Ghost is live

Wdd Logo.
October 15, 2013
Ghost is live.

thumbnailFollowing months of anticipation the first public release of the Ghost blogging platform is finally live.

Released three weeks ago to the 6000 smart Kickstarters who backed the project, Ghost 0.3.2 is now available to everyone.

For anyone not following the saga, Ghost was first dreamt up a year ago by John O’Nolan, a WordPress specialist based in Austria. He then published a post, or perhaps a manifesto, as to what Ghost could and should be.

The aim of the project was to create a blogging platform that’s just for blogging. Inspired by the bloating of WordPress, Ghost was designed to cut out all the extras and get us back to the essence of blogging: writing great content.

The longer I work with WordPress…the more problems I have with it…What started out as a humble blogging platform targeted at enabling digital publishing for the masses, has evolved into a fully-fledged website CMS. — John O’Nolan

Ghost is a focussed response, geared entirely towards great content. It’s just about blogging.

ghost_001

Ghost is innovative in several key areas: firstly, it’s fully responsive, which means every part of it will work on your phone, desktop, tablet, and soon your watch (if tech rumors are to be believed). Secondly, the navigation of content is structured around your content, not around arbitrary dates. Thirdly, the beautifully designed dashboard presents information about your content, not a bewildering array of stats about every plugin you have installed. Finally, Ghost allows you to write content in markdown, by far the fastest way to produce content for the web.

Essentially, Ghost is also open source and fully configurable. Theming is possible, and plugins can be added, ensuring that you are able to make it your own.

ghost_002

Head over to Ghost​.org right now to sign up. Initially, you’ll have to download the source code and host it yourself. However in the coming weeks you’ll be able to host with Ghost — even using your own domain name — and that’s the preferred option because it helps the platform to grow.

If you can’t wait to get started then you’ll still need to register in order to download Ghost’s source code. It’s built with JavaScript using Node.js, so you’ll need a server that will allow you to install it (which probably mean VPS), full instructions are provided here. Happily there are also several auto-install options from Bitnami, Digital Ocean, Rackspace, and more are bound to follow.

Ghost looks like being the next big thing in blogging, whether you’re interested in theming it, extending it, or just using it, now’s the time to get onboard.

Are you planning to use Ghost? Is WordPress still viable as a blogging platform? Let us know in the comments.

WDD Staff

WDD staff are proud to be able to bring you this daily blog about web design and development. If there’s something you think we should be talking about let us know @DesignerDepot.

Read Next

10+ Best Tools & Resources for Web Designers and Agencies (2023 updated)

Having the ability to envision a tastefully designed website (i.e., the role creativity plays) is important. But being …

3 Essential Design Trends, March 2023

One thing that we often think about design trends is that they are probably good to make a list. That’s not always true…

AI Changes Everything and Nothing

The marketing frenzy surrounding the recent flood of AI-powered apps and services has caused some observers to question…

15 Best New Fonts, March 2023

Fonts are one of the most critical tools in any designer’s toolbox. With clever use, you can transform a design from hu…

20 Best New Websites, March 2023

We have another exciting collection of the best new sites on the web for you. In this month’s episode, there are severa…

Exciting New Tools for Designers, March 2023

We have invoicing apps and scheduling tools. Some resources will save you the trouble of hiring a designer or developer…

Free Download: Budget Planner UI Kit

Designing an onboarding process can be tricky; there are so many different options, and if you get it wrong, you could …

3 Essential Design Trends, February 2023

There’s a common theme in this month’s collection of website design trends – typography. All three of these trends show…

Free Download: Education Icons

Icons are essential for successful web design. They provide an eye-catching, unobtrusive way to communicate important i…

15 Best New Fonts, February 2023

The fonts you embed in your website transform the design and can mean the difference between an extraordinary brand exp…

Unlocking the Power of Design to Help Users Make Smart Decisions

Users are faced with decision-making on websites every day. The decision-making process can be far more complex than it…

20 Best New Websites, February 2023

The quality of websites in 2023 has moved up a gear, with designers cherry-picking trends as tools, embracing new ideas…