Why Ghost CMS isn’t a WordPress killer

What is Ghost? It’s an open source blogging platform that allows you to easily publish your content on web. Its aim is to keep the blogging process simple and pleasurable. Ghost was initiated by John O’Nolan – the former leader of WordPress UI group.

John came with a new idea and concept, to make a simple yet a powerful blogging platform dedicated to one thing: publishing. So, he listed the project on Kickstarter and successfully raised £196,362 on May 28, 2013.

Ghost CMS was supported by big names like: WooThemes, Envato, Microsoft, Techcrunch and others, and created a lot of buzz in the blogging community. We like its idea and the final product too, that’s why we decided to review it and share our feedback.

First of all would like to mention that both Ghost and WordPress started as a simple blogging platforms. WordPress is now 12 years old and evolved into a complex CMS, powering more than 23% of all websites on web. Ghost on the other hand was built for one simple purpose: to make the publishing process simple (it was born out of many frustrations that came from heavy CMSs like WordPress).

It’s probably unfair to compare Ghost with WordPress, as the 1st one is in its early days, but we tried to find out what are its possibilities and particularities and project those for some future predictions.

So, why Ghost isn’t, or will not be a WordPress killer?

1. Ghost is built with JavaScript and uses Node.js framework. Now, this offers a better load speed and mobility for databases. Unfortunately, not all hosting providers have it installed. This implies additional work and some difficulties, you have to install Node.js, configure it and then set up your site. It’s easier with WordPress: most of hosting providers are offering automatic 1-click installs, hope to see Ghost there in the future.

2. At this time Ghost doesn’t have a working API, so developers are limited in extending the features of themes and plugins. This affects the quality of theme design and functionality of plugins.

3. WordPress has a vast repository for documentation where you can learn how to use it, how to create themes and plugins, how to customize it, etc. Also, there are lots of tutorials, articles, guides and online resources where you can learn about it. Ghost is not yet there, maybe contributors will change that someday.

4. Ghost could be attractive for developers that are mastering JavaScript and are only familiar with front end development. Still, the vast majority of developers are familiar with PHP, and are using it on a larger scale.

5. Almost 1/4 of all web is powered by WordPress. It’s a whole ecosystem and a vast community of developers and users. Ghost will probably be a great alternative but not a game changer. It will target users that don’t need extra features and are focused on blogging only.

We like Ghost CMS and think it’s a reliable and beautiful blogging platform. The team behind it is working hard to make it better and they achieved great results. Hope to see it growing and prospering.