Ghost is an open-source CMS (content management system, the software in which writers create, edit and publish the pages of a website) for blogs, newsletters and online publications. It runs on Node.js, a runtime that executes JavaScript on a server. The Ghost Foundation, a non-profit organisation, makes it.
Writers compose posts in an editor that stores each post as a JSON document and adds rich media blocks called cards. Ghost publishes the post on the website and can also send it to readers as an email newsletter. Readers sign up as free members or buy a monthly or yearly paid subscription. For search engines, Ghost creates an XML sitemap, JSON-LD structured data and canonical tags automatically. Its REST API returns content as JSON, so a developer can also use Ghost headless, behind a separate front end; site designs are themes written in the Handlebars template language.
The source code is on GitHub under the MIT license and can be installed on any server. Ghost(Pro) is the official managed hosting, a subscription priced by plan and number of members, with no fee on members' payments.