I've used 4 content management systems (CMS) since the inception of the web and blogging:
- Moveable Type (now more-or-less defunct)
- Expression Engine (now lightly maintained)
- WordPress (runs 67% of sites on the web)
- Ghost
All 4 of these systems are Open Source solutions to the problem of "how do I manage web content without having to code everything by hand."
I'm running Ghost on the ghost.org platform versus hosting it myself.
Generally, I don't love other-people's hosted systems, because I have (modest) abilities to go into PHP files (for example) and make changes to my site themes. Ghost isn't authored in PHP ... the backend is in node.js which I don't know and don't want to learn.
That said, everything else about Ghost is a good fit ... simple to learn, extensible, secure, open-source, optimized for mobile and Google AMP, with a responsive support team.
The motivation for the move was the "upgrade" of WordPress to the Gutenberg editor, which would have required me to relearn much of what I thought I knew about editing posts in WordPress. This plus the general expense and complexity of WordPress left me feeling like a change was warranted.
I have always admired Anil Dash, formerly an executive/evangelist for Moveable Type when it was a for-profit endeavor. Anil runs his site (it's only one page) on Ghost.
I like Ghost for its simplicity; the cost of hosting with ghost.org is reasonable especially now that WP Engine, my preferred managed WordPress host has raised its prices.
As I've learned more about how to set up my site in Ghost, I find it is the perfect balance of an easy lift with a modern text editor plus the ability to alter Ghost themes using my know-how in HTML and CSS.
Themes are structured much like WordPress with partials etc.
I'm not yet adept at altering the theme I picked ... but I'll get there.
