To deploy Ghost on Cloudways, you need to follow the given steps:
- Sign up for a Cloudways account and create a new server. Choose the cloud provider that suits your requirements.
- Select the server specifications, such as the location, size, and other settings. Make sure to choose a server size that can handle the expected traffic to your website.
- After creating the server, log in to the Cloudways Platform Console.
- Go to the Applications tab and click on the "Add Application" button.
- Choose the desired application, which in this case is "Ghost."
- Set the application name and other preferences, such as the project name and folder name.
- Select the server where you want to deploy Ghost and click on the "Add Application" button.
- Cloudways will then automatically install Ghost on your server.
- Once the installation is complete, go to the "Access Details" section to obtain the application URL, username, and password.
- Visit the provided URL in a web browser and log in using the username and password provided.
- Customize your Ghost website by choosing a theme, configuring settings, and creating content.
- Additionally, Cloudways offers various optimization features and add-ons to enhance the performance and security of your Ghost site. You can explore these options within the Cloudways Platform Console.
By following these steps, you can successfully deploy Ghost on Cloudways and start building your website or blog.
How to create a custom theme for Ghost on Cloudways?
To create a custom theme for Ghost on Cloudways, you can follow these steps:
- Access your server via SSH: Login to your Cloudways account and navigate to your server's management dashboard. Under the "Manage Services" section, click on the "SSH Access" button. This will launch a terminal window.
- Navigate to the Ghost themes directory: Once you are in the terminal window, navigate to the themes directory by running the following command: cd /path/to/your/ghost/installation/content/themes/
- Create a new directory for your theme: Run the following command to create a new directory for your custom theme: mkdir your-theme-name
- Create necessary files and folders: Navigate into the newly created theme directory and create the necessary files and folders. Usually, a Ghost theme consists of the following files and folders: partials: This folder contains partial templates that can be included in other templates. default.hbs: This is the main template file that defines the overall structure of your theme. index.hbs: This is the template file for the home page. post.hbs: This is the template file for individual blog posts. page.hbs: This is the template file for individual pages. tag.hbs: This is the template file for tag-specific pages. assets: This folder contains CSS, JavaScript, and other static assets for your theme.
- Customize your theme: Open the necessary template files and start customizing them according to your design requirements. You can use HTML, CSS, and handlebars syntax to build your theme.
- Activate your custom theme: Once you have finished customizing your theme, go to your Ghost admin panel by accessing https://your-domain.com/ghost. From the admin panel, navigate to the "Design" section and select your newly created theme. Click on the "Activate" button to apply the theme to your Ghost website.
- Restart Ghost: After activating your custom theme, restart the Ghost service to ensure that the changes are applied. You can do this via SSH by running the following command: sudo service ghost restart
That's it! Your custom theme should now be active on your Ghost website hosted on Cloudways. You can further customize and refine your theme by editing the necessary files and repeating the process of activating the theme and restarting Ghost.
What are the available plugins for extending functionality in Ghost on Cloudways?
There are several plugins available for extending functionality in Ghost on Cloudways. Some of the popular ones include:
- Disqus: Adds interactive commenting functionality to your blog.
- Google Analytics: Allows you to track and analyze website traffic and user behavior.
- Members: Adds a membership functionality to your blog, allowing you to restrict access to certain content.
- Mailgun: Integrates email delivery services to send transactional emails from your Ghost blog.
- OGP: Adds Open Graph and Twitter card meta tags to your blog for better social sharing.
- Syntax Highlighter: Provides syntax highlighting for code snippets in your blog posts.
- Share: Adds social sharing buttons to your blog posts for easy sharing on various social media platforms.
- Slimer: Allows you to display a slide-in signup form for newsletters or other subscriptions.
- Algolia: Integrates Algolia's search engine to provide fast and relevant search functionality on your blog.
- Zapier: Connects your Ghost blog with hundreds of other apps and services through Zapier's automation platform.
These are just a few examples, and there are many more plugins available in the Ghost marketplace that can help you extend and customize the functionality of your blog on Cloudways.
How to configure the SSL certificate for secure Ghost deployment on Cloudways?
To configure the SSL certificate for secure Ghost deployment on Cloudways, follow these steps:
- Go to the Cloudways platform and log in to your account.
- Click on your server, where the Ghost application is hosted.
- In the Application Management section, click on SSL Certificate.
- Select the Domain tab and then click on Add SSL Certificate.
- If you already have an SSL certificate, choose Use Custom SSL Certificate. Otherwise, choose Use Free SSL Certificate (Let's Encrypt).
- Fill in the required details for the certificate, such as the domain name, email address, and organization name.
- Click Add Certificate to start the SSL installation process.
- After the SSL certificate is installed, open your Ghost application management panel.
- Go to the General section and update the "URL" field to use "https://" instead of "http://", for example: "https://example.com" instead of "http://example.com".
- Save the changes and ensure that your website is accessible through the SSL secured URL.
Note: The SSL certificate installation may take a few minutes to propagate. Once the SSL certificate is successfully installed, your Ghost deployment will be secure and accessible via HTTPS.
How to enable membership features in Ghost on Cloudways?
To enable membership features in Ghost on Cloudways, you can follow these steps:
- Sign in to the Cloudways platform and select your Ghost application from the dashboard.
- Go to the "Access Details" section and click on the "Admin Panel" button to access your Ghost admin panel.
- Once in the admin panel, click on "Labs" in the left sidebar menu.
- In the Labs section, find the "Members" option and click on the "Activate" button.
- After activating the Members feature, click on "Settings" in the left sidebar menu to configure the membership settings.
- In the Settings section, click on the "Members" tab.
- Here you can manage various membership options, such as enabling or disabling the sign-up page, setting the default content visibility, and configuring payment providers if you want to charge for membership access.
- Customize the membership sign-up, login, and account settings according to your requirements.
- Save the changes.
- Finally, you can now create and manage your members by going to the "Members" section in the Ghost admin panel.
That's it! Your Ghost publication on Cloudways is now ready to use its membership features.