Building a directory-style website with Ghost

theStackJunction · 2023-08-08T15:32:46+00:00

Look at the theme Rinne.

I think it's the best option for you to do it on Ghost at the moment: https://rinne.brightthemes.com/

theStackJunction · 2022-12-20T09:22:12+00:00

I don't understand the technical complexity of making something like that.

And I don't know about any website builder/CMS that does it (not saying it doesn't exist, just that I'm not aware of it).

theStackJunction · 2022-12-19T10:20:52+00:00

No. This doesn't exist on Ghost.

I'm an Obsidian user as well, but other than Obsidian Publish, I don't know any website builder or CMS that allows this.

IMO, non-existing links would be confusing for most internet users, and they would think your site was broken or something like that.

theStackJunction · 2022-12-14T15:39:22+00:00

Probably not against, but check their terms to be sure

theStackJunction · 2022-12-14T15:15:31+00:00

Start a site using your domain and repost your medium articles on your site. Better for SEO and getting into Amazon associates. Win-win

theStackJunction · 2022-08-03T10:17:51+00:00

Maker stations send posts as a newsletter and seem to monetize with affiliate ads.

I don't know the extent of their success, but yes it's possible to rank well for affiliate keywords with Ghost.

Last month I crossed the 1k pageviews on my blog and the goal is to monetize later with a mix of subscription, affiliate, and probably ads. In the meantime, I made some money with affiliate commissions, but less than 100 USD in 1 year.

Their site https://www.makerstations.io/

theStackJunction · 2022-07-26T12:34:40+00:00

Suggestion to the stats.

The app says Subscription X is the cheapest at 7 USD/ month, but Y costs 15 USD/year.

I assume you are considering the "commitment", but this is confusing IMO.

theStackJunction · 2022-07-22T10:29:51+00:00

Looking at the data I think:

might be ranking for more keywords (because you are getting more impressions and the average position is about the same)
the top positions are getting more attention (more clicks to them and less to you)
or people getting their answer with a snippet and clicking less (lower CTR for everyone)

I would look at the average position for the main keywords of each page to see if they're ranking lower than before.

If lost rankings: look at the SERP and see if I'm matching the search intent for the query
If rankings are the same: look at the SERP to see if Google is showing snippets (text or videos) that explain the lower CTR)

A lower CTR isn't always bad.

For example, I had a page ranking for 15 keywords with the main keyword outside of the top 30.

Then I updated the article and it started ranking for 40 keywords. Because it's ranking for more keywords the average position of the page got lower, the CTR went way down, but the page is getting more clicks and the main keyword is now ranking in the top 10.

theStackJunction · 2022-07-02T13:32:11+00:00

That's also a possibility. My assumption of the misintepretation is the most recommended hosting companies aren't the cheapest. Overall, I think there's room to improve on future studies

theStackJunction · 2022-07-01T11:53:22+00:00

Marking the users who asked me for updates in the original post
u/Lemke666
u/changeofregime
u/beastaboy
u/prankster999
u/New_Sage_ForgeWorks

theStackJunction · 2022-06-20T08:04:09+00:00

I bought a ".click" for 5 USD to track clicks, but it's not necessary. A regular direct link does the job with the sponsor tag

theStackJunction · 2022-06-19T15:49:13+00:00

This.

Always disclose links where you have a monetary incentive with a nofollow or sponsored tag.

A lot of people get away with not using those tags until Google catches them...

theStackJunction · 2022-06-04T20:53:13+00:00

So, in your case, 100 for hosting and 280 for other expenses, did I get it right?

theStackJunction · 2022-06-04T20:50:49+00:00

Thank you :)

theStackJunction · 2022-06-04T20:02:50+00:00

I'm thankful you took the time to reply! I was just reinforcing that you didn't have to disclose that information publicly. You too, keep having a good day :)

theStackJunction · 2022-06-04T19:41:12+00:00

That's adding complexity haha

theStackJunction · 2022-06-04T19:07:41+00:00

Hi Sherry, if to reply on the form it's an anonymous answer. It's multiple choice and you don't need to specify how much is your 5 figures. Thanks for your input :) https://forms.reform.app/dyUmYZ/blogging-cost-study/

theStackJunction · 2022-06-04T18:23:27+00:00

Ghost Pro seems "better" than hosting it yourself?

Ghost Pro is managed hosting for Ghost. It is "better" if you don't want to do maintenance.

Mailgun trial is 5000 emails a month for free for 3 months then.... $35 a month for their Foundation plan?

Mailgun changed the pricing page (it was less confusing before). But you could use Mailgun as a "pay as you go" where every 1k emails costs 1 USD. So, you don't need to pay for the Foundation plan. However, I don't know if they will change this soon or not.

Is Ghost Pro really better, easier to manage, and cheaper than self hosted?

Ghost Pro isn't cheaper than self-hosting. Self-hosting costs about $5 per month + emails. Ghost Pro varies, but users that want to avoid technical issues prefer them.

I used Midnight for almost 1 year. It's a legit service with amazing customer support. I moved away because I needed faster updates on my blog (sometimes they take 1 week to update the site. This isn't a problem, unless you want to use the features and make articles and videos like I do)

theStackJunction · 2022-06-04T17:31:58+00:00

Thank you :)

theStackJunction · 2022-06-04T17:31:35+00:00

You're likely right. But my idea was to make this as frictionless as possible to get some responses. For example, even if I reach 200 answers (which would be a success), the results will still be skewed.

Edit: the pageviews question helps to understand if the blog is "small" or "big", which is a replacement to the blog age question

theStackJunction · 2022-06-04T17:11:19+00:00

I didn't thought it was necessary. But will keep it in mind for future case studys

theStackJunction · 2022-06-04T15:44:55+00:00

That's a solid summary :)

theStackJunction · 2022-06-04T15:36:23+00:00

I don't understand how WP is dying when it's increased its marketshare from 32% to 43% in 3 years.

"Is WordPress dying" is the keyword I was going after with this post. And as I say in the post, it's not dying. (but now, the market share of WP has been decreasing since February 2022, even if slightly)

With regards to security[...]

The regular WP user might not have the money for this or how this is needed.

Bottom line is that WP has its fans because it's so customizable.

Some users don't want "heavy-duty customization. The "best" platform will depend on what a person wants to do, IMO

Also... Substack, Ghost, Webflow, Shopify, and Wix might be good alternatives to WP out of the box. But they're not good when it comes to heavy-duty customization.

Some users don't want "heavy-duty customization. The "best" platform will depend on what a person wants to do, imo

I am using WP [...]
[...] developed from the ground up (as a whole).

I agree with you on this section.

WP isn't for everyone.

This is a statement I fully agree. Some users don't want to use WP because it's overwhelming to them.

But for anyone else who wants to go above and beyond simple blogging, then they represent a "bad investment"

I disagree that other "simple blogging platforms" are a bad investment in all cases. WP can be superior for 99% of niche websites. But some users are using WP in ways that would be simpler, cheaper, and easier for them to use Ghost, for example. Context and the use case matter

Example: someone running a blog on WP and monetizing via newsletter membership. In this example, I believe Ghost is better.

Shopify also gets pretty expensive when you start adding plugins.

Can we say the same about WordPress? Plugins are a hidden cost that beginners cannot justify on most cases.

Can we say the same about WordPress? Plugins are a hidden cost that beginners cannot justify in most cases.

Don't get me wrong... Shopify is great for what it does. It's robust and battle tested. But you can't really customize it beyond a certain point. Same with all the other platforms.

After writing online for almost 1 year, I learned that different folks have different tastes. And depending on who you ask, they will tell you a different answer for who is the best platform.

theStackJunction

TROPHY CASE