Ghost vs KeystoneJS: What are the differences?

Key Differences between Ghost and KeystoneJS

Ghost and KeystoneJS are both popular content management systems (CMS) used for building websites and blogs. However, they have distinct differences that set them apart from each other.

1. Architecture: Ghost is a lightweight CMS built specifically for blogging. It has a modular architecture and is designed to handle content creation, management, and publication with simplicity and ease. On the other hand, KeystoneJS is a powerful CMS framework that provides a flexible and extensible platform for building complex websites and applications. It follows a comprehensive MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture, making it suitable for larger projects with diverse requirements.

2. User Interface: Ghost offers a minimalistic and user-friendly interface, focusing primarily on the writing and publishing experience. The editor is designed to be distraction-free, allowing users to concentrate on producing high-quality content. KeystoneJS, however, comes with a more robust administration panel that provides a comprehensive set of tools for managing various aspects of a website, including content, user permissions, and custom models.

3. Front-End Development: Ghost is primarily focused on providing a seamless writing and reading experience for bloggers. It has limited support for front-end development customization, making it suitable for users who want to focus solely on content creation. KeystoneJS, on the other hand, offers more flexibility in terms of front-end development. It allows developers to build custom front-end applications using their preferred frameworks and tools, making it suitable for projects that require extensive customization and complex user interfaces.

4. Plugin and Theme Ecosystem: Ghost has a rich ecosystem of plugins and themes that can be easily installed and activated to extend its functionality and customize the appearance of a website. The official Ghost marketplace offers a variety of options to choose from. In contrast, KeystoneJS provides a powerful GraphQL API and a set of built-in tools for managing data and relationships. It supports extensions through custom GraphQL resolvers and hooks, allowing developers to extend and modify its core functionality as per project requirements.

5. Hosting and Deployment: Ghost offers Ghost(Pro), a fully-managed hosting solution specifically optimized for Ghost installations. It takes care of all the server infrastructure, updates, and security, allowing users to focus solely on content creation. KeystoneJS, being a more versatile framework, can be deployed on a wide range of hosting providers and platforms. Its deployment requires more manual setup and configuration but provides greater flexibility and control over the hosting environment.

6. Community and Support: Ghost has a vibrant and active community of users and contributors, with regular updates and an engaged user base. It offers comprehensive documentation and customer support through its official channels. KeystoneJS also has an active community, with regular updates and support provided through its GitHub repository and community forums. However, Ghost's community is more focused on blogging and content creation, while KeystoneJS has a broader user base with a wide range of use cases and applications.

In summary, Ghost is a lightweight and user-friendly CMS specifically designed for bloggers, offering a minimalistic writing and publishing experience. KeystoneJS, on the other hand, is a powerful and extensible CMS framework suitable for larger projects that require flexibility in front-end development, complex data management, and customization options.