The first version of the minimalist blogging platform Ghost has been launched to the public Monday. To tell you the truth, I can’t wait to try it out. I recalled how thrilled I was when I read the post by John O’Nolan that started the whole project. I said “At Last, someone who understands my problems.”
Around the same time, I often talked with my tech husband about the dated WordPress interface. Frankly, the look and feel of their administrative screens seems old. I often mentioned how it was not easy to blog on site when I’m visiting a trade show or attending a conference.
As a user, I feel that WordPress kind of makes my life more complicated by not integrating in their system the basic and standard components needed for blogging. Managing plugins for the most basic stuff is time not well spent. Although WordPress works well, WordPress has stopped adding tools for bloggers a long time ago. Bloggers are not a priority for them. I don’t foresee that it will change in the future, especially when the bread and butter of so many WordPress developers are in Web sites, not blogs.
Going back to Ghost, the great responses that John O’Nolan got from his original concept led to a Kickstarter campaign that raised $300,000 in a month, way more than he expected to raise when he launched it. It was clear by now that Ghost fills a void in the market.
There is a definite trend towards returning to a simplest blogging experience, one that let’s the blogger writes and the readers read without interferences. Quartz and Medium are great example of blogs with an emphasis on the content. A quick look at this blog versus my previous blog clearly indicates that I returned to blogging in a simpler form. Now that I am stripped down my blog layout, I am even more willing to leave WordPress for Ghost, assuming that my test drive is conclusive.
How Ghost fills my needs as a blogging platform
The concept behind Ghost is to simplify my job as a blogger. It is designed for people like me. Ghost does one thing only: it’s a blogging platform. The project came from a long-time blogger and interactive designer who knows well how bloggers work. O’Nolan took the best of several platforms and used its knowledge of the blogger’s tasks to create Ghost. And with Ghost, bloggers can easily write posts from any devices.
Simplicity runs deeper than putting the tools that I need, when I need them at my fingertips. Ghost comes with standard blogging tools already integrated into the platform. Yes, some features are missing to make it perfect. I don’t doubt that more editorial tools will be added later. Even without the superb dashboard that was postponed to release the platform sooner, I am willing to give Ghost a chance. I am waiting for the theme ecosystem to determine if I will make the switch or not. Have you tried Ghost yet?
