Why I moved my blog from Wordpress to Ghost
I've been a big fan of WordPress for years and have happily recommended it to friends countless times. With so many themes and plugins available, there's definitely something for everyone. It's user-friendly and has a fantastic community backing it up. Plus, the fact that the self-hosted version is free is just the cherry on top!
💻 My Current Setup
I’ve been really pleased with my reseller hosting account at 20i.com. Their support is top-notch—I’ve never waited more than 40 minutes for a response! My account lets me manage up to 10 hosting accounts, whether they're standard Linux setups or WordPress sites. Setting up WordPress is a breeze with just a few clicks, and it comes with an SSL certificate, which is fantastic. All in all, it’s been a great experience! 😀
I park all my domains on Cloudflare because I really appreciate their services, especially the CDN, firewall, and email obfuscation features. Plus, the fact that it’s all free is a nice bonus!
💔 Why the change of heart with WordPress?
A few reasons, all of which I will explain.
Can't find a theme to suit what I need.
I had quite a hard time finding a theme that fit my needs. Many of the ones I came across were either too complicated or just not quite right. I’d often browse sites like ThemeForest, find a theme that looked promising, play around with the demo, which always seemed amazing—and then make an impulse purchase.
But once I installed the theme, I’d usually find it was overly reliant on third-party plugins or had so many options that it was overwhelming. All I really wanted was a simple, neat blog theme, not a complex website.
After spending days tinkering, I’d get frustrated, realise I’d wasted $79, and then start the search all over again.
Plugin Subscriptions
The constant need to buy plugins can get really frustrating and expensive. While many plugins offer free versions, they often push you to upgrade to paid versions, which are usually subscription-based rather than a one-time payment. The costs can really add up. The last straw for me was spending $99 on a 12-month subscription for Elementor, only to find out I had to learn even more design techniques.
Yoni Luksenberg
Elementor Website Builder
Other Niggles
- Instead of a one-time purchase, many of the popular themes are subscription-based, like Elegant Themes and GeneratePress. This setup can be a bit of a hassle if you're not keen on ongoing payments.
- Website speed was always a challenge for me. The bigger the template, the more image-heavy it was, and the more plugins I used, the slower the site became. It was more sluggish than I was comfortable with.
- On top of the cost issues, there was also the time factor. I spent so much time searching for themes, testing plugins, fixing conflicts, and learning how to manage all the different components. It became really overwhelming. All I wanted was to focus on writing and not have to worry about the technical and design aspects.
👻 Ghost is a breath of fresh air
A few years ago, I took a quick look at Ghost but something—though I can’t quite recall what—put me off (I guess that's just age catching up with me). Recently, though, I read an article about blog hosting and saw that Ghost got a fantastic review among other platforms.
So I decided to take another look 👀
And I'm so glad I gave it another chance! Ghost has everything I was looking for and more. The platform is almost ready to go right out of the box. With just a few settings to tweak, I was up and running in no time. I didn't even have to hunt for a new theme because the one that comes standard looked perfect.
I didn't need any expensive plugins, no yearly fee for the theme and no need to learn how to design and build a website.
The only issue for me was the cost. Getting an account directly through Ghost.org at the level I needed would set me back $25 per month, billed annually. That felt pretty steep, especially when my reseller account with 20i.com is only £20 per month, billed monthly, and includes 10 hosting accounts.
Magic Pages dedicated Ghost CRM hosting
A little bit of Googling later and I discovered magicpages.co. A dedicated Ghost CRM hosting company, run by its founder Janis, who adds a real personal touch to the service.
Amazingly the plans start from only £4 per month, plus you get a 14 trial. I jumped straight in and was up and running in under 30 mins. The service is fast, reliable and the support is great.
The page you are reading now is hosted on Magic pages. Anyone looking to move away from Wordpress or is just starting out with a new blog, I'd recommend starting with Ghost and Magic Pages.
I just finished writing this article and decided, that to enhance my readers experience, I'd add a table of contents to the top of each post, making navigating through the long reads easier. I tried following the guide on the official Ghost.org website and got into a real muddle. I've tried three times now, without success. 😦
But I am not someone to be beaten, so I will be trying again after a slow walk in the park 😄
I'll be posting a full review of Magic Pages soon, so to make sure you don’t miss it, why not sign up for my free newsletter below? If you enjoyed this article or have any thoughts to share, feel free to leave a comment!