Wordpress.observer editorial team
Wordpress.observer editorial team

WordPress vs Ghost – Which Blogging Platform Is the Better?

When it comes to creating a blog, there are a few different content management systems (CMS) to choose from.

  • WordPress and Ghost are both popular options, but have different strengths and weaknesses.
  • In this article, we’ll compare WordPress and Ghost with their pros and cons so you can decide which is the better platform for you.

What to Look for in a Blogging Platform?

When choosing which blogging platform to use, you should consider the following questions:

  • What are your goals for the blog?
  • Do you want a wide, general audience or a specific one?
  • Do you want to monetize your blog with advertisements and affiliate links, or do you just want to create a space for your own expression?
  • Do you plan on writing about serious topics, or do self-reflection and poetry also interest you?

Main factors for our WordPress vs Ghost:

– Ease of installation (how easy it is to get started)

– Content management (formatting, publishing and editing content)

– Design customization (how easy it is to change the design)

– Speed and performance (how quickly a site responds, how many resources it uses)

– Security (how easily a blog can get hacked and the steps each platform takes to protect users from this issue) 

What is WordPress?

WordPress is a popular, free open-source CMS that you can use to create blogs and websites.

It’s backed by a team of employees at Automattic, who aim to make WordPress available to everyone.

In addition to the usual blog features found on most platforms, WordPress offers the following features:

– A plugin library with thousands of available plugins to extend your blog’s functionality

– An active community, where users can easily find help or ideas through forums

– Access to WordPress.tv, a collection of tutorials that you can follow along with

to learn how to use WordPress as a beginner

– Its own hosting service, where you can install the CMS and have full control over your blog’s files

What is Ghost?

Ghost is a free and open-source blogging platform that’s designed to provide an excellent writing experience.

It makes publishing content very easy, and gives you full control over your blog’s appearance.

Unlike WordPress, Ghost doesn’t offer many features, but does provide the following:

– A clean writing interface that provides distraction-free blogging

– The ability to write posts directly in Markdown, if you’re familiar with it

– An API that allows other apps and third-party services to access your content and data

– A hosted version of the platform (called Ghost(Pro)), which offers additional features such as a custom domain and ad-free browsing

What’s The Difference Between WordPress vs Ghost?

When it comes to functionality, the two platforms are pretty different. WordPress is suited for blogs with more complex requirements, while Ghost is better for people who just want to write.

What are the Pros of Using WordPress?

– If you need advanced features, plugins and integrations, WordPress will likely provide them.

– WordPress is backed by an active community, so if you get stuck there are plenty of people who can help you.

– You don’t need to learn much to get started using it, since the platform is user-friendly and intuitive.

– WordPress.org (the free version of the CMS) has an excellent page builder that you can use to edit your blog’s layout.

– It’s an SEO-friendly platform which makes it easier for your blog to get traffic.

What are the Cons of Using WordPress?

– WordPress is a resource-intensive platform, so it’ll use up your hosting plan’s monthly data allowance.

– It can be slow for visitors who are visiting your blog for the first time, since it takes some hosted pages a while to load.

– It’s not the best platform for users who are looking to monetize their blogs, since you can’t use affiliate links or ads without plugins.

– There are several security issues with WordPress, which is why it’s recommended to use a free account at WordPress.org rather than hosting your blog yourself.

What are the Pros of Using Ghost?

– It’s a lightweight platform that doesn’t require as much resources as WordPress.

– You have full control over your blog’s appearance, so it will be responsive and mobile-friendly.

– It’s a fast platform that won’t take long for visitors to load.

– You can change your blog’s theme or layout at any time, so it’ll always look up-to-date.

– There’s no need to install plugins, since the platform offers advanced features by default.

What are the Cons of Using Ghost?

If you need the same functionality as WordPress, then writing in Markdown instead of HTML might not suit your needs.

– While the platform is free to use, you’ll need to pay a monthly fee if you want to have access to the Ghost(Pro) features.

– Although there are some themes you can use to customize your blog’s appearance, they’re limited in comparison to WordPress’ selection.

– It can be hard to get help when you’re stuck, since your options are limited.

– You don’t have access to an active community, so you need to rely on other members of the blogging community for help.

Ease of Use:

WordPress and Ghost are both user-friendly platforms that don’t require a lot of technical knowledge to use.

However, since WordPress is more popular and has been around for longer, you’ll find that there are more WordPress tutorials and resources available.

Customization:

Although both platforms offer a range of different features, WordPress is better for bloggers who want to customize their blog’s layout, appearance and features.

This is because you can install third-party plugins which you can use to edit your blog’s design, integrate social media and monetize your content.

However, Ghost doesn’t come with plugins or advanced features by default.

It’s only when you subscribe to Ghost(Pro) that you can use these extra features, including adding ads and affiliate links.

Price:

Both platforms offer free plans and paid plans, with the most notable difference being that WordPress offers a free plan (WordPress.org) which you can use to host your own blog, while Ghost offers a free plan (Ghost(Pro)) that requires you to sign up for a monthly subscription.

While it might be cheaper to host your own blog with WordPress, doing this means you’ll need to take care of the security and speed issues that come from using WordPress.

Coding:

Although both platforms are built with different coding languages, you don’t need to know any coding to use them.

However, it’s easier for beginners to use WordPress since you can write in plain HTML or the WordPress Visual Editor.

Design & Templates 

Ghost is a better platform for bloggers who want to stick with the default options, since there’s no need to install any third-party plugins.

However, if you want to change your blog’s appearance, then WordPress is a better choice thanks to the theme store and design options available.

Ecommerce 

If you want to add ecommerce to your blog, then WordPress is a better option since there’s no need for a paid subscription.

However, if you want to sell something from your blog and prefer a simple platform, then the basic features of Ghost(Pro) could work for you.

Monetization – How can you earn money from your blog?

WordPress allows any blogger to monetize their website with its vast selection of free and paid plugins. WordPress is by far the most popular blogging platform on the web, hosting an incredible number of websites, including this one. And until recently, it was the only blogging platform. But in recent years, there’s been a new kid on the block: Ghost. When I first discovered Ghost, I had no idea that there was a new blogging platform on the scene. I thought it was just another WordPress clone. Boy, was I wrong! Ghost is truly the future of blogging. And due to it’s fantastic features, it has quickly started to catch up with WordPress in popularity. So let’s take an in depth look and see how Ghost stacks up against WordPress, shall we?

SEO in the WordPress vs Ghost battle

WordPress has been the most popular blogging platform for a long time. It is now turning into a CMS, as many site owners use it as a platform for their company or business websites. Because of this high number of use cases, WordPress is very flexible and comes with lots of pre-installed modules. One of these standard modules is SEO by Yoast. Ghost does not have any SEO features built into the platform which makes it a little harder for beginners. But if SEO is a very important part of your blogging strategy, you can still add a lot of functionality with a plugin.

WordPress SEO by Yoast vs Ghost SEO plugins

To get things started, I’d like to list the most popular WordPress plugins for SEO. Yoast, All in One SEO Pack, WordPress SEO by Yoast and The SEO Framework are all very popular choices. All of them will help you make sense of the confusing SEO world. But what about Ghost? Unfortunately, there are not quite as many plugins for this platform. But don’t worry, there are a few good alternatives available:

Ghost SEO plugins

SEO Framework (Free) – This plugin is an open source project which you can use to help with your SEO.

The SEO Framework is a very flexible and extendable plugin which helps you optimize the content of your blog. The main features are:

Allows to set canonical URLs, redirect old urls to new ones, sends 404 pages to the /404-error/ folder if you want to, etc. Allows to set noindex, canonical and robots tags on certain pages or post types. Enables you to set up 301 redirects. You can also disable indexing for certain categories or tags. Great choice if you want to use a flexible and extendable SEO plugin.

WordPress or Ghost – Which is Better?

WordPress is the clear winner in this category. Even though Ghost has made some improvements recently, WordPress can still be considered a mature platform. It is built on a rock solid foundation and you can be sure it will work as expected.

WordPress vs Ghost – Verdict

At the end of the day, both of these two blogging platforms will make you happy. It all depends on your skills and the features you need in your blog. If you are looking for a simple blogging platform to publish your thoughts, then Ghost is the clear choice. But if you plan to build an ecommerce website or a blog for a company, then WordPress wins hands down.

WordPress is free and open source.

Ghost is commercial but offers a year of free hosting.

WordPress is more popular, but Ghost offers a better privacy policy and GDPR compliance.

If you want to choose a CMS and not just a blogging platform, you should opt for WordPress because of the vast amount of modules and plugins that are available in the official repository.

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