After years of waiting for hosting providers to finally give us an easy way to install and run the platform, weâre finally in that exact spot, where launching a new Ghost blog, newsletter, or membership website is a 5-minute process.
- Get a cheap .com domain name
- Grab a cheap Ghost Hosting plan
- Choose a Ghost Hosting plan
- Create an account and choose a name
- Verify your new account
- Login to your new Ghost blog
- Setup your Ghost blog or newsletter
- Customize and launch your Ghost blog
- Upgrade from Trial to Paid
- Add your domain name to MagicPages
- Update your domainâs DNS Records
- Design your Ghost blog with a beautiful theme
- FAQs
Actually, unlike other popular platforms, like WordPress, I found an even easier way to start a Ghost blog, and itâs also very affordable. So, hereâs how to start your new Ghost blog, newsletter, or membership site faster, easier, and cheaper than ever before:
Get a cheap .com domain name
First things first, youâll need a domain name. The .com extension is, arguably, the most recommended and popular choice. But if the name is unavailable and itâs available for purchase but at a higher price and nobodyâs using it, feel free to use newer options like .co or .io, like many folks and businesses do these days.
Personally, I get all my domain names from NameCheap. As the name suggests, they offer domain names at affordable prices, and new users also get an extra discount for their first purchase. You can get as many as you like, have them automatically renewed each year, and point them everywhere you want them to redirect your visitors.
Hereâs the steps to get your first domain within minutes:
- Visit NameCheap.com, type a name, and search for its availability.
- Once you find the âperfectâ domain, click on the âAdd to Cartâ button.
- Go to the Cart page (at the top right corner) and click âView Cartâ.
- In the âPromo Codeâ field, add the code
MATRIXTLD25to receive a -50% discount offer. - Make sure the âDomain Privacyâ is enabled, and click on âConfirm Orderâ.
- Sign up for a new account, add a payment method, and complete the purchase.
Great, now if you head over to your NameCheap accountâs Dashboard page, you should find your new domain name there. Donât worry if itâs still not activated; give it a few minutes.
Grab a cheap Ghost Hosting plan
The biggest problem that makes most people avoid Ghost is its setup process. If you donât want to pay $18 or $28 per month for one of the official plans, you can either grab yourself a server, install, setup, and maintain Ghost, or get a hosting plan that does all of that automatically (and itâs actually a lot cheaper). Weâre going with the last option.
There are a few great options when it comes to getting a hosting plan for Ghost. DigitalOcean is arguably the most popular one, but itâs too complicated for beginners and non-skilled folks. Then you get Hosting.com and DigitalPress, both great options right now.
But for todayâs guide, weâll be using my personal favorite: MagicPages.
There are many reasons why Iâm choosing this specific provider, but I wonât bother you with the technical details. What you need to know is that whenever you need help or have any questions, you get support straight from Jannis, the guy behind MagicPages. Thatâs absolutely crucial for beginners whoâve never used Ghost, and everyone who hates talking with AI chatbots and assistants instead of real human beings.
Oh, did I forget to mention that heâs offering a 14-day free trial for all of its plans? Yep, no credit card required, and you get a temporally sub-domain to view and test your new blog or newsletter.
Hereâs a quick guide on starting a new Ghost blog or newsletter within the next 5 minutes:
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Choose a Ghost Hosting plan
Visit MagicPages, choose one of the available plans, and click on the âStart 14-day Trialâ button.
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Create an account and choose a name
Fill out the email address where youâll receive all news and updates about your new Ghost blog, and choose a subdomain that you can use until you get your own domain.
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Verify your new account
Once you do that, MagicPages will ask you to verify your email address by clicking on the âVerify email addressâ button that youâll receive a few seconds later in your inbox (please check your junk folder too).
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Login to your new Ghost blog
MagicPages will spend the next couple of minutes creating and setting up your new Ghost blog. Once itâs ready, youâll receive an email with the link to access it.
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Setup your Ghost blog or newsletter
This is where we give our new blog/newsletter a title, our full name, an email address, and of course, a strong password that weâll be using to access our admin account.
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Customize and launch your Ghost blog
Thatâs the final step (for now), where you can customize your new blog/newsletter by choosing a theme, creating your basic pages, and writing and publishing your first articles or newsletters. You have a whole 14 days to do all of that and have it ready for launch.
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Upgrade from Trial to Paid
From your Ghost admin dashboard, click on the âCustomer Portalâ, which is located in the left sidebar along with all the other options. Choose a subscription plan and click on âContinueâ. Fill out your details and complete the payment.
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Add your domain name to MagicPages
Once you complete the payment and your Ghost hosting account is premium, head over to the Customer Portal, click on the âDomainâ tab, then âEdit Domainâ, and enter the domain that you bought earlier from NameCheap (e.g.,
example.com). Donât forget to save the changes once youâre done. -
Update your domainâs DNS Records
A list of DNS records required for the new domain will appear. Head over to NameCheap, login to your account, and from the Dashboard page, just click on the âManageâ option, and add all the DNS records that MagicPages gives you.
Usually, they recommend waiting at least 24 to 48 hours until the DNS settings are fully applied everywhere and your new Ghost blog is accessible. But, as we often see nowadays, this process is typically faster, and new domains become available within 3-6 hours after you apply the changes.
If youâre facing any issues, you canât find an option, or somethingâs not working as expected, head over to the MagicPagesâ Help Center page and look for the solution. If you canât find it, thereâs a live chat available to contact Jannis or send him a message at help@magicpages.co.
Design your Ghost blog with a beautiful theme
Once you have your new Ghost blog up and running, you may want to start by designing it. Most people donât write code, and they canât design their own layouts, so they choose a theme and adjust it accordingly. Some themes can literally change in such high levels that, in the end, they become almost unrecognizable.
When you first sign in to your Ghost blog, youâll have the option to choose either of the official free themes provided by Ghost or one of the exclusive MagicPages themes that Jannis made. But there are third-party marketplaces that also have their own collections of premium themes that you can buy and use, many of them modern and robust and with support included.
Editorâs Note:
If youâve chosen the âStartedâ plan from MagicPages and are looking to upload and use a custom theme, youâll have to add the âCustom Themes Add-Onâ to your monthly expenses. Alternatively, itâs included in the Pro plan.
Right now, ThemeForest is the most popular marketplace when it comes to themes, offering thousands of options for multiple different platforms, including Ghost.
Just head over to the Ghost Templates page to see them all. Creative Market also offers a few great Ghost themes, but the marketplace doesnât offer a specific category for the platform, so searching âGhost themesâ will do the trick.
Keep in mind that those marketplaces offer every developer the option to sell their themes, so you get support from independent developers or (usually) small companies. Always read the reviews before making a decision, and closely look at what the theme offers.
Most themes also provide a âChangelogâ page from where you can see all updates the theme has received, and when it received them.
FAQs
Have any questions? Leave your comment at the end of this page.
Why do I have to pay if Ghost is free?
Ghost is a free open-source project, and anyone can download and use it for free for as long as they want, whether thatâs for personal or commercial purposes. But to be able to run, you need a server and a domain name. If you got the first and you have the skills, you can self-host it for free, and just get a domain name, or pay for both from a known and trusted hosting provider.
Should I get a lifetime hosting plan?
Nothing really lives forever, and the same goes for lifetime web hosting plans that promise you that for as little as a few hundred dollars, you get yourself a server that will never get cancelled. I donât trust those plans, but even if I did, isnât the point of starting a new blog or newsletter to keep growing it fast enough to need a more powerful server soon? If you do, then lifetime plans wonât cut it for you, and instead, youâll need to focus on future flexibility.
Ghost or WordPress.com, which is better?
WordPress.com has more options and features, and a huge community of people backing it up. But its official plans are very restrictive, and getting a web hosting with a domain isnât always the best choice for people who donât want to invest a lot of time in the learning curve that comes with it. If you only need a blog and/or a newsletter, Ghost will make your life a whole lot easier, while with WordPress, youâll either have to pay a lot or configure everything by yourself.
Is Ghost a better option than Medium and Substack?
Yes, and no. While Ghost is very similar to Medium and Substack, especially considering that it lets you build a blog (like Medium) and a newsletter with subscription-based content (like Substack), the biggest difference is that you own it. You control everything, you set your own rules, you decide about the design and the way your blog/newsletter works, and nobody can shut it down except you. Then again, you know what they say, âDonât grow your seeds into another manâs land.â
What is MagicPages?
Created by Jannis, a guy who fell in love with Ghost but hated all the fuss of installing, configuring, and maintaining it, MagicPages is a Ghost hosting provider that focuses on simplicity. Instead of doing anything technical-related, MagicPages does everything automatically for you; just sign up for a new account (14-day free trial included), type your blogâs name, a few more details, customize it, write a few articles, and publish it for the world to see.
Ghost is getting updated with new features, bug fixes, improvements, and more fairly often. Itâs a platform that looks like it has a very bright future, and itâs already a powerful solution for everyone who wants a personal blog or newsletter without having to deal with anything too advanced.
Hosting providers like MagicPages make the whole process a few clicks and a little bit of typing, and within minutes, you get to build your new Ghost blog. Combine it with NameCheapâs offerings and cheap pricing, and youâve got yourself a yearly package for less than $100.
