Custom theme development
A Ghost theme built for your publication, not adapted from someone else's.
Designed around your brand, built to the edge of what Ghost can do, and yours outright when it ships.
Most custom Ghost work ends the same way: a theme nobody can safely update, a developer who has moved on, and an editorial team that needs a developer to publish anything. This is built to avoid all three. You get the source files, the documentation, and a site your editors can run without us.
You own the theme outright, source files included
Design agreed before a line of code is written
Done personally by a Certified Ghost Expert
Nothing starts until the scope is agreed in writing
Typical turnaround
Three to four weeks
Two to six depending on scope
Works with
Ghost Pro and self-hosted
Any Ghost site, whoever built it
Before you pay
Fixed scope
Agreed in writing, so the price cannot move mid-project
Why this is worth paying for
How custom themes
usually go wrong.
None of these show up in the first month. All of them are expensive in the second year.
It cannot be updated
The theme is welded to one version of Ghost. When Ghost moves on, your site either stays behind or breaks, and either way somebody has to be paid to look at it.
Editors need a developer to publish
Layouts are hardcoded, so changing a section means changing code. Your writers file tickets to move a headline, and momentum dies.
Nobody wrote anything down
No documentation, no notes on how the pieces fit. The next person to touch it, including you in a year, starts from scratch.
You do not actually own it
Source files withheld, or the same build quietly resold to three other publications in your field. Ask who owns the work before you commission it, not after.
How it runs
Four phases, and
a decision at each one.
You approve the design before anything gets built, so nobody spends three weeks coding the wrong site.
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What the publication needs to do
A conversation about what you publish, who reads it, and how you make money from it. Memberships, advertising, a newsletter, a podcast, all of it changes the shape of the build.
You get: a written scope with a fixed price and a date.
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Design, before any code
Real page designs for the pages that matter: home, an article, the paywall, the archive. Reviewed and revised until you are happy with them on screen.
You decide: the build does not start until you sign off the design.
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Built in pieces you can watch
The theme goes up on a private site as it is built, so you see it in real shape rather than in a status report. Feedback lands while it is still cheap to act on.
You get: a working site to click through at every milestone.
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Handed over properly
Source files, written documentation for your editors, and a walkthrough so the people publishing every day know how everything works. Then thirty days of fixes for anything that surfaces.
You get: the theme, outright, with nothing held back.
The boundary
What a custom
build covers.
A theme is how your publication looks and behaves. It is not the words in it, and it is not the server under it.
Included
Original design for every page type your publication uses
Memberships, paywall, and tiers wired up and tested with real payments
Settings your editors can change themselves, so layout is not a code change
Built for speed, for screen readers, and for search from the start
Source files, documentation, and thirty days of fixes after launch
Lives elsewhere
Bringing your existing site over. Often runs alongside a build, but it is scoped and priced separately. Content migration
Brand identity from scratch. We design your site around your brand. Creating the logo and the brand itself is a different discipline.
Writing your content. We build the room. What you say in it is yours.
Running the server. Hosting is yours, on Ghost Pro or your own machine. Self-hosting setup
Long-term maintenance. Thirty days of fixes are included. Standing help after that is a retainer.
When you should not commission one
If one of our four themes gets you eighty per cent of the way there, buy it and pay for the last twenty. It costs a fraction of a custom build, ships in days rather than weeks, and keeps getting updates for free. A custom theme is worth it when your publication genuinely does something none of them do.
From our clients
Who you are actually hiring
Every project is led personally by Kasun Jayarathna, a Certified Ghost Expert. These are clients who hired us for this specific piece of work.
“Kasun has developed two complete websites for us over the past three years. What I particularly appreciate is that, beyond his technical expertise, he has a keen eye for clean, user-friendly design. He thinks ahead, is reliable, and delivers well-thought-out solutions.”
Andreas Wocke
riseofmind.com · Two custom Ghost builds
“I am pleased to confirm that the professional services are excellent, as always, for many times, and to be able to rely on Kasun’s support in every technical aspect, from the web development to the maintenance and programming.”
Stefano Severini
stefanoseverini.com · Built, then supported since
Projects shipped
Clients
Countries
Trusted by independent publishers, journalists, and creators worldwide.
See the work in recent client projects.
Before you commission.
What publishers ask before signing off a build.
Who owns the theme when it is finished?
How long does it take?
Can my editors change the layout without calling a developer?
What happens when Ghost releases a new version?
Do you work with our existing designer?
What if we need changes six months later?
Tell us what your
publication needs to do.
Describe the publication, how it makes money, and what nothing off the shelf gives you. You will get an honest answer, including if we think you should buy a theme instead.
What happens next: you get a reply within one business day, with a fixed scope and a fixed price. Nothing starts, and nothing is charged, until you agree to both.
Not the job you have? We also do these.
Content migration
Move to Ghost from WordPress, Substack, or Medium with your posts, members, and search rankings intact.
Theme customization
You have a theme and it needs a section, a feature, or a fix. Changed cleanly, and still easy to update later.
Theme translation
Every word of your theme in the language your readers use, with language switching that works.
Self-hosting setup
Ghost on your own server, set up properly: the server, the secure certificate, email delivery, and backups.
Troubleshooting and fixes
Something broke at the worst possible time. Diagnosed, fixed, and written up so it does not happen twice.