Self-hosting setup
Ghost on your own server, set up like it belongs there.
The server, the secure certificate, email that reaches inboxes, backups that actually restore, and updates you can take safely.
Installing Ghost takes an afternoon. Running it for three years without an outage, a bounced newsletter, or a database you cannot restore is the actual job. We do the second one, then hand it over with notes so you are not dependent on us.
Backups tested by restoring them, not just scheduled
Handed over with written notes, no lock-in
Done personally by a Certified Ghost Expert
Nothing starts until the scope is agreed in writing
Typical turnaround
Two business days
From the moment we have server access
Works with
Any provider you choose
Any Ghost site, whoever built it
Before you pay
Fixed scope
Agreed in writing, so the price cannot move mid-project
First, the honest bit
Most people asking
for this should not
self-host.
Self-hosting is cheaper per month and more expensive per hour. It is the right call for some publications and the wrong one for most. Here is the split, before you spend anything.
Self-host when
Any one of these is usually enough on its own.
Your data has to stay in a particular country, or on hardware you control
You need something Ghost Pro does not allow at the server level
You are running several publications and the per-site cost adds up
You have someone technical who will still be there in two years
If that is you, read on. The rest of this page is what setting it up properly actually involves.
Use Ghost Pro when
If this list sounds more like you, take the easier road.
Nobody on your side wants to be responsible for a server at midnight
You want updates, backups, and email delivery handled by the people who make Ghost
Your publication is one site, and your time is worth more than the monthly difference
You would rather spend the setup budget on the publication itself
If that is you, we will say so, and we set your theme up on Ghost Pro for free. See how that works
Why this is worth paying for
What a rushed
install leaves behind.
Every one of these is a site that worked perfectly on handover day.
The newsletter goes to spam
Email is the part everyone underestimates. Without the right records proving you are allowed to send, your posts quietly land in junk folders and your open rate collapses for reasons nobody can see.
The backups were never real
A backup nobody has ever restored is not a backup. Plenty of sites discover this on the one day it matters. Ours get tested by actually restoring them.
The certificate expires
Set up by hand and never renewed. One morning every visitor gets a full-page security warning, and it stays that way until someone technical wakes up.
You cannot safely update
No notes, no staging copy, no way back. So nobody dares run an update, and the site sits on an old Ghost with old security holes for years.
The boundary
What you get,
and what stays yours.
The server is in your own account from day one. We are set up on it, not between you and it.
Included
The server built and tuned, on whichever provider you choose
Ghost installed, your domain connected, and the padlock renewing itself
Newsletter sending set up and proved with a real send to a real inbox
Automatic backups, off the server, and a restore actually tested
Basic hardening, so the box is not sitting open to the internet
Your theme installed and set up, and written notes on how to update everything
Lives elsewhere
The bills. The server, the domain, and the email sending service are billed to you directly, at cost, in your own accounts. We never mark them up or hold them.
Running it forever. Setup is a one-off. Ongoing monitoring and updates are a retainer, and self-hosting without one is a real decision to make deliberately.
Moving your content in. Setting up the server and moving a publication onto it are two jobs. Content migration
Very large or unusual setups. Multiple servers, heavy traffic, or a custom arrangement can be done, but it is scoped separately rather than off this page.
How it runs
Two days,
then it is yours.
Everything is built in your own accounts, so nothing depends on us continuing to exist.
-
We work out what you actually need
Traffic, how many people write, where your readers are, and whether you send newsletters. That decides the size of the machine and where it sits, which is most of the monthly cost.
-
You open the accounts, in your name
Server provider and email sending service, both yours, both billed to you at cost. You add us as a user. There is nothing to transfer later because nothing was ever ours.
-
We build it and prove it works
Server, Ghost, domain, certificate, email, backups, hardening, theme. Then a real newsletter to a real inbox and a restore from a real backup, because untested is the same as broken.
-
Handover, in writing
A short document covering how to update Ghost, how to restore a backup, what to check monthly, and who to call when something looks wrong. Then we come off the accounts if you want us off.
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 is the best thing that happened to me in my Ghost CMS journey. I’ve never tried such professional and responsive assistance; he has helped me through all possible hurdles with Ghost – and still is; enabling my business in Denmark to thrive!”
Denis Rivin
actualnews.dk · Self-hosted Ghost, run and updated for years
“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 · Self-hosted, multilingual, kept up to date
Projects shipped
Clients
Countries
Trusted by independent publishers, journalists, and creators worldwide.
See the work in recent client projects.
Before you self-host.
Worth reading even if you decide not to.
Which server provider should I use?
What will it cost me every month?
Do I need to know anything technical?
What if the server goes down at 3am?
Can you move my existing site onto it?
Am I locked in to you afterwards?
Tell us what you
are trying to run.
Describe the publication and roughly how many readers it has. If self-hosting is not the right answer for you, we will say so before you spend anything.
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.
Custom theme development
A theme designed around your brand and built to the edge of what Ghost can do, owned outright by you.
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.
Troubleshooting and fixes
Something broke at the worst possible time. Diagnosed, fixed, and written up so it does not happen twice.