I wanted to try Ghost, a CMS and blogging platform, which is an alternative for WordPress. Unlike WordPress which runs on PHP, Ghost runs on top of Node.js, a fast, scalable and extremely efficient Javascript runtime platform. Ember.js is used for the administration area making for a slick and smooth user experience. Ghost uses Handlebars, a powerful and logicless templating language.

Installation of Ghost on Digital Ocean is a breeze since there’s already a one-click Ghost app available from a list of ready-to-made list of app images. You can get a Ghost site up and running in less than 2 minutes.

How does it compare to WordPress?

If you’re new to blogging and you want something setup fast, Ghost may very well be your blogging platform. It’s has a simple but yet powerful interface. If you’re WordPress user, you may find the simplicity a little bit underwhelming. As far as themes and plugins, you will need to search for them online. There are free and paid Ghost themes.

If you’re thinking about extending the functionality of Ghost, you’ll need to learn Javascript. There are also dozens of apps online that you can install. Ghost is not as robust as WordPress, but if you want a no-nonsense blog, give Ghost a try. You may like it more than WordPress.