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The original was posted on /r/opensource by /u/-NS- on 2026-04-19 07:17:29+00:00.

For context, I’m a designer who knows a little bit of HTML, CSS, and some basic javascript. I don’t have much experience using any sort of CMS. I currently have a site that is fully static - no backend whatsoever. Each post is an HTML page, but what that lets me do is use a different CSS for each post (which is how I prefer it). The homepage is also static, so every time I post something new, I go back and add a new link with a blurb.

Ideally I want to upgrade this so that the homepage updates automatically. The other features I prefer is like a comment system for my posts, and for people to be able to “subscribe” to my website. RSS would have done the job but no one really uses RSS readers much, so maybe a newsletter system works? This is where Ghost popped up on my research - it seems to do almost all of this really well, and also takes all this off me and makes it a little easier. It also supports people “tipping” me. While I don’t think anyone will tip much, but it’s nice to have that option handy.

There are three problems I foresee with Ghost:

  1. Different design/CSS for each post. I haven’t found a way to do this. I usually just use a Bulma boilerplate, update the fonts, background colours, link colors etc to modify the style of a post. It’s simple and quick. If I need additional styling, I just add it to the head section and usually just 10-15 lines extra to give a unique treatment to the heading or something.

  2. Javascript snippets in posts. Majority of my posts have some sort of interactive graphs, so I write custom JS + D3 to generate them into the divs.

  3. The main issue is going to be the cost. I post maybe once every 6 months and have no aspirations to build a publishing business or any kind of business at all. I post for fun and for myself to nerd out and would love it if other people saw it and were able to nerd out with me hahaha

So here’s the question: Is there a stack or a single solution that would help me achieve this in a simple manner since I’m a noob? Or can I somehow use Ghost to achieve this without paying too much? I don’t mind paying, I just can’t pay $30 every month for my requirements. If I was looking to build a business, sure I’d sign up for Ghost very quickly since the payments/tips would cover its cost. Any help is appreciated :)

Thank you so much!