Ghost: The Story of the Open-Source WordPress Alternative That Earns €7.5M a Year

Ghost, the independent publishing platform created by John O'Nolan, has established itself as a serious alternative to WordPress, and now generates €7.5 million in annual revenue. Let's dive into the fascinating story of this not-for-profit start-up that's shaking up the rules of the CMS industry.

From WordPress to Ghost: the birth of a vision

John O'Nolan was no stranger to WordPress — he contributed to it as a volunteer in the role of "Deputy Head of Design." Frustrated by WordPress's growing complexity, which was drifting away from its roots as a simple blogging platform, he imagined a CMS refocused on the essentials: publishing content. "I didn't think it was a good idea," John admits. "I thought nobody wanted another blogging platform." And yet, when he published a concept post titled "What if something like Ghost existed?", the response was extraordinary. More than 30,000 people signed up to follow the project. Here are the strengths that make all the difference. You'll find the full interview (in English) below.

Ghost stands out for several key features:

• Outstanding performance: Ghost can serve 19 requests in the time it takes WordPress to serve a single one
• A focus on publishing: a clean, distraction-free interface built around writing
• SEO optimised out of the box: no extra plugins needed for search visibility
• A transparent business model: a not-for-profit organisation that reinvests all its profits

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A responsible commercial success

Despite being a not-for-profit, Ghost has enjoyed remarkable commercial success:

• €7.5 million in annual revenue
• A team of 35 people
• Prestigious clients who left WordPress for Ghost
• Growth that's largely organic, with a minimal marketing team

A vision for the future: saving journalism

John O'Nolan sees further than a simple publishing tool. He views Ghost as a way to save independent journalism: "If you can fix journalism and bring it back to what it was supposed to be — not just clickbait and outrage — only good things can come from that." Ghost is currently working on integrating the ActivityPub protocol, aiming to create a decentralised publishing ecosystem where independent sites can interact with one another, much like an open social network.

The future of online publishing

Ghost embodies an alternative vision of the web, one where the quality of content matters more than engagement metrics, and where creators keep control of their own platform. With its ethical approach and its focus on performance, Ghost continues to attract publishers looking for a viable alternative to WordPress. As John sums it up: "I'm bored of big companies running everything. Let's have small companies instead — individuals, a thousand SMEs rather than one giant."

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