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Ghost vs KeystoneJS vs WordPress: What are the differences?
Introduction: When choosing a content management system (CMS), there are a plethora of options available, each with its own unique features and advantages. Ghost, KeystoneJS, and WordPress are three popular CMS platforms that cater to different needs and preferences. Understanding the key differences between these platforms can help make an informed decision based on specific requirements.
Architecture and Technology Stack: Ghost is built using Node.js, which makes it fast, flexible, and efficient for handling content-heavy websites. KeystoneJS, on the other hand, is a powerful CMS and web application framework that is built on Express.js and MongoDB, offering a high level of customization and extensibility. WordPress is a PHP-based CMS that powers a significant portion of the internet, providing a wide range of plugins and themes for various needs.
Customization and Flexibility: Ghost focuses on simplicity and user-friendly design, providing limited customization options out of the box. KeystoneJS, being a backend-only CMS, offers extensive customization capabilities for developers and allows for building complex web applications. WordPress, with its vast library of themes and plugins, provides a high level of customization for both beginners and advanced users, making it ideal for a wide range of websites.
User Interface and User Experience: Ghost offers a clean and minimalist interface tailored for writers and bloggers, providing distraction-free content creation. KeystoneJS offers a sleek and modern admin interface for managing content, while also ensuring a seamless developer experience. WordPress, with its intuitive dashboard and user-friendly editor, caters to users of all skill levels, making it easy for beginners to get started with creating content.
Community and Support: Ghost has a smaller but dedicated community that focuses on providing quality documentation and support for users. KeystoneJS has a growing community of developers and contributors who actively improve the platform and provide assistance. WordPress boasts a massive community with extensive online resources, forums, and support channels, making it easy to find solutions to any issues or questions.
SEO Capabilities: Ghost offers built-in SEO features such as meta tags, automatic sitemap generation, and canonical tags to help optimize content for search engines. KeystoneJS allows developers to implement custom SEO strategies and plugins to enhance the visibility of websites. WordPress, with its vast array of SEO plugins like Yoast SEO, provides robust tools to improve on-page optimization and overall search engine rankings.
E-commerce Functionality: While Ghost and KeystoneJS are primarily focused on content management, WordPress has extensive e-commerce capabilities through plugins like WooCommerce, allowing users to create online stores and sell products efficiently. This makes WordPress a preferred choice for businesses looking to integrate e-commerce functionality into their websites.
In Summary, understanding the key differences between Ghost, KeystoneJS, and WordPress in terms of architecture, customization, user experience, community support, SEO capabilities, and e-commerce functionality can help in making an informed decision based on specific requirements.
I usually take a slightly different tack because the technical level of people I usually am dealing with is lower. I tend to be pitching to decision makers and not tech people. A bit of my standard answer is below.
Wix and Squarespace are proprietary systems meant for unsophisticated users who want to build their own websites quickly and easily. While they are good for that specific use case, they do not offer any way to move beyond that if your needs arise. Since they are proprietary closed systems if you need something more advanced at some point your only option is to start over.
WordPress is an Open Source CMS that allows much more freedom. It is not quite as simple to setup and create a new site but if you are talking to me then you are not looking to build it yourself so that is really a non-issue. The main benefit of WordPress is freedom. You can host it on virtually any decent web hosting service and since it uses PHP and MySQL you can have virtually any developer take over a project without problem.
I believe in open source because of that freedom. It is good for me as a developer and it is good for my clients. If something were to happen to me or my company you would have no problem finding another qualified WordPress developer to take over the site in a totally seamless fashion. There would be no need to start from scratch.
Additionally the extensible nature of WordPress means that no matter what your future needs, WordPress can handle it. Adding things like e-commerce and custom quoting systems are just two examples of advanced solution's that I have added to WordPress sites years after they were first built.
WordPress is used by tiny one person businesses all the way up to major websites like the NY Times and I think it is right for this project as well.
So many choices for CMSs these days. So then what do you choose if speed, security and customization are key? Headless for one. Consuming your own APIs for content is absolute key. It makes designing pages in the front-end a breeze. Leaving Ghost and Cockpit. If I then looked at the footprint and impact on server load, Cockpit definitely wins that battle.
10 Years ago I have started to check more about the online sphere and I have decided to make a website. There were a few CMS available at that time like WordPress or Joomla that you can use to have your website. At that point, I have decided to use WordPress as it was the easiest and I am glad I have made a good decision. Now WordPress is the most used CMS. Later I have created also a site about WordPress: https://www.wpdoze.com
Pros of Ghost
- Beautiful45
- Fast35
- Quick/simple post styling29
- Live Post Preview20
- Open source20
- Non-profit19
- Seamless writing16
- Node.js6
- Fast and Performatic5
- Javascript5
- Simplest4
- Wonderful UI3
- Handlebars3
- Full Control3
- Magic2
- Clean2
- Headless CMS1
- Self-hostable1
Pros of KeystoneJS
- Out-of-box tools and basic services7
- Large community3
- Great schema-based auto-generated admin interface2
- Great CMS and API platform2
- Great sandbox to play with nodejs2
- Great integrations1
- A great MEAN stack1
- Detail documentations and tutorials1
- Free1
- Rapid development1
- Open source1
- "easy setup", "uses mongodb"1
- Fast on V81
- Similar to wordpress1
- Fast growing community cms framework1
- Great culture1
Pros of WordPress
- Customizable415
- Easy to manage366
- Plugins & themes354
- Non-tech colleagues can update website content258
- Really powerful247
- Rapid website development145
- Best documentation78
- Codex51
- Product feature set44
- Custom/internal social network35
- Open source18
- Great for all types of websites8
- Huge install and user base7
- Perfect example of user collaboration5
- Open Source Community5
- Most websites make use of it5
- It's simple and easy to use by any novice5
- Best5
- I like it like I like a kick in the groin5
- Community4
- API-based CMS4
- Easy To use3
- <a href="https://secure.wphackedhel">Easy Beginner</a>2
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Cons of Ghost
Cons of KeystoneJS
Cons of WordPress
- Hard to keep up-to-date if you customize things13
- Plugins are of mixed quality13
- Not best backend UI10
- Complex Organization2
- Do not cover all the basics in the core1
- Great Security1