Why You Should Consider Using a Publishing Platform for Your Blog

After writing on Medium and Dev, I initially wanted to build a personal blog. However, after realizing the time investment required, I switched to Ghost, a modern publishing platform.

Editor

The platform’s editor surpasses markdown-only approaches by enabling drag-and-drop image insertion, code snippets, and media embedding. Built-in scheduling allows posting content at optimal times without requiring manual publication.

Integrations

Ghost integrates with Zapier, automating workflows across 2,000+ apps. I previously copy-pasted articles across platforms; automation now handles distribution. Ghost supports 30 webhook events for custom integrations.

Subscribers

Ghost’s member functionality provides built-in email subscription capabilities. Subscribers receive new articles automatically upon publication at no additional cost. Members can be exported to MailerLite or Mailchimp for broader campaigns.

Customisation

Developers can purchase themes or create custom ones using JavaScript and Handlebars. Alternatively, Ghost’s headless CMS API enables connecting any frontend framework while maintaining platform features.

Maintainability

Building independent blogging platforms requires ongoing maintenance as APIs evolve. Publishing platforms eliminate this burden, particularly valuable for full-time developers managing side projects.

Metadata Configuration and SEO

Ghost provides built-in SEO configuration per post with preview functionality, eliminating manual implementation overhead.

Evaluate costs comprehensively—hosting, monitoring, integrations—before building independently. A platform’s monthly fee often proves worthwhile versus custom development expenses.