Migrating GoFugYourself.com from WordPress to Ghost
This post was originally published to Webinista.com. Please link to that version.
Webinista, Inc. recently helped GoFugYourself.com (GFY) migrate from WordPress running on WPEngine to Ghost(Pro) . Here's what we learned from making the switch.
Why switch from WordPress and WPEngine?
GoFugYourself.com ran on WordPress, starting with version 4. WordPress and PHP, the programming language that powers it, have both changed a lot since then. However, the site's theme and custom plugins remained largely the same.
The existing codebase paired with the size of their database (16 gigabytes and growing) eventually crippled Heather and Jessica's ability to edit and publish posts.
GFY had two options:
- upgrade to a more expensive WPEngine hosting plan; or
- switch to a newer, more cost-effective hosting provider and a less resource-intensive publishing platform.
They chose to switch.
Why switch to Ghost(Pro)?
Ghost(Pro) promised a simpler editing experience, speedier performance, and, most importantly to GFY, lower hosting costs.
Moving to Ghost(Pro), however, required a new site theme. WordPress and its themes use a programming language called PHP. Ghost, on the other hand, uses JavaScript and a templating framework known as Handlebars. Luckily, the cost savings compared to WPEngine were significant enough that GFY could easily afford the rebuild.
Ghost(Pro) also handles scaling, email, and content delivery. For larger sites, the Ghost(Pro) migration team can help move your WordPress content to Ghost's servers.
Keep in mind that Ghost has fewer features than WordPress. However, it is very good at what it does.
WordPress vs Ghost
Ghost is a blogging and newsletter subscription platform. WordPress is a framework for building text- and media-heavy websites. You can use WordPress to publish a blog, and use plugins to make it a membership or newsletter site if you choose.
That may seem like a subtle difference. In practice, you trade the flexibility and control that WordPress allows, for Ghost's streamlined blogging, newsletter, and subscription experience.
Feature differences between Ghost and WordPress
| Ghost | WordPress | |
|---|---|---|
| Media library Search images, video, and audio. Manage captions and image descriptions. |
No | Yes |
| Plugin architecture Add features that the software doesn't provide natively, such as polls. |
No | Yes |
| Third-party integrations Connect the platform to external services such as HubSpot, Zapier, Discourse, or external storage |
Yes, with webhooks | Yes, with plugins |
| Custom themes Make your site look the way you want it to look. |
Yes, with limits | Yes |
| Custom cards / components Add functionality to the default editor. |
No1 | Yes |
| Widgets Provide editable areas of a theme. |
No | Yes |
| Multilevel navigation Create multi-level or nested navigation menus for themes. |
No2 | Yes |
| Publish posts as emails Automatically email your blog posts as newsletters to your readers. |
Yes, with Ghost(Pro) or self-hosted with a third-party provider | Yes, with WordPress.com or self-hosted with a plugin and third-party provider |
| Publish members-only content Restrict some content to paid subscribers. |
Yes | Yes, with a plugin |
| Publish to the social web Distribute content to social media using ActivityPub or ATproto. |
Yes | Yes, with a plugin |
| Extend roles and capabilities Add additional levels of readers or staffers, or expand what a particular role can do. |
No | Yes, with a plugin |
| Support for categories Configure hierarchical, standardized categories for posts. |
No | Yes |
| Support for tags Categorize posts with an unstructured, non-hierarchical method. |
Yes | Yes |
| E-commerce support Run your blog and sell merchandise from the same site. |
No3 | Yes, with a plugin |
| Support for metadata Include additional data for each post, such as ISBN numbers for books or height, weight, and position for athletes. |
No | Yes |
How to choose?
The platform you choose depends on:
- the kind of publication you'd like to create;
- whether you want to publish your blog posts as a newsletter;
- whether you want to sell access to your content; and
- whether you want the flexibility to add new features and components.
Both WordPress and Ghost are open source. You can install them on your own web host or pay for hosting. Self-hosting can cost less than $10 per month for low-traffic sites with few plugins. It can cost a few hundred or a few thousand dollars per month for high-traffic, resource-intensive sites.
Whether you choose WordPress or Ghost, if you want a one-of-a-kind theme or you want your theme to support additional features, you'll need to hire a web agency or web design freelancer.
Choose WordPress if:
- You have a media-heavy site and want to reuse images across multiple posts or pages (newspapers and magazines, for example).
- You want to add new features or components as the need arises.
- You want to include structured metadata with each post.
Choose Ghost if:
- You want to publish a blog.
- You want to publish each blog post as an email newsletter without needing a plugin.
- You want membership or subscription tiers without needing a plugin.
Webinista, Inc. can help you launch your Ghost or WordPress website. Contact me to learn more.