordPress?
Use the Ghost Content API and call it from a WordPress plugin or theme. Cache responses to avoid frequent API calls. For authenticated member content, you’ll need to work with Ghost’s Admin/Members APIs and ensure secure handling of keys.
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Which is better for SEO: Ghost or WordPress?
Both can be SEO-friendly. Ghost ships with clean defaults and structured data for posts, while WordPress requires plugins or theme support for similar features. The most important thing is correct URLs, canonical tags, fast loading times, and a proper sitemap and redirect strategy during any migration or hybrid setup.
