How to use the Ghost Publishing Platform
In order to make it easier for users to deploy and manage Ghost instances on their shared hosting accounts, we have created a custom Ghost Publishing Platform plugin which is now available on all of our Shared hosting servers.
With the Ghost Publishing Platform you will learn:
- Step 1: How to Install Ghost
- Step 2: How to Manage Ghost
How to Install Ghost
To access this new feature, you will have to first log in your cPanel account and then navigate to Software?Ghost Publishing Platform or simply by typing the latter in the search bar located at the top right corner of your cPanel.
To deploy a new instance of Ghost, you will have to first click on the blue Add New button.
Here you will have to select:
- Domain Name - A domain or subdomain which is present in your cPanel on which you will create the new Ghost installation. This can be done via the drop-down menu. In case you wish to use another domain or subdomain, the same must first be added via the cPanel Addon Domains - or created via the Subdomains sections respectively.
- Instance Name - The name of your project which can be used to differentiate it from other ghost projects. This name will only be shown in the Ghost Manager plugin and will not be publicly available.
- Folder - The folder in which your Ghost will reside. If the folder name which you write is not present, it will be created by the plugin. Note that if you use, for example, the folder of the subdomain on which you are trying to install ghost, you will receive an error notifying you that this is not possible.
Click on the Install button when you have filled all of the fields.
20 to 30 seconds after you click the button, you will be presented with your new Ghost installation which will be started by default.
How to Manage Ghost
With the Ghost Management plugin you can restart or stop your Ghost instance with a click of a button depending on your needs. Simply choose the ghost which you want to manage and select hit either Restart or Stop.
You will be notified of the change with a text message which will be present until you close the plugin or select another action.
Similarly, to start a stopped application, click on the Start button for the Ghost instance in question.
If you wish to completely remove a Ghost project, click on the red X button located on the right of that project. This will remove everything in the folder in which that instance is located but will leave the folder present.
How to Create your Admin User for Ghost
By default Ghost does not create Admin user during the installation process. In order to access your Ghost Dashboard you will need to create your Ghost Admin user first. This can be done right after your installation process via your browser.
To access your Ghost registration page simply access your Ghost installation via your browser using the following URL:
http://example.com/ghost
Please remember to change "example.com" with your actual domain name or IP address on which your Ghost installation can be accessed.
This will redirect you to the Ghost Sign up page at https://example.com/ghost/signup/
On the Sign Up page, please input your name, email address and desired password. Be advised that your password should be at least 8 symbols.
When you are ready hit the Sign Up button and you will be directed to your Ghost Admin Dashboard.
How to Edit your Ghost User Profile
Ghost provides the ability to fill in your personal information and bio, set your profile name, image and cover. Additionally, you can reset your password via the User Profile page.
To access the User profile page, please login your Ghost Admin Dashboard and click on the Settings menu from the top navigation menu.
From the Settings page click on the Users tab from the menu on the left side of your screen.
This will redirect you to your User Profile page. First, you can modify your personal profile picture, name and cover image by clicking on the fields marked on our screenshot below:
Next you may input your Email address, Location, personal website or Bio data.
At the bottom of the page you may change your Ghost password by entering your current and new password. When you are ready with your profile modifications, please click the Save button on the top right corner of your screen.
Now your name and Bio will be displayed after each of your posts.
Setup Ghost General Settings
In this tutorial we will show you how to configure your Ghost General settings, change your Ghost cover and upload your Ghost blog logo.
To access your Ghost General Settings page, please login to your Ghost Dashboard via httsp://example.com/ghost/ - please change "example.com" with your actual domain name or IP address.
From the Ghost Dashboard click on the Settings menu from the top main navigation which will redirect you to the Ghost General Settings page.
Here you can change Blog Title and your Ghost Blog Description which are the name displayed on your Ghost blog frontend.
Next you can upload your custom cover and logo to change the default Ghost header. To upload your Cover and logo click on the Upload Image button and select the desired image from your local computer.
You may also change the default number of posts displayed on each page of your blog by modifying the Posts per Page value. If you would like to include your posts publishing date into your permalinks tick the tick box option.
How to reset your Ghost blog Content
In this tutorial we will show you how to reset your Ghost Blog content. Please note that after this action all posts and pages will be permanently removed and will be no longer available.
To reset your Ghost blog, please access the debug section of your Ghost platform and login using your Ghost Admin username:
https://example.com/ghost/debug/
Replace example.com with your actual domain or IP address.
After logging with your Ghost admin email address and password you will be directed to the Ghost Debug section.
From this page, please click on the Delete Button located next to "Delete all content". This will ask you for a final confirmation:
After clicking on the Yes button you should see a confirmation message that your content has been wiped out and you can start from scratch now.
How to install a Ghost Template
In this guide we will show you how to install a Ghost Blog template. In most cases the installation of a Ghost template is a straight forward process and require a simple upload of the template files. Still, some templates might require custom steps. We highly recommend to review any available documentation for the desired template prior proceeding with the setup.
First, you need to download the installation archive of your Ghost Blog template. Usually templates are compressed into a single zip or tar.gz file. Extract the archive on your local computer and open the folder of your template. You should see several folders and files such as 'img', 'assets' and index.hbs. If these files are present this is the content that should be uploaded in your Ghost installation.
To upload your Ghost template access your server via FTP and navigate to your Ghost root directory. If you have followed our guide on How to Install Ghost your application should be located in:
/var/www/ghost/
Navigate to the content/themes folder which should be located in your Ghost root directory. You should see the default casper template in this directory. Upload the whole directory of your new template into the content/themes folder.
When the upload process is complete, please restart your Ghost blog. If you have followed our Forever installation guide you can easily restart Ghost obtaining your process ID and restart it via Forever:
[root@ghost themes]# forever list
info: Forever processes running
data: uid command script forever pid logfile uptime
data: [0] dQEB /usr/local/bin/node index.js 1759 1874 /var/log/ghost 0:0:0:1.659
[root@ghost themes]# forever restart dQEB
info: Forever restarted process(es):
data: uid command script forever pid logfile uptime
data: [0] dQEB /usr/local/bin/node index.js 1759 1899 /var/log/ghost 0:0:0:0.220
Now we need to activate the new template via the Ghost Admin Dashboard. Please login in your Ghost admin panel via:
https://example.com/ghost/
You should replace example.com with your actual domain name or IP address.
In the Ghost Admin Dashboard, please click on the Settings tab from the top main navigation.
In the General Settings tab scroll down to the Theme drop down menu and select your newly installed template.
Now you should be able to see your new template on your Ghost blog home page.
